In brief: New Jersey native leads Italy over U.S.
Soccer: Of all the Italian players in the new jerseys, the standout was the kid from New Jersey.
Teaneck-born Giuseppe Rossi scored twice in the second half, Daniele De Rossi had a goal and Italy rallied to overcome a Landon Donovan penalty kick and beat the United States 3-1 Monday night in its opener at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Pretoria, South Africa.
The U.S. played a man short after Ricardo Clark was ejected in the 33rd minute for a late tackle on Gennaro Gattuso, but went ahead eight minutes later when Donovan scored his American-record 40th international goal after Giorgio Chiellini hooked and kicked Jozy Altidore.
Stallworth to plead guilty in DUI case
Football: Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth has agreed to plead guilty to a DUI manslaughter charge and would do some jail time for a Miami car crash in which a pedestrian was struck and killed, authorities said.
Stallworth, 28, is scheduled to appear today in a Miami courtroom to enter the plea. If accepted by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy, Stallworth would serve a short jail sentence for the March 14 crash, followed by lengthy probation and numerous conditions, Terry Chavez, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, told the Associated Press.
•Rooney Rule expanded: The NFL has broadened its “Rooney Rule” by requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate when seeking to fill its senior football operations positions.
Commissioner Roger Goodell informed the NFL’s 32 member teams by memo of the new requirement, which received strong endorsement after being recommended at league meetings last month. The change is expected to provide minorities more opportunities to fill each franchise’s one senior football post, which varies in title from team to team.
The new requirement, however, will not apply to teams where the position is held by the owner or a member of the owner’s family. It also won’t apply in cases where there is a pre-existing contractual deal in place – and filed with the NFL – to promote a current staff member once the position opens.
•Broncos sign Lloyd: The Broncos have signed free-agent wide receiver Brandon Lloyd on the same day a radio station reported holdout Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall wants to follow Jay Cutler out of Denver.
Lloyd is a seventh-year pro with 15 career touchdowns.
Judge rejects sale of Phoenix Coyotes
NHL: The Coyotes are staying in Phoenix.
A bankruptcy judge has rejected the proposed sale of the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, who would have moved the team to Hamilton, Ontario.
Judge Redfield T. Baum issued a 21-page ruling concluding that the June 29 deadline imposed by Balsillie did not allow enough time to resolve the many issues raised in the complex case.
•Bruins GM extended: The Boston Bruins have signed general manager Peter Chiarelli to a contract extension, rewarding the architect who built the team with the second-best record in the NHL last season.
•Wild hire head coach: The Minnesota Wild have hired San Jose Sharks assistant Todd Richards to be their next head coach.
Laimbeer steps down as Shock coach
WNBA: Bill Laimbeer resigned as coach of the WNBA champion Detroit Shock three games into the season in hopes of landing an NBA job.
Assistant Rick Mahorn, a teammate of Laimbeer’s from their Detroit Pistons days, was promoted to coach. Cheryl Reeve will remain an assistant and become the general manager.
Laimbeer was hired as coach of the Shock in 2002 and led them to three titles in six years.
Goodyear making progress in Indy test
Miscellany: Goodyear appears to have resolved some of the problems that plagued last year’s Allstate 400 in Indianapolis.
Nine cars made it onto the track for testing Monday. Kyle Busch’s No. 18 car did the most consecutive laps with 17 early in the afternoon.
During last year’s Allstate 400, tire problems forced race officials to call competition cautions every 10 to 12 laps.
•Zhang changes coach: Caroline Zhang, the 2007 world junior figure skating champion, announced she is ending her four-year partnership with Li Mingzhu and will now train with Charlene Wong. Wong most recently coached Mirai Nagasu, one of Zhang’s main rivals.
•Erickson 4 clinches win: Five-time Olympic medalist Torben Grael has sailed Ericsson 4 to victory in the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race.
Ericsson 4 finished the ninth leg of the 10-leg race in third place, good enough to clinch the victory in the overall standings.