Sports in brief: Holtz said to be considering run for office

FOOTBALL: Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz is mulling a run for Congress in Florida as a Republican, a GOP strategist said Tuesday.

Holtz could decide in the next several weeks whether to seek the central Florida congressional seat held by Democrat U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, said the strategist who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to talk about the matter.

The 72-year-old Holtz has never run for office. He has worked as an analyst at ESPN since retiring from his last coaching stint at the University of South Carolina at the end of the 2004 season.

A call to Holtz’s home in Orlando was not returned Tuesday night.

Griffith ending WNBA career

Basketball: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yolanda Griffith is ending her playing career after 11 seasons in the WNBA. The 39-year-old Indiana Fever forward announced her retirement, saying she plans to begin coaching after this season.

The seven-time WNBA All-Star suffered a career-ending tear of her left Achilles tendon on June 9.

Leslie can’t spark Sparks: Lisa Leslie played her first game in seven weeks because of injuries, yet her presence wasn’t enough to lift the Los Angeles Sparks. Becky Hammon scored 20 points to rally the San Antonio Silver Stars past the Sparks 63-59 in Los Angeles.

Nadal will play in Montreal event

Tennis: Rafael Nadal plans to return to the courts at the Rogers Cup after being sidelined for more than two months with sore knees. Nadal says on his Web site that he’ll arrive in Montreal today to begin preparations for the Aug. 10-16 hardcourt event. He is the defending champion.

Nadal has been out of action with tendinitis in both knees since losing at the French Open on May 31. He also will play in Cincinnati ahead of the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament he has never won.

Pitcher convicted of beaning fan

Baseball: An Ohio judge has convicted a minor league pitcher of injuring a fan when he threw a baseball that went into the stands during an on-field melee in Dayton last year. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Connie Price on Tuesday found Julio Castillo guilty of felonious assault causing serious physical injury.

Castillo, of the Dominican Republic, was pitching for the Peoria Chiefs – a Class A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs – against the Dayton Dragons when the bench-clearing brawl broke out. Castillo threw a ball that gave a fan a concussion.

He will be sentenced on Thursday.

Einstein inside at Arlington Million

Horse racing: Einstein’s second chance in the Arlington Million will start from the inside. The 7-year-old Brazilian-bred horse, who stumbled at the beginning of last year’s race before finishing fifth, drew the inside post for Saturday’s race at Chicago’s Arlington Park.

The morning line favorite in the nine-horse field at 5-2 was Gio Ponti, who will start in the sixth position.

•Churchill Downs hit by floodwaters: Flash flooding has left part of the famed Churchill Downs track under water, and some horses stabled at the Louisville, Ky., track were moved elsewhere due to high water.

Churchill is between live racing meets, and the track was closed Tuesday.

Mayweather’s trainer arrested

Miscellany: Police said boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, was arrested at a Las Vegas apartment after an officer responding to a disconnected 911 call found Roger Mayweather fighting with a 25-year-old woman at the apartment in northwest Las Vegas.

The woman was a female boxer Roger Mayweather once trained, authorities said.

He was released on $13,000 bail, police said.

•Kang medalist: Danielle Kang, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has earned stroke-play medalist honors by rolling in a 30-foot par putt at the 18th hole at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Golf Championship in St. Louis.

•Massa goes home: Ferrari driver Felipe Massa left a Sao Paulo, Brazil, hospital and returned home for the first time since a life-threatening crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix 10 days earlier.

The Brazilian arrived in his home country Monday after nine days in a Budapest, where he underwent surgery on multiple skull fractures. His injuries were sustained when he was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective barrier in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

•Man charged in boxer’s death: Atlanta police say a 20-year-old man, Demario Ware, has been charged with murder in the shooting death of ex-boxing champion Vernon Forrest on July 25.

Police say Ware is responsible for the robbery but he was not the triggerman.