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(09/21/07 4:31am)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Zack Greinke may have ended the debate over whether he should be a starter or reliever.\nGreinke struck out a career-high 10 and pitched two-hit ball for eight innings, leading the Kansas City Royals over the Chicago White Sox 3-0 Thursday.\nGreinke (7-6) made his sixth start since rejoining the rotation Aug. 24 and allowed just one runner past first base.\nHe began the season as a starter, but after getting hit hard May 6 in a loss at Detroit, he was shifted to the bullpen with a 1-4 record. Greinke worked in relief for much of the next four months.\n“I feel like I’m a starter, but other people make that decision,” Greinke said. “The main thing was to get my pitch count down and go deep into the game.”\nHe became the first Kansas City pitcher to reach double digits in strikeouts since Odalis Perez fanned 10 at Boston on Sept. 8 last year.\n“That is something I wouldn’t have been able to do in the past,” Greinke said. “Since I’ve moved to the bullpen, I’ve been striking out guys better. Ten is a real lot. I never would have imagined that when the season started, me striking out 10 in a game, ’cause I just couldn’t miss that many bats.”\nCatcher John Buck believes Greinke should remain in \nthe rotation.\n“He made a pretty good case for himself,” Buck said. “I’m convinced. I had the best seat in the house. There were a lot of dominating pitches on a team that scored 11 runs in one inning (Monday). He was pretty dominant the whole day.”\nJoakim Soria followed with a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances, as Kansas City (66-86) moved back ahead of Chicago (66-87) and out of last place in the AL Central.\n“Greinke has an electric fastball,” White Sox catcher Toby Hall said. “It just jumped out of his hand, good slider, good curve.”\nJon Garland (9-13) gave up three runs and six hits in eight innings. He had been 8-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his previous 11 starts against the Royals.\n“You won’t see a better pitching duel,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We didn’t come close to scoring against Greinke, maybe one time. He pitched well. Garland threw the ball good.”\nGarland has a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts overall but is 1-3, with the White Sox totaling three runs in the three losses.\n“If I give my team a quality start, I feel I’m doing my job,” Garland said. “I was throwing everything for a strike. I’m not very overpowering, but when I can throw all my pitches and keep those guys off balance, they couldn’t sit on one pitch.”\nBefore a crowd of 10,264, the Royals’ third-lowest at home this season, the game was played in 1 hour 55 minutes – the fastest nine-inning game for Kansas City since May 10, 2005, at Toronto (1:44).\nKansas City broke a 21-inning scoreless streak with a two-run sixth.\nBuck and Tony Pena Jr. hit doubles – the latter on an 0-2 pitch after Pena twice failed to get down a bunt. David DeJesus grounded out, and Esteban German hit a sacrifice fly.\n“It’s been a while,” Buck said of snapping an 0-for-12 rut with two hits. “It’s nice to see one of those hit the outfield grass.”\nJerry Owens doubled for Chicago leading off the fourth and Juan Uribe sacrificed, but Jim Thome and Paul Konerko struck out.\n“In the bullpen, I’ve been pitching in tough situations like that,” Greinke said. “I kind of figured on how to get out of jams like that, where in the past I might try to do too much. Thome can really hurt you, but he strikes out a lot, too.”
(09/20/07 4:08am)
RICHMOND, Ind. – The local newspaper and authorities are in a dispute over whether the tape of a 911 emergency call and other records involving two teenage sisters found dead six days apart in their family’s home should be made available to the public.\nWayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman said the records were part of the investigation into the deaths of Erin Stanley, 19, and her 18-year-old sister, Kelly, in Centerville. For that reason, he has refused to release the tape and the Centerville police log of calls.\nWayne County Attorney Ron Cross defended Shipman and denied the Palladium-Item’s request to obtain a tape of the 911 call involving Erin Stanley’s death.\n“My opinion is that if the prosecutor wants it he can take it as part of the investigation,” Cross told the newspaper.\nThe newspaper also sought to obtain the tape of the 911 call in Kelly’s death. But Cross said there is no tape because of equipment failure in the dispatch office.\nThe Associated Press left telephone messages for Cross and Shipman at their offices seeking comment. Shipman said in a news release that he would make the 911 recording public after investigators had interviewed the women’s mother, who placed the call, and he determined its release would not compromise the case.\nPalladium-Item Executive Editor Mickey Johnson said the newspaper was not asking for anything extraordinary or trying to jeopardize the investigation.\n“We’re simply asking the prosecutor to comply with public records access laws and provide the citizens of Centerville and Wayne County at least a glimpse into the events of the past two weeks,” Johnson said. “What exists in the absence of this basic information is an environment of speculation and rumor. That’s hardly in the best interest of the community.”\nThe Wayne County coroner’s office ruled the Sept. 1 death of Erin Stanley a homicide, but no other details were released.