SOCCER
Howard takes break
Tim Howard, whose superlative shot-stopping nearly carried the U.S. national team to the quarterfinals of the World Cup this summer in Brazil, announced Thursday that he would be taking a break from international play until next fall. After 12 years of playing goalkeeper for the U.S. team, Howard, 35, who also plays for Everton in England's Premier League, said he wanted to be able to spend more time with his two children during international breaks in the English league schedule. According to a news release from U.S. Soccer, Howard is not retiring from international play. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann discussed the situation at length with Howard and accepted Howard's hiatus. Howard also received clearance from Everton manager Roberto Martinez to travel to Memphis, where his children live, during international breaks in the future. In reality, the break will amount to Howard's missing a handful of exhibition games and next summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup -- a regional tournament that is not generally viewed as a marquee event globally. Howard said he hoped to be considered again for the national team beginning in September 2015.
NCAA
Appeal in works
The NCAA has notified the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it intends to appeal a judge's ruling in the Ed O'Bannon case that it violated antitrust laws. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled Aug. 8 that the NCAA broke the law by restricting schools from providing money beyond current scholarship limits to athletes. She said schools should be allowed to place up to $5,000 per athlete per year of competition into a trust fund for football players and men's basketball players, which they could collect after leaving school. A formal appeal has not yet been submitted, but NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy issued a statement Thursday. "We are appealing the Court's decision because we do not believe the NCAA has violated the antitrust laws," he said. "In its decision, the Court acknowledged that changes to the rules that govern college athletics would be better achieved outside the courtroom, and the NCAA continues to believe that the association and its members are best positioned to evolve its rules and processes to better serve student-athletes." Remy also noted that the NCAA has been discussing ways to improve the "student-athlete experience" even before the lawsuit was filed, and through the recent decision to give the five richest football conferences more power over the rule-making process.
MOTOR SPORTS
Father-son victories
Brad Keselowski earned his first NASCAR Truck Series victory on Thursday, becoming the first father-son duo to do so. Keselowski passed defending champion Kyle Busch with 75 laps to go and held off Busch's teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. in the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. Bob Keselowski won a Truck Series race at Richmond, Va., in 1997 after joining the series three years earlier during its inaugural season. It was Brad Keselowski's first Truck Series victory in 62 starts. Wallace closed to Keselowski's back bumper with two laps left, but drifted high in turn one and Keselowski pulled away to a 0.776 second victory. In that final charge, Wallace opted to avoid contact with Keselowski instead of trying to bump him from the lead. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. finished third, followed by Matt Crafton and series points leader Johnny Sauter. Rain washed out the race on Wednesday night. Busch, who has a track record 17 NASCAR national series victories at Bristol, crashed with 22 laps to go. After leading three times for 81 laps, he finished six laps down in 24th place.
HORSE RACING
Uncle Southern wins
Uncle Southern skipped right to the lead and splashed home a three-quarter length winner in the $100,000 Union Avenue at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Ridden by Luis Saez for trainer Linda Rice, the 4-year-old filly came on again when challenged by Sunny Desert in the stretch Thursday and hit the wire in 1:17.46 for 6 ½ furlongs. Dismissed at 7-1 in the field of five older fillies and mares, Uncle Southern paid $16.80, $5.60 and $3.30. Sunny Desert returned $3.30 and $2.30, while Make the Moment paid $3.60 to show. Vicki's Dancer and even-money favorite Risky Rachel completed the order of finish. Owned by J and M Racing Stables, Uncle Southern was making her stakes debut in the Union Avenue. She now has four victories from 12 lifetime starts and purse earnings of $217,921.
BASEBALL
Richards injures knee
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richards has a tear in the patellar tendon in his left knee. The extent of his injury was determined after an MRI Thursday in Los Angeles. Richards will undergo surgery, which the Angels said would take place next week. He is expected to be sidelined six to nine months. Richards, 26, crumpled to the infield Wednesday night after he pulled up while covering first base on a ground ball in the second inning of a game against the Red Sox. He spent eight minutes on his back, writhing in pain as medical personnel attended to him and Angels first baseman Albert Pujols tried to comfort him. Richards began the game with a 13-4 record and a 2.53 earned-run average. The young right-hander had become the Angels' ace, holding opponents to a .195 batting average and accumulating 164 strikeouts in 167 innings. He was getting even stronger as the season wore on, with a 1.79 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 14 starts since June 4.
• The Los Angeles Angels have acquired second baseman Gordon Beckham in a trade with the Chicago White Sox. Beckham has struggled offensively this year, but he gives the AL West-leading Angels another sure-handed infielder with six seasons of major league experience. He turns 28 on Sept. 16. The White Sox, who selected Beckham with the eighth overall pick in the 2008 draft, will receive a player to be named or cash in Thursday's trade. Beckham made his major league debut in 2009 and hit .270 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI in 103 games with the White Sox. But he is batting .221 this year with 7 home runs and 36 RBI in 101 games. He also has a .981 fielding percentage. The White Sox will make a corresponding roster move before tonight's game at the New York Yankees.
• Seattle's Robinson Cano and the Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols will be among the players going to Japan in November for a five-game series against Japan's national team. The announcement was made Thursday by Major League Baseball and the players' union. Baltimore's Adam Jones and the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig also will play in the Nov. 11-20 series. Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington will lead the team in the 11th All-Star series. The games will be in Osaka, Tokyo and Sapporo, with exhibition games in Osaka and Okinawa.
• The New York Yankees have called up infielder-outfielder Zelous Wheeler from the minors and sent right-hander Chase Whitely to Class AAA. The Yankees made the moves before Thursday's game against Houston. Wheeler homered in his major league debut on July 3. He hit .267 with two home runs in 16 games for the Yankees. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he wanted an extra right-handed bat with New York set to face three lefty starters in four days. Whitley was 4-3 with a 5.43 ERA in 19 games, including 12 starts. He had been almost exclusively a reliever in his pro career until this season, when he reached the majors for the first time.
• The Reds revamped their struggling bullpen before the start of a series against Atlanta on Thursday, sending right-handers J.J. Hoover and Carlos Contreras to Class AAA Louisville. Cincinnati called up right-handed reliever Pedro Villarreal and left-hander David Holmberg from Louisville to start the opening game of the series. Holmberg started the second game of a doubleheader on July 8, getting no decision in a 6-5 victory over the Cubs. The bullpen has fallen apart since the All-Star break, going 0-10 with a 4.69 ERA. Hoover was 1-10 with a 5.27 ERA. He hit a batter with the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 5-4 loss in St. Louis on Tuesday. Contreras was 0-1 with a 6.11 ERA. Villarreal has spent the entire season at Louisville.
Sports on 08/22/2014