Newsmakers: Oscar Pistorius to be released from jail on Oct. 20; Magic statue vandalized; Bode Miller takes year off
JOHANNESBURG – Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner who shot his girlfriend to death on Valentine’s Day 2013, can leave prison and move to house arrest next week, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said Thursday.
A parole board at the prison where Pistorius has served nearly a year of his five-year sentence for manslaughter made the decision. It came after an initial ruling to release the athlete in August was canceled at the last minute after intervention by the justice minister.
This time, the board “approved the placement of offender Oscar Pistorius under correctional supervision as from 20 October 2015,” the corrections department said in a statement following the meeting of the parole board earlier Thursday.
Pistorius was acquitted of murder last year for the shooting death of Reeva Steenkamp, but prosecutors have appealed that trial verdict and will seek a murder conviction again at South Africa’s Supreme Court on Nov. 3.
The appeal will come just two weeks after Pistorius is freed next Tuesday. If Pistorius is convicted of murder by a panel of five judges at the appeal, he faces going back to prison for 15 years, the minimum sentence for murder in South Africa, which no longer has the death penalty.
Statue of Magic Johnson vandalized ahead of football game
EAST LANSING, Mich. – A statue of Earvin “Magic” Johnson on the campus of Michigan State University has been vandalized with yellow paint ahead of the Spartans’ football game against rival Michigan.
The statue of the former NBA and Michigan State basketball star is outside the Breslin Center in East Lansing. It had an “M” and the words “BEAT STATE” painted on it. Michigan’s colors are maize and blue.
MLive.com reports the statue was being cleaned Thursday and vandals also defaced the sidewalk along Demonstration Hall Road and an area behind the “Sparty” statue.
No. 12 Michigan hosts No. 7 Michigan State on Saturday and supporters have been on guard duty to prevent possible vandalism to campus landmarks. In Ann Arbor, Michigan students are guarding the block “M” on the Diag.
U.S. skier Bode Miller will skip 2015-16 World Cup circuit
Bode Miller says he will take a break from racing on the World Cup circuit this season to spend more time with his family, test out new ski equipment and help train a barn of horses he bought.
The six-time Olympic medalist isn’t leaning toward retirement just yet, but did say Thursday that competing at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea was, “really unlikely.”
The U.S. skier turned 38 earlier this week.
Fitness-wise, Miller said he “feels excellent.” He had surgery last November to fix a herniated disk in his back and didn’t return until the world championships three months later in Beaver Creek, Colorado. He crashed during the super-G and severed his right hamstring tendon.
Miller skied in Europe and Chile over the summer and reported his hamstring injury “seems to have no real impact on my ability to ski and my body feels great.”
Daily fantasy sports sites ordered to shut down in Nevada
LAS VEGAS – Nevada regulators have ordered daily fantasy sports sites like DraftKings and FanDuel to shut down, saying they can’t operate in the state without a gambling license.
The decision comes amid growing backlash by investigators and regulators over the sites, which have grown in popularity in the past year.
The sites insist they are skill-based games and not chance-based wagers, and are therefore not subject to gambling regulations. Customers pick daily lineups of players in professional football, basketball, hockey and more, and they compete with other players to earn the most points and win money – in some cases more than $1 million.
The state’s Gaming Control Board issued a notice Thursday saying the sites must stop offering their contests to Nevada residents effective immediately. Operators face felony fines and 10 years in prison.
Regulators say the sites can apply for licenses.
Ohio University ex-athlete sues school over injury
ATHENS, Ohio – A former Ohio University baseball player has sued the school, claiming negligence by the head coach led to a career-ending injury.
The Athens Messenger reports (http://bit.ly/1VQieOA ) that RyLee Rogers, a catcher from Cambridge, Ohio, is seeking more than $25,000 in the lawsuit filed in the state’s Court of Claims.
The suit says Rogers suffered a torn labrum in his throwing arm in the Bobcats’ 2012 baseball season and had to undergo corrective surgery. The same arm was injured after he returned to the team for the 2013 season.
The lawsuit says baseball head coach Rob Smith discouraged players from complaining about injuries and discouraged them from not participating in scheduled activities.
Smith didn’t respond to requests for comment. A university spokeswoman says the school doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Mourinho criticizes FA over fine and suspended stadium ban
LONDON – Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has criticized the English Football Association after he was fined over comments made towards match officials.
Mourinho used his book launch on Thursday to respond to the FA’s decision on Wednesday to hand him a 50,000 pounds ($77,400) fine and a suspended one-match stadium ban.
He claimed that officials were “afraid” to award his side a penalty following a 3-1 home defeat to Southampton in the Premier League at the start of October.
“50,000 (pounds) is a disgrace. The possibility of getting a stadium ban is astonishing,” Mourinho said at his book signing.
The Blues boss was aggrieved after referee Robert Madley refused to point to the spot following a challenge by Saints goalkeeper Martin Stekelenburg on striker Radamel Falcao in the penalty area.
“He was afraid to give it like everyone else is afraid to give it,” Mourinho said in a post-match interview.
Defending champion Chelsea has endured a difficult start to the season, losing four of its opening eight matches and languishing in 16th place, 10 points adrift of leaders Manchester City.
UK court endorses view that bridge is not a sport
LONDON – Legions of bridge players in Britain may feel they’ve been dealt a rotten hand after a court decision endorsed an earlier ruling that the popular card game is not a sport.
A High Court judge on Thursday backed Sport England’s assertion that bridge is not a sport because it does not involve physical activity. English Bridge Union officials had challenged the ruling in court.
Judge Ian Dove said in his ruling that he had not been tasked with answering the “broad, somewhat philosophical question” of whether bridge is a sport but simply whether Sport England had committed any legal errors in reaching its conclusion.
The decision will affect possible lottery funding for bridge tournaments.
Advocates for bridge had claimed that Parliament recognizes “mind sports” that build mental acuity.
Sport England officials said they recognize how challenging and popular bridge has become but that playing the game does nothing to improve the country’s physical fitness levels.
The agency, which plays a role in distributing national lottery funds, also does not view chess as a sport.
IOC awards Kofi Annan with highest Olympic order
LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has received the International Olympic Committee’s highest award.
Annan was presented with the Olympic Order in Gold on Thursday by IOC President Thomas Bach.
Annan was announced as a recipient of the order in 2007 but was unable to attend an award ceremony until now.
He said during the presentation that “the Olympic spirit is something that has been with me for a long time.”
Annan, who served as U.N. secretary-general from 1997-2006, attended several Olympics during that time.
Bach thanked Annan for his “many years of service to sport and for championing the unifying power of sport through the Kofi Annan Foundation.”
The IOC has enjoyed U.N. observer status since 2009. The U.N. traditionally passes a resolution calling for the observance of an “Olympic Truce” before each games.