\nPolice officers found Kelly Stanley’s body Sept. 7 after being called to the home, state police said. Findings of an autopsy were inconclusive, and state police said officials were waiting for toxicology and other test results before determining a cause of death.\nThe newspaper asked the state’s public access counselor Wednesday for an opinion on whether the records should be released. The access counselor helps to mediate disputes but has no enforcement power.\nThe officials violated state law by refusing to release the records, said Stephen Key, general counsel of the newspaper industry trade group Hoosier State Press Association.\n“By definition, an investigative record is a record created in the course of the investigation,” Key told the newspaper. “Our opinion is that the investigation doesn’t begin until the officer gets on the scene.”\nState police 1st Sgt. David Bursten, an agency spokesman, said a 911 call is evidence and not a public record.\n“This is consistent with how we deal with all our cases in all 92 counties,” he said.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
Erin Stanley, 19, who was found dead on Sept. 1, 2007, is shown in this Aug. 15, 2005 photo. Her sister Kelly Stanley was found dead in their parents home on Sept. 7. The deaths, just 6 days apart, have stunned Centerville, a town of some 2,500 people about 60 miles east of Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Greg Pyle, Greg Pyle Photography)
(09/20/07 4:00am)
Kelly Stanley, 18, shown in this Sept. 20, 2006 photo, died Sept. 7, 2007 at her parents' home, according to court documents. Her sister Erin, was found dead Sept. 1. The deaths, just 6 days apart, have stunned Centerville, a town of some 2,500 people about 60 miles east of Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Greg Pyle, Greg Pyle Photography)
(09/20/07 3:25am)
FOWLER, Ind. – Construction has started in the fields of northwest Indiana’s Benton County on building 87 turbines for what would be the state’s first electricity-generating wind farm.\nPreliminary work began in late July to set concrete foundations for the turbines, build roads to them and run electrical cables, and some farmers have cut down part of their crops to make room for the Benton Wind Farm turbines. \nOrion Energy Group plans to start selling electricity from the wind farm in May, said Turner Hunt, a project manager.\nThe turbine towers will stand about 265 feet tall and are being built throughout an area seven miles wide and five miles long. They will be able generate up to 130 megawatts of electricity.\nDuke Energy, which has a service area covering much of central and southern Indiana, has agreed to buy up to 100 megawatts from the wind farm. Hunt said other companies want to buy power from the wind farm, but he declined to name them.\nOrion’s project is on schedule to be the first commercial wind farm in operation in Indiana, said Eric Burch, a spokesman for the state’s Office of Energy and Defense Development.\nFarmer Bob Suiter Jr. said Orion is building three turbines on land where he farms corn and soybeans about 25 miles northwest of Lafayette. Each turbine takes up about a third of an acre, and the company is compensating Suiter for the crops it removes.\nThe company is leasing the turbine sites from about 100 landowners, Hunt said. They can expect to make from $5,000 to $10,000 a year from the agreements, according to Orion.\nSuiter said he receives a flat fee for renting his land. Any payments beyond that will be proportionate to the amount of power generated by the turbines. He expects the lease to be lucrative.\n“I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think so,” he said.\nBP Alternative Energy of Houston is also looking to build a wind farm in Benton County. The company has agreed to sell up to 200 megawatts of electricity from those turbines to subsidiaries of American Electric Power.
(09/19/07 3:17am)
IRVING, Texas – Suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson signed a two-year contract Tuesday with the Dallas Cowboys.\nJohnson, who played the last three seasons for the Chicago Bears, can’t play for the Cowboys until he completes his eight-game NFL suspension for violating probation on a gun charge. He has served the first two games of that suspension.\nJohnson signed after visiting with the Cowboys and taking a physical.\n“For a lot of reasons, he really just felt the Cowboys were the right fit,” said Johnson’s agent, Jerrold Colton. “He’s so thankful to them for giving him this opportunity. He is very determined to prove they made a wise decision in believing in him.”\nJohnson could provide late-season depth on a defensive line that lost starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson for the year because of a torn right bicep in the opener.\nJay Ratliff, a third-year player, replaced Ferguson as the starting nose tackle. Ratliff has five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery for the Cowboys (2-0).\nAlthough Johnson can’t work out with the team until his suspension ends, the team must make room for him on the 53-man roster.\nThe Bears released Johnson on June 25, three days after he was pulled over by police in Arizona. He already had served a two-month jail term for the gun charge and been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.\nPolice in Gilbert, Ariz., closed the June case without charging Johnson, who was stopped for speeding. His blood alcohol level was .072, under the presumptive limit for DUI.
