Ex-NFL WR Rison sentenced in child support case (Yahoo! Sports)
PHOENIX (AP) — Former NFL receiver Andre Rison was sentenced on Monday in federal district court in Phoenix to five years’ probation and more than $300,000 in restitution for not paying child support. The Arizona Republic reports (http://bit.ly/NgVQwW) that the indictment accused Rison of failing to pay more than $10,000 between August 2008 to August 2011. The indictment says the due date for his payments had passed about three years ago. Court documents say his 13-year-old child lived in Phoenix at the time the payments were due. A federal official says Rison also is expected to continue monthly child support payments of close to $2,350. Rison played 13 seasons in the NFL with seven teams. Most of his best seasons came with the Atlanta Falcons. He made five Pro Bowl appearances. — Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

APNewsBreak: Arkansas’ Smith facing bankruptcy (Yahoo! Sports)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — John L. Smith always believed real estate development was the safest investment of all, saying ”you may not make money, but you won’t lose money.” The Arkansas coach has had to rethink that philosophy in recent years after several of his land deals went bust in Kentucky. Smith told The Associated Press that he is making plans to declare bankruptcy, perhaps during the upcoming season. ”There have been some sleepless nights trying to get this resolved,” Smith said. ”There comes a point in time where you say ‘Enough is enough,’ and I want it cleaned up and whatever we have to do, we have to do.” Smith, also a former coach at Michigan State and Louisville, was hired in April to replace Bobby Petrino, who was fired after revelations that he had hired his mistress to a position in the football department and given her $20,000 in gifts. Smith was an Arkansas assistant for three seasons under Petrino before leaving in December to become the coach at his alma mater, Weber State. Following Petrino’s firing, Smith approached Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long about the job as was later signed to a 10-month, $850,000 contract. Long said Smith was up front about his financial problems during the hiring process, and he was comfortable the issues wouldn’t affect Smith’s ability to coach the Razorbacks. ”Certainly, initially, I had concerns, but as he explained the situation to me, it clearly became a bad investment,” Long said. ”There’s a large differentiation for me between what we had just gone through and someone who had made a bad financial decision and put himself in a financial difficulty. But at the same there, there was nothing inappropriate other than he had engaged in a risky financial deal.” Smith said his land investments began through acquaintances while he was the coach at Louisville from 1998-2002, starting with one subdivision development and evolving from there. As the real estate market began to slow several years ago, Smith said, he and his partners faced a difficult time maintaining their investments. ”It just got big,” Smith said, who described his stake as being in the ”multi-millions.” ”It was a situation where we all made a little and said, ‘Well, that’s good. Let’s see if we can make a little more,”’ he said. ”At that point, the bank was willing to give away money. We got in over our head with land, and then the bubble burst and all this land value dropped and we couldn’t sustain it.” Smith wasn’t sure exactly how much money he owed to creditors, including some of his former partners, but he has started preparing to declare bankruptcy now. He wasn’t 100 percent certain he’ll have to declare, but said ”that’s where I am proceeding to get my plate cleaned up.” One of Smith’s former partners, John Mason, filed for bankruptcy in December in Kentucky, listing Smith as one of his creditors. Mason’s attorney, Julie Ann O’Bryan, didn’t immediately respond to e-mails sent by The Associated Press on Tuesday, but in his bankruptcy filing he listed liabilities totaling between $10 million and $50 million. Mason’s filing listed $250,000 in debt to one of Smith’s investment limited liability corporations, while also listing an unknown amount of debt to Smith personally. The filing also listed numerous banks as creditors, with Fifth Third Bank in North Carolina listed as the largest. Barbara Grimsley, a spokeswoman for Fifth Third Bank, said Tuesday it was the bank’s policy not to comment on customer accounts. Smith is represented by attorney Jim Dowden in Little Rock and has representation in Kentucky. ”I think everybody got into this real estate deal, hoping to make a bunch of money,” Dowden said. ”Just like there are prominent families in northwest Arkansas that did, but unfortunately the recession hit and here we are.” Smith said the primary reason he’s talking now is so his personal financial problems don’t become a distraction during the season. The Razorbacks are expected to begin the season ranked in the top 10, with Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback (Tyler Wilson) and running back (Knile Davis). ”From a personal standpoint, I don’t want the university being embarrassed, but I’m not embarrassed,” Smith said. ”It’s something that’s happened. I made some mistakes, and to be honest with you, I’m a football coach, not a businessman.” Long, who is continuing to research potential candidates for a long-term solution as head coach – including Smith – said he doesn’t believe Smith’s personal financial problems will influence his ability to coach. ”I think the people that want to make more out of it than there is here will do that, regardless,” Long said. ”But I think those will be the minority. This is clearly to me a man who has made a poor financial choice, and I think if we look across our society today, especially in these times, we will see many very good people leading their organizations who have made some poor financial decisions. That’s the way I see it.”

