Jurors picked as Bonds’ case gets under way

Baseball: Barry Bonds finally sat across the San Francisco court room Monday from the 12 people who will judge whether the greatest home-run hitter of all time lied about taking drugs.

Following a daylong selection process, eight women and four men were picked to hear the federal government’s case against the 46-year-old former San Francisco Giants star, who is charged with four counts of lying to a grand jury and one count of obstruction for testifying in 2003 that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

Among the jurors there was no shortage of opinion on baseball’s Steroids Era or drugs in sports, though all indicated they could rule impartially in the case of Bonds, who holds the records for home runs in a career (762) and a season (73).

Potential jurors had to fill out 19-page questionnaires prior to selection.

Penguins survive Red Wings’ rally

NHL: James Neal scored the only goal in the shootout, and the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings after blowing a four-goal lead.

Pascal Dupuis had two goals and an assist to help Pittsburgh build its big lead.

• Canucks lose Malhotra for season: Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra is out for the rest of the regular season and playoffs after suffering an eye injury when he was hit in the left eye by a puck against Colorado last Wednesday that required surgery, the team said.

Malhotra was hit in the left eye by an errant puck during last Wednesday’s game against Colorado.

NBA: Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Rajon Rondo added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics scored the final 10 points for a spirited 96-86 victory over the Knicks in New York.

Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points for the Knicks, but neither he nor Amare Stoudemire had a field goal in the fourth quarter.

• Nuggets continue tear since trade: Ty Lawson scored 23 points and Denver’s smothering defense forced 23 turnovers, helping the Nuggets snap a two-game skid with a 123-90 rout of the Toronto Raptors in Denver.

Denver was without guards Raymond Felton (left ankle) and Arron Afflalo (left hamstring), but hardly missed a beat. The Nuggets had seven players score in double figures as they improved to 10-4 since the blockbuster deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last month.

• Spurs top Warriors despite Duncan’s sprain: Manu Ginobili scored 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs got a scare when Tim Duncan sprained his left ankle in a 111-96 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors.

X-rays on Duncan’s foot were negative and it wasn’t immediately known how long the Spurs might be without their 34-year-old All-Star.

Tennessee parting ways with Pearl

Men’s Basketball: Tennessee has fired Bruce Pearl after a season that saw the coach charged with unethical conduct for lying to NCAA investigators during a probe into recruiting.

In a statement, athletics director Mike Hamilton said Tennessee officials made the decision to relieve Pearl of his duties after additional learning about “additional violations committed on September 14 and in March 2011” by the staff.

Tennessee has agreed to pay Pearl $948,728 worth of salary and benefits as part of his dismissal agreement.

League asks court to uphold lockout

NFL: The NFL asked a federal judge to keep its lockout in place, saying there are no legal grounds to stop it while accusing the players of trying to manipulate the law with a bogus antitrust lawsuit.

The NFL filed its arguments in federal court in St. Paul, Minn., where U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson has scheduled an April 6 hearing on the players’ bid to stop the lockout.

The NFL said any decision on a lockout should wait until the National Labor Relations Board rules on an unfair labor practice charge against the now-dissolved players’ union that contends the players failed to negotiate in good faith. The charge, filed Feb. 14, was amended on March 11 to include reference to the union’s decertification.

Kickoffs, touchbacks on the table: Competition committee chairman Rich McKay said at the owners meetings in New Orleans that moving kickoffs up to the 35-yard line and bringing touchbacks out to the 25 have spurred “healthy discussions” among coaches and general managers.

So much so that some alterations could be coming to proposed changes, which also include eliminating the blocking wedge and limiting coverage players from long run-ups.

Owners will vote on those proposals today, along with amendments to defenseless player rules for receivers, and allowing the replay official to review all scoring plays at any time in games.

PGA mulls change to season-ending format

Miscellany: In an effort to strengthen the developmental Nationwide Tour, the PGA Tour is considering a change to the end of its season in which players who don’t make the FedEx Cup playoffs would compete for their cards in a series of tournaments against top Nationwide Tour players.

Another change being contemplated is Q-school at the end of the year providing access only to the Nationwide Tour.

• Notre Dame suspends star receiver: Notre Dame suspended star wide receiver Michael Floyd indefinitely a day after he was cited for drunken driving and authorities said his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

It was Floyd’s third run-in with the law over alcohol since 2009.

• UFL’s Colonials hire Glanville: Jerry Glanville, the colorful former coach of the NFL’s Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, is returning to the sidelines as head coach of the UFL’s Hartford Colonials.

• U.S. soccer loses midfielder: American midfielder Stuart Holden will miss June’s CONCACAF Gold Cup because of a knee injury that will require surgery and sideline him six months.