(09/19/07 2:49am)
INDIANAPOLIS – A retired firefighter from Bedford has formed a committee to run for governor as a Republican and said he is confident he can gather enough signatures of registered voters to get on the primary ballot.\nLaRon Keith, 48, said Tuesday that he filed the necessary paperwork to form a campaign committee about two weeks ago, but wanted to wait until he had his platform solidified before seeking any publicity. He must get 500 valid signatures from registered voters in each of the state’s nine congressional districts to gain a spot on the ballot to challenge Gov. Mitch Daniels in next May’s primary election.\nKeith said he is starting off with only his personal money and has not yet sought any contributions. Daniels had $4.1 million in campaign cash at the end of June.\nThree Democrats are seeking their party’s nomination for governor – former U.S. Rep. Jill Long Thompson, state Senate Minority Leader Richard Young of Milltown and Jim Schellinger, president of an Indianapolis architecture firm and a longtime activist.\nKeith said he was “fed up with politicians” who seem to make promises they do not have to keep and who will not tackle tough issues.\nHe said his platform included abolishing property taxes and replacing the lost revenue by raising the sales tax and extending it to everything; placing stricter spending caps on state and local governments and eliminating wasteful spending.\nHe also wants to put the time zone issue to a statewide vote; prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining free social services, including health care, and return any budget surplus at the end of fiscal years to the people.\nKeith said he has run for office once before, losing a contest for a seat on the Lawrence County Council in the late 1990s.\nHe is a 1977 graduate of Bedford North Lawrence High School, about 25 miles south of Bloomington, and said he then received an associate degree in architectural drafting from ITT Technical Institute in Indianapolis.\nHe said he has held numerous jobs over the years, including one as a firefighter and as a carpet installer. He is divorced and has two sons.
(09/19/07 2:31am)
LONDON – The Sex Pistols are reuniting for a concert to mark the 30th anniversary of their only album, “Never Mind the Bollocks.”\nAll four original members– John Lydon, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock–will play a one-time concert Nov. 8 at London’s Brixton Academy, the band announced Tuesday on the music Web site www.nme.com.\nThe punk pioneers, who once sang there was “No Future,” split in 1978 but reformed in 1996 and played together again in 2003. Last year, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\nLed by sneering frontman Lydon– then known as Johnny Rotten– the Pistols shocked many Britons with raucous singles including “God Save the Queen,” “Anarchy in the U.K.” and “Pretty Vacant.”\nReleased in 1977, “Never Mind the Bollocks” is now regarded as one of the most influential albums in rock history. It will be rereleased to mark the anniversary.\nBassist Sid Vicious, who replaced Matlock during the band’s period of greatest notoriety and became a punk icon, died of a drug overdose in 1979.
(09/18/07 3:46am)
RICHMOND, Ind. – Winds carried a cloud of possibly toxic smoke away from downtown Richmond as firefighters battled a blaze at a storage building that’s part of a plastics operation.\nThe fire at Primex Plastics was still burning at 10 p.m. Friday, hours after it started, but officials said it was under control. No injuries were reported and media reports said no one was in the building when the fire began at about 3 p.m.\nThe building collapsed at about 5:30 p.m. Television video showed the fire swallowing the multi-story building and leaping to another building across a railroad track.\nRichmond Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Fessler said the smoke from the fire likely was toxic, but environmental concerns were diminished because the winds were carrying the plume aloft. The huge cloud of black smoke could be seen from 15 miles away.\n“I’m not sure what all chemicals are involved, but it is plastic, and that is toxic,” Fessler said.\nAuthorities did not order area evacuations, though people were evacuated from one nearby business as a precaution.\nFessler said fire officials were advising nearby residents to close up their homes to avoid breathing smoke. People with asthma or other respiratory problems were advised to leave the area until the fire was extinguished, he said.\nAn estimated 2,000 people stood along the streets watching the blaze.\nA recorded message at Primex said the second and third shifts at one of the company’s plants had been canceled due to the fire but that work was continuing at three of the company’s other plants.
(09/18/07 3:05am)
SOUTH BEND – Demetrius Jones, the Notre Dame quarterback who lost his starting position after a poor performance in the season opener, expects to play next season at Northern Illinois following his quick decision to transfer.\nJones surprised Notre Dame’s coaches by not showing up Friday for the bus trip for the team’s game at Michigan.\nJones said he was stung by coach Charlie Weis’ comments that freshman Jimmy Clausen had been the team’s top quarterback but was not named the opening game starter as he was recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow.\n“When I heard Jimmy was the No. 1 all the way through spring, and that the only thing that was keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well that’s not what I was led to believe going into the summer,” Jones told the South Bend Tribune for a story Monday. “I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn’t know what to believe anymore.”\nJones, who is from Chicago, said he attended Northern Illinois’ 21-19 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill., but had not yet been in contact with the school’s coaching staff and did not know when he would begin practicing with his new team.\n“My plan is to practice with them this year and be eligible to play next fall,” he said. “I’d then have three years of eligibility. That’s how I hope it works out.”\nNorthern Illinois spokeswoman Donna Turner said Monday that she had no word that Jones was yet part of the team.\n“Everything so far has taken place outside the athletic department,” she said.