Nava’s single caps rally, Red Sox top Marlins 6-5 (Yahoo! Sports)
BOSTON (AP) Down two runs in the eighth inning, Boston’s big guns had a chance to produce. And Daniel Nava, Will Middlebrooks and Ryan Kalish did. Who? The trio with a combined 113 games of major league experience before this season teamed for a three-run, eighth-inning rally and the surging Red Sox completed a sweep of the stumbling Miami Marlins, 6-5 on Thursday night. Boston tied the score on a two-run homer by Middlebrooks, who drove in four runs. Kalish then singled, raced to third on a groundout to first and scored on Nava’s go-ahead single up the middle. ”I love to see guys growing and learning and excelling at the same time,” manager Bobby Valentine said. ”It’s, I guess, a perfect combination.” None of the three began the season in the majors. Middlebrooks got there on May 2 when fellow third baseman Kevin Youkilis went on the disabled list, Nava on May 10 and Kalish last Sunday. Middlebrooks is batting .316 with eight homers and 31 RBIs in 38 games while sharing time with Youkilis. ”It really hasn’t been bad” as a part-time player, he said. ”I knew that was going to be my role and I just try to accept it.” Nava is hitting.340 in 35 games and Kalish is hitting. 267 in four games. All three have been aggressive on the basepaths. ”When we were called up here we wanted to gain (the club’s) trust and let them know that we can come through and help them win,” said Middlebrooks, 23. ”So it’s good to see it happen.” The Red Sox won their fifth straight game and seventh in their last eight as they matched their season-best mark of three games over .500. Alfredo Aceves pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 21 opportunities. Scott Atchison (2-0) allowed one hit over the seventh and eighth. The Marlins took a lead in all three games but lost them all as they dropped their fourth straight overall and 13th in their last 15. ”This hurt a lot,” Miami manager Ozzie Guillen said. ”We’ve got to come back with a winning attitude. Fight for it. Good fighter fight the fight. Bad fighter throw in the towel.” Miami went ahead 5-3 with two runs in the sixth. Giancarlo Stanton, in a 2-for-31 slump, hit his first homer in 12 games and 15th of the season to make it 4-3. That ended Daisuke Matsuzaka’s streak of 14 consecutive outs and brought in lefty Andrew Miller. He retired the next batter before giving up a single to Greg Dobbs and a run-scoring double to Omar Infante. Jarrod Saltalamacchia started the winning rally in the eighth with a double off Randy Choate. Edward Mujica (0-3) came in and served up Middlebrooks’ long, tying shot. Then Nava, who had six singles in the last two games, lined a clean single to center. ”It’s fun to watch them, especially in a situation like that,” Atchison said. ”We hit a two-run homer and then we play a little small ball to go ahead and take the game. It’s fun to watch. It doesn’t matter who’s doing it, but it’s really fun to watch these guys come up and contribute.” In just his third start of the season since having Tommy John elbow surgery on June 10, 2011, Matsuzaka gave up a leadoff single in the first to Jose Reyes, who went to third on a slow grounder to shortstop Mike Aviles, who got the out at first. Stanton walked and stole second and both runners scored on a single by Dobbs. After Dobbs stole second, he came in on a single by Infante. Matsuzaka ended the inning by retiring Scott Cousins on a fly ball to center and didn’t allow another runner until Stanton homered. ”We jumped up those few runs and still kind of felt a little shaky,” Stanton said. ”It wasn’t like ‘Hey, we’ve got this.’ And the result ended that way.” Carlos Zambrano gave up one hit through three innings before Boston tied the game with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. ”He gets too anxious with people on base,” Guillen said. Zambrano hit the first two batters, Cody Ross and Saltalamacchia, in the fourth. Ross scored on a single by Middlebrooks and Saltalamacchia came in on a sacrifice fly by Aviles. The Red Sox evened the score at 3 on another RBI single by Middlebrooks, driving in Adrian Gonzalez, who led off the fifth with a walk. NOTES: The Red Sox are 24-14 since May 11, baseball’s third-best record in that span. … Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia returned to the lineup after missing one game as a precaution when he felt discomfort in his right hand on his last at-bat in Tuesday night’s 7-5 win. … Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria spoke to his struggling team before the game. … Miami optioned RHP Chris Hatcher to New Orleans and recalled LHP Mike Dunn from the Triple-A team. … The Red Sox begin a three-game series at home against the Atlanta Braves on Friday night, sending Jon Lester (4-4) to the mound against Jair Jurrjens (0-2). … Anibal Sanchez (3-5) is scheduled to pitch Friday night for Miami in the opener of a three-game home series against Toronto, which plans to start Ricky Romero (7-1).

