FOOTBALL Army calls draft pick Strong safety Caleb Campbell will not get a chance to play for the Detroit Lions because of a change in military policy. Campbell was a seventh-round draft pick (218 th overall ) for the Lions in April. At the time, Army policy would have allowed the West Point graduate to serve as a recruiter if he made the team. But a subsequent Department of Defense policy has superseded the 2005 Army policy. In a letter to Lions President Matt Millen dated Wednesday, U. S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan P. Liba wrote that Campbell has been ordered to give up professional football for “full-time traditional military duties.” Liba wrote that 2 nd Lt. Campbell may ask to be released from his active duty obligations in May 2010. Liba said Campbell was allowed to enter the draft “in good faith.” St. Louis Rams defensive end Claude Wroten was suspended without pay for the season Wednesday for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Wroten, entering his third season with the Rams, was suspended for four games last season. His draft stock fell in 2006 when he was stopped for speeding and police discovered marijuana in the vehicle. The charge of possession with intent to distribute was dropped, but he also failed a drug test at the NFL combine. Wroten had been projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2006 draft but the Rams ended up taking him in the third round. He is eligible to be reinstated May 30, 2009. Cornerback Orlando Scandrick signed a four-year contract Wednesday, becoming the first of the Dallas Cowboys’ draft picks to sign. Scandrick, a fifth-round pick from Boise State, got a four-year deal worth about $ 1. 85 million with a signing bonus of about $ 185, 000. Five draft picks had yet to sign, including two first-rounders, running back Felix Jones from Arkansas and cornerback Mike Jenkins from South Florida.
Denver Broncos receiver Rod Smith (Texarkana ) is planning to hold a news conference today amid published reports that he will retire.
OLYMPICS Cardinals prospect hurt Outfielder Colby Rasmus, 21, one of the St. Louis Cardinals’ top prospects, will not play with Team USA in next month’s Olympic Games because of a sprained left knee. The Cardinals said Wednesday that Rasmus, who plays at Class AAA Memphis, likely will be sidelined a month. A magnetic resonance imaging revealed a minor sprain. Rasmus, the Cardinals’ No. 1 draft pick in 2005, was their minor league player of the year his first two professional seasons. He batted in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game and then was taken out. Rasmus is hitting. 249 with 11 home runs, 36 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He was batting. 214 after the first two months. Last season, Rasmus led the Texas League with 29 home runs and had 72 RBI for Class AA Springfield.
U. S. forward LeBron James likely will miss Friday’s exhibition against Canada as he recovers from a mild right ankle sprain. James shot baskets on the sidelines but was held out of a scrimmage at Valley High School in Las Vegas on Wednesday. James injured his ankle when he landed on Kevin Durant’s foot during a Tuesday scrimmage between Team USA and a select squad of young NBA players. James said it improved overnight, and he moved without a limp after reporters were admitted to the gym at the end of practice. TRACK & FIELD Injured Gay out Sprinter Tyson Gay (Arkansas ) withdrew from the London Grand Prix on Wednesday, insisting the hamstring he injured at the U. S. Olympic trials won’t rule him out of next month’s Beijing Games. Gay was scheduled to race against Jamaica’s former world record-holder Asafa Powell in the 100 meters Friday but said he wasn’t taking any risks on the left leg. Gay is undergoing treatment in Germany. Doctors on Wednesday assessed Monday’s magnetic resonance imaging, which showed a mild strain in the semi tendinosus muscle, and said it was healing well. Gay had already qualified for the 100 when he sprained a muscle in the back of his left leg in the 200 at the trials, a tumble that forced him to be carted off the track and ended his chances of winning two individual gold medals in Beijing. He also will race in the Olympic 400-meter relay. BASKETBALL Ex-coach recovering Former Missouri basketball Coach Norm Stewart, 73, is recovering from open-heart surgery. University officials said Stewart had an aortic valve replacement Friday. He is recuperating at Boone Hospital Center and is expected to be released later this week. Stewart spent 32 years as coach at Missouri, his alma mater. He earned 731 career victories in his 38-year coaching career and is a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Atlanta Hawks guard / forward Josh Childress signed a three-year contract with the Greek club Olympiakos on Wednesday. Childress, 6-8, 210 pounds, was a restricted free agent, which meant the Hawks had the right to match offers from other NBA teams, but not from international clubs. Agent Jim Tanner said the deal is worth about $ 20 million after taxes and is far more lucrative than what Childress could have received in the United States. The money is guaranteed, and Childress can opt out of the contract after each year. Childress averaged 11. 8 points and 4. 9 rebounds as the Hawks’ top reserve last season. He averaged 11. 1 points and 5. 6 rebounds in four years with Atlanta after being drafted sixth overall in 2004 out of Stanford.
TENNIS Federer falls in Toronto Top-ranked Roger Federer was knocked out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to France’s Gilles Simon, ranked 22 nd, in a second-round match Wednesday night. Federer, who won the tournament in 2004 and 2006, was playing his first match since losing the Wimbledon final in five sets to Spain’s Rafael Nadal. Federer, who became the first top seed to lose in his first match here since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, finished second here last year to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. The match started off smoothly for Federer until Simon broke his serve to go up 4-2 in the second set. Federer returned the favor and held serve to draw to 4-4 and then 5-5, but Simon held serve in the 11 th game and broke Federer in the 12 th to take the set. Second-seeded Nadal struggled early before ousting Ottawa-born qualifier Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-2.
Bethanie Mattek, who has improved her WTA Tour ranking from ™ rd to 59 th since April 7, took another step forward Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory against 11 th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic in the second round of the East West Bank Classic in Carson, Calif. The 23-year-old Mattek, from Miami, lost six of seven matches to open the season. But she made it to the semifinals of a grass-court tournament in England before losing to Serena Williams in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Mattek’s victory over Vaidisova was her ninth in 11 matches, including a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Vaidisova in England.
SWIMMING Hardy tests positive Jessica Hardy’s trip to the Beijing Olympics could be in jeopardy after testing positive for a banned substance, according to a person familiar with the test results. Hardy’s “A” sample from the recent U. S. Olympic trials tested positive, the person told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. The person requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The Swimming World magazine Web site first reported the positive doping test. The Web site nbcolympics. com reported Hardy’s backup “B” sample also tested positive. If so, the 21-year-old swimmer from Long Beach, Calif., can pursue appeals with the American Arbitration Association and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. With the Olympics two weeks away, Hardy could appeal directly to CAS, although its ruling would be final and binding. Hardy earned spots on her first Olympic team in her best event, the 100-meter breaststroke, and the 50 freestyle and 400 free relay.
BOXING Pavlik-Hopkins set Unbeaten middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs ) has finalized a deal to fight longtime titlist Bernard Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs ) on Oct. 18 in Atlantic City, N. J., Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Wednesday.
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