(09/17/07 2:51am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans have run out of magic, at least against the Indianapolis Colts.\nPeyton Manning threw for 312 yards and a touchdown, and the Colts held off Tennessee for a 22-20 victory Sunday when the Titans couldn’t pull off a final-drive comeback.\nThis time, the Titans (1-1) trailed by 13 points instead of 14.\nBut unlike last December, when Rob Bironas capped a similar comeback with a 60-yard field goal, the Colts collapsed around Young on fourth-and-four. That forced him to lob the ball away in the final seconds.\nManning kneeled down to run out the final seconds as defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis (2-0) reminded Tennessee which team remains atop the AFC South.\nAdam Vinatieri had one of his worst days in years despite making field goals of 22, 39 and 20 yards.\nHe had an extra point blocked and a field goal partially blocked that bounced off the crossbar before going over. He also missed a 36-yarder to the left after the Colts recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.\nThe Colts had every reason for a letdown in their first road game after unveiling their title banner in the season opener with a 41-10 rout of New Orleans. And they played without starting linebackers Freddy Keiaho (right elbow) and Rob Morris (ribs).\nIndianapolis allowed Tennessee 313 yards, including 141 yards rushing. That was well below the 282 yards the Titans had in their opener.\nThe defending Super Bowl champs nearly blew a 16-6 halftime lead with Vinatieri’s struggles and the Titans picking off Manning and sacking him twice in the second half.\nThe Colts twice had the ball at the Tennessee 8-yard line and had to settle for field goals. They even came up with a fumble when linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, starting in place of Keiaho, recovered at the beginning of the fourth period.\nBut Tennessee, which gave up more yards than any other NFL defense in 2006, held the Colts to a three-and-out. Vinatieri, the kicker signed last year for his accuracy in the clutch, missed a 36-yarder.\nYoung, who stopped a drive himself with a taunting penalty just before halftime, drove the Titans 74 yards and pulled them within 22-20 with a 2-yard pass to Roydell Williams with 6:02 left.\nManning had his own chance to seal the victory. But Titans cornerback Nick Harper, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in February, leaped up and tipped away a pass intended for Marvin Harrison at the goal line. Then Kyle Vanden Bosch sacked Manning on third down, forcing the punt.\nYoung, who looked so poised in becoming the first rookie quarterback to lead two comebacks of 14 points or more in 2006, finally showed his youth.\nThe Titans had 98 seconds left and needed a field goal to win and improve to 2-0 for the first time since 1999. Young was sacked on the first play. He overthrew Brandon Jones on third down. Then the Colts collapsed around Young on fourth down, and he fumbled.\nLeft guard Jacob Bell grabbed the ball for the Titans, but could do nothing with it, and the game was over.
(09/17/07 2:50am)
CLEVELAND – This was a high-flying, high-scoring show even Chad Johnson and all his props couldn’t top.\nDerek Anderson threw five touchdown passes, Jamal Lewis rushed for 215 yards and the Cleveland Browns, so desperate after losing their home opener they traded their starting quarterback, outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals and Carson Palmer 51-45 on Sunday.\nPalmer tossed a career-high six TDs, but his final chance to rally the Bengals (1-1) ended when he was intercepted with 21 seconds left by Cleveland cornerback Leigh Bodden, who made a diving grab near Cleveland’s sideline.\nOne week ago, Anderson was backing up Charlie Frye before being brought in during the first half when the Browns (1-1) were blown out and embarrassed 34-7 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two days later, the Browns dealt Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the first team since the AFL/NFL merger to trade its season-opening quarterback before Week 2.\nCleveland’s plan was for Anderson to hold down the starting job until rookie Brady Quinn was ready. That plan, too, may be scrapped following Anderson’s breakout performance.\nIt was just the third time in NFL history that two QBs threw five TD passes in the same game. Oakland’s Tom Flores (6) and Houston’s George Blanda (5) both did it on Dec. 22, 1963, and Billy Kilmer of New Orleans (6) and Charley Johnson of St. Louis (6) also did on Nov. 5, 1969.\nThe teams combined for 96 points, 1,085 offensive yards and just five punts.\nAnderson finished 20-of-33 for 328 yards and the five TDs, which tied a team record shared by Frank Ryan, Bill Nelsen, Brian Sipe and Kelly Holcomb.\nPalmer went 33-of-50 for 401 yards, but Cincinnati’s QB was hurt by a few late drops as the Bengals tried to come back.\nOut of timeouts, the Bengals got the ball back at their 9-yard line with 1:03 left. After two completions got them to the 20, Palmer threaded a 30-yarder over the middle between two defenders to Johnson, who had 11 catches for 209 yards and two TDs.\nOne play later, Palmer tried to feather another pass down the sideline to Johnson, but Bodden, who missed practice time this week with a groin injury, made a pick the Browns won’t soon forget.\nAnderson took a knee to run out the clock, and the Browns celebrated an unlikely win that gave third-year coach Romeo Crennel just his second win against an AFC North opponent in 14 tries.\nCleveland’s Braylon Edwards had eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Jurevicius had two TD catches and Kellen Winslow had the other from Anderson, who got his first win as an NFL starter.