Braves’ Beachy has partial tear, will see Andrews (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) Atlanta Braves pitcher Brandon Beachy is set to visit orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on the partial tear in his right elbow. Manager Fredi Gonzalez says team orthopedist Dr. Xavier Duralde confirmed the tear on Tuesday. Beachy will see Andrews on Wednesday. Gonzalez says there’s no word yet on how long Beachy will be out. Beachy has been bothered by bone spurs in the past, but elbow tears often need Tommy John surgery to fix and can sideline pitchers for a year or more. The 25-year-old Beachy was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, a day after leaving a start early. He is tied for the major league lead with a 2.00 ERA and is 5-5 in 13 starts. ”I’m not thinking anything,” Gonzalez said before the Braves played the Yankees.

Tour Report: Top-ranked amateur Cantlay turns pro (PGA Tour)
Patrick Cantlay had four top-25 finishes in eight starts as an amateur on the PGA TOUR. Redington/Getty Images Patrick Cantlay had four top-25 finishes in eight starts as an amateur on the PGA TOUR. By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM CROMWELL, Conn. — Top-ranked amateur Patrick Cantlay announced Tuesday that he will forego his final two years at UCLA and turn pro immediately. Cantlay will make his professional debut at the Travelers Championship, where he recorded a tournament-record 60 in last year’s second round. It was the lowest score ever recorded by an amateur in a PGA TOUR event. “I am so grateful to UCLA and the NCAA for the relationships I’ve formed and the opportunities I’ve had to compete and develop at the collegiate level,” Cantlay said in a release. “I have a tremendous passion and respect for the game of golf and can’t wait for the challenge of taking my game to the next level.” Cantlay signed with the same agent who represents Tiger Woods, Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management. “Patrick is an outstanding individual, as well as an exceptional talent who already has proven success at the professional level,” Steinberg said. “We are excited to work with him in this new chapter of his golf career.” Cantlay compiled impressive results as an amateur in his eight starts on TOUR with four top-25 finishes, including a tie for ninth at last year’s RBC Canadian Open. He was also the low amateur in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, where he tied for 21st. A week later he briefly held the lead midway through the Travelers Championship before finishing in a tie for 24th. He was also the low amateur in this year’s Masters, tying for 47th. As an amateur, Cantlay received numerous honors, including the Haskins Award as the most outstanding college golfer, the Jack Nicklaus Award, given to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year, the Mark H. McCormack Medal, awarded to the season’s top-ranked amateur, and the Ben Hogan Award, given to the player with the most outstanding collegiate and amateur record.

