Lawyers insist evidence will clear Duke team
The lawyers for Duke men’s lacrosse players said Thursday that police and an outraged community will owe the team an apology after DNA tests are completed – tests they said will prove no players raped an exotic dancer.
Four attorneys representing nearly all of the 46 players forced to give samples protested what they said was a presumption that their clients attacked the dancer or kept quiet about the event. No one has been charged.
“We believe that the DNA will show that that this not true. We believe that a full and complete and fair investigation will show that it is not true,” lawyer Joe Cheshire said from Dunham, N.C.
Men’s basketball
Arizona State may have eyes for Bennett
Arizona State officials have declined to comment on reports that Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett has become a leading candidate for the Sun Devils’ vacant job.
Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak is among the rumored candidates.
•Bucknell extended the contract of coach Pat Flannery, rewarding him for taking the small private school in Lewisburg, Pa., to the NCAA tournament for a second straight season.
•San Diego State junior forward Marcus Slaughter has declared for the NBA draft and hired an agent, which means he cannot return to school.
Golf
Mickelson opens BellSouth with 63
Two-time champion Phil Mickelson tied the course record, shooting a 9-under-par 63, to take a one-shot lead over Gavin Coles in the first round of the BellSouth Classic.
Charles Warren is third at 65, followed by Joe Durant, Ian Poulter and Scott Parel at 66. Mickelson missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have set a tournament record at the TPC at Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.
•Lorena Ochoa shot a course-record 10-under 62 for a four-shot lead over Michelle Wie after the opening round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, Calif. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., opened with a 71.
Tennis
Booed Sharapova advances to final
Maria Sharapova blew a big lead, drew boos for taking a bathroom break and won only when opponent Tatiana Golovin was forced to retire in tears because of an ankle injury.
The hollow victory (6-3, 6-7 (5), 4-3, injury) earned Sharapova a berth in the final at the Nasdaq-100 Open at Key Biscayne, Fla. Her opponent in the final Saturday will be Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Andy Roddick lost to David Ferrer 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the men’s quarterfinals. The loss cost Roddick a shot at top-ranked Roger Federer, who rallied to beat James Blake 7-6 (2), 6-4.
•Three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten will not return to professional tennis for at least another month because of a hip injury.
Miscellany
Rahman must first fight Maskaev
The World Boxing Council ordered Hasim Rahman (41-5-2) to fight Kazakhstan’s Oleg Maskaev (32-5) in defense of his heavyweight title, with the winner to face James Toney.
•To help replace Ty Law, the New York Jets signed unrestricted free-agent cornerback Andre Dyson, released by Seattle earlier this month.
•Howard “Red” Hickey, 89, the NFL coach who invented the shotgun offensive formation with San Francisco, died in Aptos, Calif., his son said.