\nLewis, signed by the Browns as a free agent this winter, averaged 7.7 yards per carry thanks to a 66-yard TD burst in the third quarter and 47-yard run in the fourth that set up Phil Dawson’s 18-yard field goal that put the Browns up 51-38 with 5:44 left.\nPalmer brought the Bengals right back and hit Glenn Holt from 7 yards to make it 51-45 with 3:39 left.\nThe Browns were able to use up some clock, picking up a crucial first down when Edwards caught a pass over the middle and pushed his way past the markers despite being hit by several Bengals.\nCleveland, though, had to punt it away and Dave Zastudil, who missed last week’s game with a bad back, dropped a pooch kick inside the 10 to make it tough on the Bengals.\nCincinnati’s Rudi Johnson had 118 yards on 23 carries.\nChad Johnson’s second TD catch pulled the Bengals within 34-31 in the third, and as the NFL’s most eccentric showman promised, he jumped headfirst into the Dawg Pound, where he was baptized in a shower of beer by Cleveland’s rowdiest fans.\nJohnson climbed down and blew kisses to crowd. Seconds later, Lewis blew by the Bengals.\nOn first down at the 34, Lewis broke free at the line and down the left side on a run similar to a few he made in 2003 when he scorched the Browns for a single-game record 295 yards.\nPalmer’s fifth TD pass – a 5-yarder to T.J. Houshmandzadeh – got the Bengals within three, but Anderson countered with a 37-yard strike to Edwards, who made a diving catch near the 5 and rolled into the end zone.
(09/14/07 3:36am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Two young brothers bludgeoned to death by their mother wielding a 10-pound weight. A 2-year-old slipping out a door with a broken lock and drowning in a pool. A disabled 8-year-old poisoned by a lethal overdose of her allergy medication.\nFifty-three children died from abuse and neglect during the state’s 2006 state fiscal year, just one fewer than the previous year, the Indiana Department of Child Services reported Thursday.\n“These are not statistics to be glanced over lightly,” advocate Bill Stanczykiewicz, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, said. “These are young children dying from abuse and neglect. This should sicken all of us to take action on their behalf.”\nIndiana averages 3.4 abuse or neglect deaths per 100,000 children, or about 1 1/2 times the national average of just under two deaths per 100,000, he said.\nThe latest report covered the 12-month period ending June 30, 2006. Abuse deaths rose to 30 from 24 during the previous state fiscal year, and neglect deaths fell to 23 from 30.\nEleven of the deaths in the latest reporting period occurred in households the caseworkers had prior contact with, compared with 20 deaths in state fiscal year 2005, the report said.
(09/13/07 4:30am)
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Crews plan to remove and preserve dozens of hand-cut timbers that once supported a stone culvert as part of the 19th century Wabash and Erie Canal.\nConstruction workers found the timbers – up to 40 feet long and most 14 inches square – while trying to sink support pilings for a bridge that will be part of a bypass being built southeast of Terre Haute.\nThe timbers will be numbered, then reassembled and placed on display by the Whitewater Canal Trail Inc. near Metamora in southeastern Indiana.\nA canal culvert, often consisting of stone arches, was designed to carry the canal bed over creeks or rivers. Also on top of the culvert was the canal towpath, where mules pulled boats through the canal, and an earthen berm.\nTo support the culvert, a wooden platform was built of heavy timbers. Crews have uncovered 56 timbers along Little Honey Creek, most in a stretch of about 70 feet.\n“The timber is incredibly intact and were under about two feet of silt,” said Alice Roberts, an investigator for Gray & Pape, which has a statewide contract with the Indiana Department of Transportation to document historical finds.\nThe Wabash and Erie Canal was open to Terre Haute by 1847, with the Little Honey Creek culvert built around 1850, Burden said.\nConstruction of the canal stretching from Lake Erie at Toledo, Ohio, to Evansville began in 1832 at Fort Wayne.\nBurden said the canal south of Terre Haute proved problematic and was largely the cause of the state government going into bankruptcy over canals. Navigation south of Terre Haute ended in 1861, while the section north of the city survived until 1874.\nDiscovery of the timbers has delayed construction of the new bridge, but should not hinder the overall completion of the bypass between Interstate 70 and U.S. 41, said Don Thornton, a state Department of Transportation engineer.
(09/13/07 4:25am)
MUNCIE, Ind. – A city police officer has resigned following his suspension for crashing his squad car while giving three female Ball State University students a ride.\nJason Lyons, a six-year veteran of the police force, submitted his resignation letter last week, Police Chief Joe Winkle said.\n“He was very apologetic and decided to move on,” Winkle said.\nLyons, 38, might still have to deal with criminal charges after taking the students for what Winkle has called a “joy ride” on Aug. 28.\nThe officer met the freshmen students at a near-campus convenience store before 1 a.m. and one of them asked him for a ride back to their residence hall, according to statements from Lyons and the students. Lyons then drove down a couple streets before crashing into a light pole on campus.\nThe crash did several thousand dollars in damage to the squad car, and one of the students suffered a head cut.\nWinkle has said Lyons drove fast enough to scare the teenagers and “was basically showing off for three college girls.”\nLyons could not be located for comment as no telephone number was listed in \nhis name.\nWinkle said he planned to turn the case over to the Delaware County prosecutor’s office for a decision on whether Lyons will face any charges.