NBA competition committee discusses postgame flopping penalties
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili execute the rare “Whispering Lion” flopping technique (Layne Murdoch/ Getty). To some NBA fans, flopping is a scourge upon the NBA. Like pump-faking or playing with other superstars, it degrades the ideals of competition on which sport is founded. If the NBA wants to be taken seriously and move beyond record ratings, they must do something drastic. Luckily, David Stern and his handpicked competition committee are meeting this week to discuss potential fixes. On Monday, they talked specifically about how to hand out punishments after games. From Brian Mahoney for the Associated Press: The NBA commissioner believes too many players are deceiving referees into calling fouls by falling down, or flopping. So he and the league’s newly reformed competition committee met Monday for a discussion about how it can be prevented. One option, Stern said, is a ”postgame analysis” in which a player could be penalized if it was determined he flopped. The league retroactively upgrades or downgrades flagrant fouls after review, and along those lines he said that perhaps a player could receive a message from New York saying: ”Greetings from the league office. You have been assigned flopper status.” ”No, I’m joking, but something like that,” Stern said. ”That sort of lets people know that it’s not enough to say ‘it’s all part of the game.”’ My own joking aside, it would be good if the league could crack down on flopping. I’m not convinced that it’s a major issue for the NBA, but it’d be best if it weren’t so prevalent. On the other hand, the postgame plan helps underline exactly why it will be hard to stop flopping. Under this proposal, one man (perhaps suspension/fine czar Stu Jackson) would have to assess all questionable flopping instances on any night. But if flopping is as common as some believe, then that would be a time-consuming process, particularly on nights with 10 or more games. Can a centralized situation do that much work? Would the league have to enforce selectively to make it manageable? Is that fair? On top of that issue, the entire use of flopping is that it makes the intentional look unintentional. Even when divorced from the clamor of in-game officiating, assessing a charging or blocking foul for intent is a tricky task. Can we really know if a player meant to fall? What should we make of situations where there is legitimate foul-worthy contact and embellishment? Where do they draw the line? If players are allowed to appeal flopping rulings (which seems necessary, especially for this type of transgressions), then we could see arguments over intent usually kept to courtrooms and theological conferences. In this case, the solution to the War on Flopping might prove much more controversial and difficult to rein in than the crime itself. The NBA and its fans have every right to cry foul over flopping, but they’d do well to consider the unintended consequences of enforcement.

LA Kings rested for Cup final meeting with Devils (Yahoo! Sports)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) Justin Williams remembers every game of the Carolina Hurricanes’ 25-game grind through the 2006 playoffs. He knows all about the blood, sweat and exhaustion necessary to raise the Stanley Cup. That’s why he realizes the NHL playoffs aren’t usually as easy as the Los Angeles Kings have made them look so far. Although Williams and his teammates have prepared for lengthy series in every round of the postseason, but they haven’t even had to play a Game 6 yet. ”If you told anybody, let alone us in the dressing room, that we’d have a place in the finals as an eight seed, I would have only told you that you were crazy if you said it took 14 games,” Williams said. ”But we’re here for a reason,” he added. ”We’ve battled our tails off here the whole season, and things have come together here. We go into every series thinking it’s going to be seven (games). It’s just so far, they haven’t worked out that way.” Los Angeles went on a 12-2 rampage through the Western Conference playoffs, earning a date with the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup final. Game 1 is Wednesday in Newark. The Kings’ surge is a novel experience for everybody, including Williams and two teammates who faced him in the 2006 Cup final. Williams scored the final goal of Game 7 for the Carolina Hurricanes, beating Jarret Stoll, Matt Greene and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers – the only eighth seed to make the final round before Los Angeles. Stoll remembers the shock and elation of that 24-game run by the unheralded Oilers, only to be crushed by a loss in Game 7. ”It was a great ride, but the ending leaves a sour taste if you don’t win,” said Stoll, who scored in overtime last month in the Kings’ series-ending win over President’s Trophy-winning Vancouver. ”When you’re going through it, you realize that you don’t know if you’ll ever get that opportunity again. Some guys play their whole careers and don’t get the chance to do what we’re doing now, so I’m definitely grateful to be there again.” Greene also picked up that perspective as a 22-year-old Oilers rookie, playing in 18 postseason games during their run. Greene realizes those Oilers and the current Kings don’t share much except their seed: Edmonton’s run was a stunner during a season in which the Western Conference’s top four seeds all lost their first-round series, while Los Angeles was an underachiever that finally realized its enormous potential while knocking off the West’s top three seeds. ”I think a lot of people felt we had the potential to do it this year, where those (Edmonton) playoffs were a surprise,” said Greene, the stay-at-home defenseman whose steadying influence has been enormous for the Kings. The Kings had their second full practice Saturday since eliminating Phoenix, going through mostly team drills and beginning preparations for the Devils. Los Angeles lost both of its regular-season meetings with New Jersey, but both games were very early in the season. The Kings aren’t apologizing for their success, and they don’t believe their relatively clean run through the first three rounds will hurt them in the finale. Los Angeles hasn’t faced much adversity so far, yet the Kings have won two pressure-packed overtime road games to finish off series against Vancouver and Phoenix. ”We’ve been very fortunate to be on top of our game, play well, and finish teams off when we had the chance,” Williams said. ”As a result, we’re getting a ton of rest, and it’s clearly going to be beneficial for us.”

