In brief: Silva retains title with TKO at UFC 73
Anderson Silva retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title at UFC 73 in Sacramento, Calif., with a first-round TKO of Nate Marquardt.
Sean Sherk also successfully defended his title, the UFC lightweight crown, using all 25 minutes of a grueling five-round bout to beat challenger Hermes Franca by decision.
In other action, Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans fought to a 28-28 draw in a highly anticipated match of light-heavyweights and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, a former champion in the Japan-based Pride Fighting Championships, won his UFC debut by the judges’ unanimous decision after a three-round battle with Heath Herring.
Football
Maas arrested
Former NFL player and Fox Sports broadcaster Bill Maas was charged with drug possession and weapons charges following a roadside safety check in Peoria, Ill.
The 45-year-old Maas and a passenger in his Hummer, Sarah J. Murphy, 27, were arrested late Friday by Illinois State Police. During the stop, police indicated Maas seemed nervous, and he agreed to a search of his vehicle.
Police found a .22-caliber revolver, 5 grams of suspected marijuana, 6 grams of suspected cocaine and 28 pills of Ecstasy.
Miscellany
Salazar leaves hospital
A week after suffering a heart attack in Portland, distance running legend Alberto Salazar was released from the hospital.
Officials at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center said they couldn’t provide details of Salazar’s departure or say anything about his condition.
Salazar, 48, collapsed while coaching distance runners at the Nike campus outside Portland.
“Joachim Alcine captured the WBA super welterweight title from Travis Simms with a unanimous decision in a foul-filled fight at Bridgeport, Conn.
“Panty Raid gave trainer Todd Pletcher a second consecutive victory in the $750,000 American Oaks in Inglewood, Calif., defeating an international field in her first turf race at Hollywood Park.
“The United States remains without a voice on the Olympics’ most influential body, and that may not change before 2010 at the earliest.
U.S. member Anita DeFrantz finished a distant last in an election for a seat on the International Olympic Committee’s executive board, a result which she viewed as another sign of global anti-American sentiment.
“Jose Jimenez, who threw a no-hitter as a rookie with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999, was one of two Dominican athletes removed from the Pan American Games after they tested positive for banned substances.
Jimenez tested positive for anabolic steroids.
Boxer Rafael Fernandez Sosa was also banned by the Dominican Republic Olympic committee. He had elevated levels of testosterone to epitestosterone.