(09/13/07 3:39am)
OWENSBORO, Ky. – Authorities have identified the man whose nude body was found mutilated – with his hands and feet severed – nearly 17 years ago by hunters in western Kentucky.\nThe results of DNA testing confirmed that the body was that of Scott Michael Morris, who was last seen leaving a convenience store in Indianapolis in 1978 when he was only 14.\nMorris’ family at the time told police that the boy frequently ran away from home but usually returned. His grandmother reported him missing, but it was not until 1989 that the family filed a formal missing persons report.\n“In 1989 some friends of the family got a call (from Morris) saying he was alive but wouldn’t say where he was,” Kentucky State Police Detective Juan Moorman said Tuesday. “He said he was working for a carnival.”\nPolice said it was unclear whether his family had contact with him in those intervening years.\nKnown for years by investigators as the “handless, footless man,” the body was found with a farmer’s tan in a brush pile by two rabbit hunters in January 1990. He had been shot six times in his head and chest and appeared to have been beaten with a blunt instrument before being left in eastern Daviess County. He also was missing all his teeth.\n“Whoever did this went to great lengths to obscure the identity of the body,” said Trooper Joe Woo, a spokesman for the Kentucky State Police post in Henderson.\nThe body was identified after Indianapolis police contacted Kentucky investigators to share a cold case. A description of the missing boy matched the body, and tests on DNA samples from Morris’ relatives confirmed his identity, police said.\nPolice said the family has provided information that has led investigators to several persons of interest. But because the killing may have occurred in Indiana or Kentucky, federal authorities may become involved.\n“Now we are investigating individuals close to him at the time of his death,” Woo said. “We don’t know what ties he has to Daviess County and why he ended up here.”
(09/13/07 3:39am)
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Patricia Dugas reached out, touched Kevin Everett’s arm and asked her son if he could feel her hand. Everett – lying in a hospital bed, barely awake and hooked to life support systems – nodded yes.\n“I can’t even explain it to you; he’s like a miracle,” Dugas said, her voice breaking, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.\nEverett’s mother spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday, one day after doctors reversed Everett’s grim prognosis when he voluntarily moved his arms and legs.\n“That’s right. They’re surprised themselves,” Dugas said. “They don’t know Kevin Everett. Oh, man, I always told him when he was a little boy, ‘You show them better than you can tell them.’ He’s going to be fine. I really believe it.”\nShe said Everett can shake his head, even throw it back in laughter. He has trouble speaking because of a breathing tube, so instead she said Everett is using a device to spell out words on a screen by hitting letters with a pen in his mouth.\nDugas left her home in Port Arthur, Texas, on Monday not knowing whether her son, the Bills reserve tight end, would ever walk again after sustaining a life-threatening spinal cord injury.\nOn Tuesday, everything changed as she watched her son move his limbs and feel her touch when he was partially awakened from a sedated state.\n“Based on our experience, the fact he’s moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again,” said Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine. “It’s totally spectacular, totally unexpected.”\nEmotionally drained yet genuinely upbeat, Dugas let out a big laugh in discussing how difficult the last four days have been.\n“Happy,” said Dugas, who’s been at her son’s bedside at Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital since Monday. “I’m extremely happy. I’m grateful.”\nEverett sustained the injury Sunday after ducking his head while tackling the Denver Broncos’ Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff of the Bills’ season opener. He dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.\n“It’s feasible, but it’s not 100 percent predictable at this time ... he could lead a normal life,” said Green, who added he has been consulting with doctors in Buffalo since Everett was injured.\nIn a report Tuesday evening, Buffalo’s WIVB-TV quoted Bills orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cappuccino as saying: “We may be witnessing a \nminor miracle.”\nDugas is certain.\n“We’re going to take it slow getting him up on his feet, but we hope to see him walk out of here,” she said. “He has a strong will and determination. I tell you, he’s not going to settle for this. You’re all going to see a miracle.”
(09/13/07 3:38am)
ROCHESTER, Ind. - A 24-year-old soldier from northern Indiana died while deployed in Iraq, Earl-Love Funeral Home said.\nArmy Sgt. Nicholas Patterson died Monday in Baghdad, according to the Rochester funeral home. Information on the circumstances of Patterson’s death was not immediately released Wednesday by the Department of Defense.\nPatterson was a 2001 graduate of Rochester High School, where he was a top basketball and baseball player.\n“He was a highly competitive, high-energy kid,” baseball coach Brian Hooker said. “You never had to worry about him not bringing his full energy to the field.”\nPatterson’s survivors include his wife, Jayme, and their 4-year-old son in North Carolina.\nLinda Brennan, who was Patterson’s geometry teacher at the school 40 miles south of South Bend, said he had a zest for life.\n“He was hard-working and had a great attitude,” Brennan said. “He had such a great sense of humor and could make a tense moment light.”\nPatterson was the 92nd member of the military from Indiana to have died after being sent to the Middle East for the war in Iraq.
