Mayweather’s lawyers ask judge for help
BOXING: A judge in Las Vegas said she’ll decide later this week whether to ease jail conditions for Floyd Mayweather Jr., after his lawyers argued that the undefeated champion is getting out of shape in solitary confinement and may never fight again.
Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa made no immediate ruling Tuesday on an emergency motion asking the court to move Mayweather into the general jail population – something that jail officials had avoided out of fear for the celebrity’s safety – or put him in house arrest for the rest of his three-month sentence.
Mayweather lawyer Richard Wright said he’d be willing to have the boxer serve the sentence in an apartment or somewhere less luxurious than Mayweather’s posh Las Vegas-area home.
“I’m not looking for special treatment for Floyd Mayweather,” Wright said. “I’m looking for fair treatment.”
But prosecutor Lisa Luzaich said softening the sentence would be just another accommodation, similar to when Mayweather’s jail surrender date was postponed for months after sentencing so he could fight Miguel Cotto in May.
Mayweather pleaded guilty in December to misdemeanor domestic battery and no contest to two harassment charges that stemmed from an attack on his ex-girlfriend while two of their children watched. He was sentenced to three months and entered the jail June 1.
• Arum wants inquiry: The promoter for Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley is asking Nevada officials for a full investigation into the controversial scoring of their championship fight in Las Vegas last weekend.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum says he submitted a formal request for an inquiry to the Nevada attorney general’s office on Monday.
Bradley won 115-113 on two scorecards, while losing by the same margin on the third. The decision was roundly booed by the crowd at the MGM Grand arena.
Sloan, Shaw, Snyder finalists in Charlotte
NBA: The Charlotte Bobcats are inching closer to naming a new head coach after trimming their coaching search three – Jerry Sloan, Brian Shaw and Quin Snyder, said a person familiar with the situation.
Whoever takes over the Bobcats will have an enormous task ahead of him in terms of rebuilding the franchise.
Charlotte finished with the worst winning percentage (.106) in league history at 7-59 under coach Paul Silas, whose contract was not renewed after the season.
Czech Republic defeats Greece
Soccer: Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar scored in the first six minutes to give the Czech Republic a 2-1 win over Greece on Tuesday at the European Championship in Wroclaw, Poland.
At Warsaw, Poland, Alan Dzagoev scored his third goal of the European Championship and Jakub Blaszczykowski tied it in the second half as Russia and Poland drew 1-1.
The match was marred before kickoff by fighting between hooligans from both countries, leaving several people injured as thousands of Russian fans marched to celebrate the Russia Day national holiday.
• Three closer to qualifying: Asian soccer powers Japan, South Korea and Australia took steps toward automatic qualification for the 2014 World Cup. Iran, however, drew 0-0 with Qatar.
Japan played to a 1-1 tie at Australia, which was a man down for most of the second half. Japan tops Group B with seven points from two games.
Australia is second with two points from two games. Iraq and Oman also have two points after drawing 1-1.
South Korea won 3-0 at visiting Lebanon and is 2-0 to lead Group A. Iran and Qatar are two points behind. Lebanon and Uzbekistan have one point each and must now struggle to qualify for Brazil in 2014.
Voters OK dropping Fighting Sioux
Miscellany: Voters approved a measure that lets the University of North Dakota dump its controversial Fighting Sioux nickname and avoid NCAA sanctions, and advocates for retiring the moniker expressed relief that the years-old battle appeared to be nearing its end.
The issue has been simmering for decades, dividing the state, sports fans, alumni and even area tribes. But it boiled over seven years ago when UND was placed on a list of schools with American Indian nicknames that the NCAA deemed hostile and abusive. Those colleges were told to dump the names or risk sanctions against their teams.
Voters in Tuesday’s North Dakota primary were being asked whether to uphold or reject the Legislature’s repeal of a state law requiring the school to use the nickname and American Indian head logo.
The vote sends the matter back to the state’s Board of Higher Education, which is expected to retire the moniker and American Indian head logo.
• Secretariat owner wants hearing: Secretariat’s owner has asked the Maryland Racing Commission to conduct a hearing about changing the time of the horse’s winning run in the 1973 Preakness Stakes.
Penny Chenery says advances in modern video technology will prove Secretariat ran the 1 3/16 mile race in 1 minute, 53 2/5 seconds. That would match the standing record for the Preakness.