Woman charged with stalking Lakers’ Walton
A woman has been charged with stalking Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Stacy Elizabeth Beshear of El Segundo was arrested Sept. 18 after she pulled up to his car and pretended to fire gunshots at him with her hand, police Sgt. Steve Tobias said.
The 34-year-old Beshear has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of stalking. A Nov. 6 trial date has been set in the case. She faces up to a year in county jail if convicted, district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said Tuesday.
Walton said Beshear has been harassing him since late last year. He told the Orange County Register she waited outside his Manhattan Beach home numerous times and wrote on his car with a marker after he refused to sign an autograph.
Baseball
Rivera has surgery
New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to resume throwing in three months, a month ahead of spring training.
New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek operated at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Altchek also operated on catcher Jorge Posada’s shoulder last summer.
•Stay for Tiger Stadium: The Detroit City Council has granted Tiger Stadium a stay of execution.
The council rejected a resolution that would have authorized immediate demolition. Crews began tearing it down in June. A corner of the ballpark has been left standing while a preservation group tries to raise money to turn it into a sports museum.
•Classic will be televised: ESPN and the new MLB Network will split television rights to the World Baseball Classic. ESPN has rights to 23 of the 39 games, including the semifinals and the final on March 23. The remainder will be on the MLB Network.
•Coaches fired: The Colorado Rockies let go three coaches – hitting coach Alan Cockrell, third base coach Mike Gallego and bench coach Jamie Quirk – after a disappointing 74-88 season.
•Burgos turns himself in: New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos turned himself in, a week after police say he was involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed two women in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The mother of one of the two victims accused Burgos of intentionally running her daughter over because she refused to go out with him.
•Ratings down: Television ratings for baseball’s division series declined from last year.
The 15 games on TBS averaged a 2.8 rating. That’s down 26 percent from a 3.8 for 13 games in 2007.
•Cardinals official critical: Longtime St. Louis Cardinals official George Kissell, 88, was in critical condition after being injured in a traffic accident in Pinellas Park, Fla.
Football
Receiver recovers
Ball State receiver Dante Love, recovering from a career-ending spinal injury, might be released from a rehabilitation center in Muncie, Ind., this week.
Love took a head-on hit during the Cardinals’ 42-20 win over Indiana on Sept. 20.
•Game canceled: Colgate and Georgetown will not reschedule last Saturday’s football game, which was postponed because of a viral outbreak on the Georgetown campus.
Cycling
Schleck targeted
Luxembourg’s anti-doping agency has expanded its investigation of cyclist Frank Schleck, who was provisionally suspended by his team last week.
Schleck told the agency last week that he transferred money to a Swiss bank account held by a Spanish doctor at the heart of a major doping scandal.
•Schumacher under fire: The German cycling federation has begun proceedings aimed at banning Stefan Schumacher after confirming that the Tour de France stage winner tested positive for blood doping before and during the July race.
•Future in doubt: The future of men’s road cycling in the Olympics could be threatened unless the sport cleans up its doping record according to IOC vice president Thomas Bach.
Miscellany
Venus Williams upset
Venus Williams was beaten in the opening round for the second time in 12 tournaments this season, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to Flavia Pennetta of Italy at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
•Race dropped: Formula One announced it was dropping the Canadian Grand Prix from its 2009 schedule. It marks the first time since 1987 that the Canadian GP will not be on the schedule.
•Horses will be tested: Horses pre-entered in the 14 Breeders’ Cup races to be run Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., will face random drug testing ahead of racing’s richest event.
•Sumo wrestlers on trial: Three sumo wrestlers and a former instructor went on trial in Tokyo for allegedly beating a 17-year-old wrestler to death during training last year. The three wrestlers admitted in court they had beaten the man and said they had been unable to refuse orders to do so by their stable master.