(09/13/07 3:38am)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – This videotape needs no interpretation: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference Wednesday when pressed repeatedly about the sideline spying scandal that landed him on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s crowded docket.\nTen minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an “interpretation” of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.\n“Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected; most of all ownership, staff and players,” Belichick said. “Following the league’s decision, I will have further comment.”\nIt was not clear whether Belichick was apologizing for his actions or the distraction it has caused his team as it prepares for Sunday night’s marquee game against San Diego. But if he thought – or even hoped – that the standing-room -only crowd of media was there to talk about the Chargers, he failed to prepare in the manner that has made him one of the most successful coaches in the history of the league.\nNever one to relish his interactions with the media, Belichick grimly refused to respond to a half-dozen questions about the scandal, possible punishments and the potential effect on his team. Begging for a football question, he seemed ready to abort the news conference after just a few minutes at the podium.\n“Any questions about the Chargers?” he pleaded in his standard, other-things-to-do monotone. “Want to talk about the football game? If not, I think that statement pretty much covers it.”\nIt appeared that there were none, before one reporter asked about Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.\nThe prospect of defending against the reigning NFL offensive player of the year is not the sort of thing that usually cheers up opposing coaches.\nBut Belichick smiled.\n“I think the Chargers are a concern. Their football team is a concern. That’s what we’re concerned about,” he said. “Whatever happens out there Sunday night, out there on the field, that’s when everybody will make their statement.”\nAfter another 15 minutes of football questions, though, the subject returned to the \nspying scandal.\n“Is there any other question on the Chargers?” Belichick said before walking out. “OK. Yep. That’s all. OK. \nThank you.”\nNFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on Sunday when he was working on the New York Jets’ sideline during New England’s 38-14 victory. The league has confirmed that it is investigating whether the Patriots were taping the Jets’ defensive coaches as they signaled to players on the field.\nJets coach Eric Mangini, a former Belichick assistant, also declined to comment. Asked if he had any knowledge of such shenanigans while he was in New England, he followed the form of his mentor.\n“As I said with this whole issue, it’s a league issue and they are handling it,” Mangini said. “And we are really focused on the Ravens.”\nPatriots players also tried to focus on their game.\n“I’m the last person in the world to know any of that stuff, anyway,” offensive lineman Matt Light said. “I could care less what happens outside of my little world.”\nBut Goodell doesn’t have that luxury.\nIn a busy year for his misbehaving minions, the commissioner has already banned Tennessee cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones for the entire season after repeated run-ins with police. Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick has been suspended indefinitely while he faces a likely jail term for his role in a dogfighting ring.\nThe Bengals had 10 players charged with crimes during a 14-month span, and both receiver Chris Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman are currently suspended. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer wants Goodell to be consistent with his punishment, whether the offender is wearing a uniform or not.\n“Hopefully there’s a harsh enough penalty that it’s not worth it to try to cheat and try to get any advantage that you’re not allowed to get,” Palmer said. “I hope the commissioner is just as harsh on them as he’s been on individual players for making mistakes.”\nESPN.com, citing league sources, reported Tuesday that Goodell has already determined the Patriots violated league rules; both teams say no decision has been made. The Web site’s report said Goodell is considering severe sanctions, including docking the Patriots “multiple draft picks.”\nBelichick sidestepped questions about the commissioner’s timetable and about whether he had any contingencies in place should he get suspended – the most drastic of the potential penalties Goodell could consider. The coach also refused to discuss whether he worried that the scandal – dubbed “videogate” in the press room, of course – would distract his players.\nAlso at stake is the legacy of the NFL’s latest dynasty, one that memorably rejected individual on-field introductions before its first Super Bowl victory, instead “choosing to be introduced as a team.” Stressing individual discipline and salary cap selflessness in a league where they tend to be in short supply, the Patriots won three NFL titles in four years and held themselves up as a model organization.\nNow, they’re being accused of cheating.\n“That’s not going to tarnish this team,” running back Kevin Faulk said. “We know what we do and how hard we work.”\nLinebacker Chad Brown, who re-signed for a second stint with the team this week and landed in the middle of the tumult, acknowledged it would be embarrassing if the allegations turn out to be true. But he also said the videotaping is an offshoot of the gamesmanship all teams indulge in.\n“I think that all the facts should come out before people judge this organization,” Brown said. “I think we do things the right way.”