Hendrick goes from ice cold to red hot (The Associated Press)
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) After months of wondering when any Hendrick Motorsports car would win again, NASCAR’s powerhouse program is on a major roll heading into the Coca-Cola 600. Five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson broke a 16-race victory drought this month at Darlington Raceway for Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th win, then won the All-Star race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Throw in a Sprint Showdown victory by Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a win in the Pit Crew Challenge by Johnson’s No. 48 team and it’s a non-stop party for owner Rick Hendrick. ”The company,” Johnson said Thursday, ”is still on a high from the 200th win and the All-Star win just kicked it up another notch.” That could be bad news for the rest of NASCAR, which thought it might be gaining on Hendrick’s dominance. Johnson collected the program’s 199th win last October at Kansas as he chased a sixth straight championship. But Johnson came up short of the title, losing to Tony Stewart. None of Hendrick’s high-power drivers – four-time champion Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt and Kasey Kahne are Johnson’s teammates – could break through this season until Johnson took the checkered flag at Darlington and touched off a party that hasn’t stopped. Neither has the winning. ”Things have been pretty good,” said Kahne, 16th in drivers’ points. ”Then after Jimmie won that 200th, that got everybody even more excited.” Johnson doesn’t see why that can’t continue Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600. He qualified third behind the Richard Petty Motorsports duo of Aric Amirola and Marcos Ambrose. Kahne qualified seventh, Earnhardt 12th and Gordon 23rd. Johnson has won nine times at the 1.5-mile track, three 600s, three of the 500-mile fall race and three All-Star events. ”We are excited to get on the track today and through the course of the weekend,” he said. ”We feel like we will be a threat to win.” And giving Hendrick even more to celebrate. This week, the car owner hosted a party in Charlotte headlined by country music superstar Brad Paisley. Hendrick’s current crop of star drivers was on hand along with others who brought his machines to victory lane through the years like Geoff Bodine, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch. ”It’s a huge accomplishment for our people and I’m really proud of them,” Hendrick said. ”You know, you need to stop and celebrate something like, this because they don’t come along too often.” Johnson said it was fun to watch Hendrick kick back and revel in the achievement. ”I’m really proud of him to sit and enjoy the 200th win and savor it and spend some time in the moment,” Johnson said. ”It’s not like him to do that type of thing.” That’s for sure. Johnson recalled how during the Darlington celebration two weeks back, Hendrick told him that now they’d gotten to 200, ”let’s get 250.” It’s a focus that’s kept Hendrick Motorsports clicking off the wins since Bodine collected the program’s first victory at Martinsville in 1984. Hendrick’s far from done this season. He expects to follow through on the goal he set before the season that he wanted all four of his cars in the season-ended Chase for a Championship. They’ve got some work ahead for that to happen, though. Earnhardt’s No. 88 sits third behind points leader Greg Biffle and second-place Matt Kenseth. Johnson is fifth. Then comes Kahne, 54 points out of 10th place. The one struggling most this season is Gordon, the usually steady former champion stung with a several problems that have him way back in 24th and most likely needing a couple of race wins to claim a wildcat sport to the year-end shootout. Hendrick said he’s never had so many races get away from such talented group like Gordon’s No. 24 team and Kahne’s No. 5. ”Between Kasey and Jeff Gordon, probably the rottenest luck I’ve had in my racing career,” Hendrick said. ”I mean, I can’t even remember as many flat tires or wrecks or Kasey is running third on the last lap and gets shoved into the wall. We have had some freak things break on the car.” Gordon has tried to stay positive through the problem. ”You can only do that for so long, but we’re still doing it,” he said. ”So hopefully, we’ll see the results.” Current Hendrick drivers have combined for 14 victories at Charlotte. Earnhardt looked like he’d make that 15 last May until he ran out of gas while leading the race on the final lap to finish seventh. The way things are going for Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson wouldn’t be surprised if he and his teammates were all fighting for the win come Sunday night – just like Rick Hendrick wants. ”I’m sure we will be reminded of that here before long,” Johnson said.

Kei Nishikori pulls out of upcoming French Open (Yahoo! Sports)
PARIS (AP) Kei Nishikori of Japan has pulled out of the upcoming French Open after failing to recover from an abdominal injury. The 18th-ranked Nishikori picked up the injury playing against Fernando Verdasco in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals last month. He has not played since. Organizers said Tuesday that he will be replaced in the draw by Slovakia’s Karol Beck. Several other players have pulled out of the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, which begins Sunday at Roland Garros, including former runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden and Mardy Fish of the United States.