(09/13/07 3:37am)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Nearly a year later, Chris Smith still wonders how it happened.\nThe former Florida International player doesn’t know why he threw Miami’s Matt Perrelli to the turf and punched him to help spark one of the worst on-field brawls in college football history. Or why dozens of others starting fighting as well. Or why some swung helmets and crutches as weapons.\nSmith watched the replays that night in his room in sheer disbelief, then looked at the ceiling and sobbed. He spent the rest of the weekend in solitude, trying to figure what went wrong. He’s still pondering that one.\n“I remember thinking it would be a slight confrontation,” said Smith, whose college career ended that night; he was kicked off FIU’s team two days later. “And before I knew it, everything just happened. I was like, whoa! This thing got way out of hand.”\nIn all, 31 players – 18 from FIU, 13 from Miami – were sanctioned for the fight, which marred the first meeting between the programs separated by nine miles in South Florida. Most of those 31 players will be in uniform Saturday, when the teams meet again at the Orange Bowl.\nBoth teams have made the same vow: Another fight cannot, and will not, happen.\n“Nobody thought last year would be that type of deal,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “But it was.”\nIf this were a regular week, the storylines would be easy.\nFIU’s first-year coach Mario Cristobal is facing his alma mater, a school where he coached until last December. Shannon will see his son, Xavier, starting on FIU’s offensive line. Miami safety Kenny Phillips’ brother Jarvis Wilson plays at FIU.\nOf course, all those are overshadowed by the events of Oct. 14, 2006.\n“It’s like a forest fire,” Miami athletic director Paul Dee said. “You never plan on it. ... And it starts in a flash.”\nThat night started, oddly enough, with some sportsmanship: Miami and FIU’s bands congregated at midfield and played “America the Beautiful.”\nBut the problems were already starting.\nThe Hurricanes said an FIU player deliberately ran into a Miami player during warmups. There were plenty of hits after the whistle as the night went along, with some of those labeled by both sides as cheap shots. Verbal taunting was a constant.\n“Usually when it gets to that point, refs step in and stop it,” Smith said. “But it happened so fast, it probably caught them off-guard, too.”\nWith nine minutes left in the third quarter, as Smith said, “the coffee pot started overflowing.”\nMiami’s Kyle Wright threw a touchdown pass to James Bryant, who pointed at the FIU sideline as he scored and took a theatrical bow toward the stands. FIU players reacted angrily, and after Jon Peattie kicked the extra point, the fight was on.\n“There was a lot of extra stuff going on that really nobody wants to talk about, a lot of stuff that’s between the whistles that’s not caught on all the cameras,” Smith said. “I’m not pointing any fingers. It takes two to tango. But enough was enough. He took that bow and it was very disrespectful.”\nSmith attacked Perrelli, Miami’s holder who was then kicked in the head by FIU player Michael McDuffie – who is still an FIU student. He politely declined an interview request, only saying he wants to put the situation behind him.\nThe fracas escalated quickly; even Miami’s chaplain was struck during the melee.\n“It was awful,” Miami defensive end Calais Campbell said. “We’re out here to play football. We’re not here to fight. I didn’t really know what was happening at first. And when I saw one of my teammates about to get hit, I got in the way and pulled somebody back. I just wanted it to end.”\nOfficials from both schools acknowledge the fight was a concern leading up to the game. Many Miami and FIU players were high school rivals and both teams have rosters largely filled by South Florida natives who have competed against each other for years.\n“Sometimes when we play teams that have players on the team who want to be at a certain school, that can happen,” Randy Shannon said. “I think that’s what happened last year. Our players will be better prepared for it this year and I think coach Cristobal will do a good job of making them understand. He’ll handle it and we will, too. We’ll all do a better job.”\nSuspensions came the next day. Former Miami player Lamar Thomas, a TV analyst on the game, was fired by Comcast Sports SouthEast for comments he made, including “You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked.” The fight may have helped prompt coaching changes.\nFIU coach Don Strock – the only coach in the program’s five-year history – resigned about a month later. Miami’s Larry Coker was fired after a 6-6 regular season, but has said if the brawl never took place, he believes he’d still be coaching the Hurricanes.\n“Looking back, the series was a mistake. But at first, I thought it would be great,” Coker recently told The AP. “It was another home game for us and a good series for FIU from the standpoint of their credibility and giving their families a chance to see a game. I thought it was a good move. As it turned out, it was terrible.”\nThere was some talk about postponing or canceling this season’s game amid the fallout from the brawl. But many support the decision to play.\n“If we can’t play a clean collegiate football game between two schools nine miles apart,” FIU athletic director Pete Garcia said, “then shame on us.”\nSmith won’t be there Saturday, saying he has no interest in reliving the bad memories.\nHis football career isn’t over; he was in camp with the Philadelphia Eagles this summer and he said there are other NFL teams interested in him. For now, he’s back at FIU, taking the last few classes he needs to finish his criminal justice degree.\n“It was a terrible thing,” Smith said. “But we move on.”
