Despite giving up a big early lead, the Indiana Fever kept their composure and got a big win.
Tamika Catchings had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Shavonte Zellous scored 21 points and the Fever recovered after giving up a 17-point lead to beat the Liberty 73-67 on Friday night at the Prudential Center.
Indiana (13-15) pulled one-half game behind Washington for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever also increased their lead over the fifth-place Liberty to 2 1/2 games for the conference's final playoff position.
Liberty leading scorer Cappie Pondexter finished with seven points on 1-for-13 shooting. She had a chance to tie it with about 45 seconds left but her long jumper from the left corner rimmed in and out of the basket.
Zellous then made a layup with 27.5 seconds left to push the lead to 71-67 and Karima Christmas closed the scoring with a layup at the buzzer.
"We knew this was going to be a game," Zellous said. "New York is fighting for a playoff spot, we're fighting for a playoff spot. We knew this game was going to be a game of runs. Towards the end we just locked in defensively and got stops when we needed it and scored when we needed to."
Kelsey Bone scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter for the Liberty (11-18), who came back from their big first-quarter deficit to take a 54-52 lead heading to the fourth.
"We keep digging ourselves these weird holes," Bone said. "Same result in a loss, but we're fighting, we didn't just lay down. Now we've got to figure out a way to come out strong. First quarter, third quarter, we've got to get in a rhythm, start these games off right because when we make our run we give the other team time to make another run. And basketball is a game of runs."
Juan Martin Del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt returned to the court where they both won their first grand slam title, giving glimpses why they once hoisted the championship trophy. Unexpectedly, however, only Hewitt, the 32-year-old, unseeded Australian will have another chance to reclaim the crown this year after last night's five-set upset win over the sixth-seeded, 6-foot-6 Argentine.
The two former U.S. Open champions gave a divided crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium a rare, entertaining evening affair, but Hewitt's energetic, well-rounded play wore down an inconsistent Del Potro in a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 win.
Hewitt will meet 23-year-old Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the third round.
"It's an amazing feeling. For me, just going back in the locker room afterwards I sort of had to pinch myself," said Hewitt, who hasn't advanced past the third round since 2006. "A year and a half ago I got told I probably wouldn't play again with the [foot] surgery I had. For me, I love being out in that atmosphere, sucking up every second of it."
The scene wasn't surreal so much as time travel.
Del Potro, who ended Roger Federer's string of five straight championships in 2009, came to New York off his first semifinal appearance in a grand slam (at Wimbledon) since his Open triumph, but for the second straight match, the assumed title contender struggled with a shaky backhand.
Hewitt, who knocked off five-time champion Pete Sampras in 2001, had Del Potro looking at the prospect of an unlikely early exit after the Australian earned two set points in the second set, but he failed on both opportunities to take a two-set lead.
Del Potro was frustrated, hitting himself in the head with his racket, but he recovered to win six straight games and finally showed flashes of the most fearsome forehand in tennis.
But flashes were not enough to overcome a weak backhand, impacted by a left wrist the oft-injured Argentine acknowledged is not 100 percent.
"[Hewitt is] a great champion and a great fighter," said Del Potro, a quarterfinalist at last year's Open. "For the second round, it's a really difficult player. I think he deserved to win. He's play[ing] like he has a chance to go far in this tournament."
After Hewitt failed to serve out the fourth set, leading 5-3, he bounced back to play a near-flawless tiebreaker.
As the match progressed, Hewitt outworked the fatigued 24-year-old, who was playing his second straight match exceeding four hours.
Though the two former champions were only separated by one winner (Hewitt, 42-41), Del Potro repeatedly handed points over to Hewitt with a 70-43 disparity in unforced errors.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com
Serena vs. Sloane — the showdown is set.
After Serena Williams asserted her dominance again last night, with a 75-minute, 6-3, 6-1, destruction of Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova — which finished past 1 a.m. this morning at Arthur Ashe Stadium — the defending champion delighted fans and TV executives by ensuring the most anticipated fourth-round match in recent U.S. Open history would happen, against 20-year-old Sloane Stephens.
"It's something I think everyone is looking forward to,'' said Stephens, who won earlier in the day but had already been expecting to see Williams in the next round. "I think it'll be epic. I'm really looking forward to it.''
EPA (above; Getty Images (inset)
AMERICAN WOMEN: Serena Williams (above) returns a shot during her 6-3, 6-1 win over Yaroslava Shvedova last night at the U.S. Open which set her up to play fellow American Sloane Stephens, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Jamie Hampton earlier (inset).
When the 15th-seeded Stephens dispatched friend and training partner Jamie Hampton, 6-1, 6-3, it seemed inevitable that the second-ranked American would take on the tournament's top seed, matching up tennis' top frenemies.
Stephens and Williams were once believed to have a mentor-protege relationship, but after Stephens' upset of Williams at the Australian Open earlier this year, the lack of a relationship between the two players soon surfaced. Stephens is one of just three players to beat Williams this year.
When the two played in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Williams was hobbled by a sprained ankle. Stephens came from behind for a breakthrough 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 upset, breaking Williams' 20-match winning streak and breaking open the truth of the relationship. In a May story in ESPN The Magazine, Stephens painted Williams as unhelpful and unfriendly.
"She has said not one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia," Stephens told the magazine. "And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.
"Like, seriously! People should know. They think she's so friendly and she's so this and she's so that — no, that's not reality! You don't unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?"
Stephens, widely and wrongly assumed to have been strongly influenced by the Williams sisters, has cited Kim Clijsters as her favorite player growing up. As a 12-year-old, Stephens was snubbed in her attempt to get an autograph from Venus and Serena.
Recently, though, Stephens has taken a more diplomatic approach regarding the world's top player.
"Obviously we're co-workers, we're Fed Cup teammates, but other than that, everything else is private," Stephens said yesterday. "That's all old news now. We've moved on. We're fine, so I think that's all that matters. ... [I] love her. She's a great competitor, one of the best players to ever play the game. Like I said, [she's a] co-worker, teammate. There's not much else you can say.''
Williams has taken a similar route.
"I mean, I've always really liked Sloane," Williams said. "I have a lot of respect for Sloane. I think she's a great girl. I think she's great for tennis, as well.
"I definitely don't feel like I'm going in there as a favorite because she's playing great, even though I'm playing good, too. She really has nothing to lose and she excels in situations like that. So I think she'll be really good.
After a tight first match, Stephens has lost just six games in the past two rounds, and Williams has dropped only eight games in the tournament.
Stephens, who is 17-15 in regular WTA tourneys, is 15-3 in majors and one of just three women to reach the Round of 16 at every major this year, including Williams.
"I guess Grand Slams are just showtime,'' Stephens said with a shrug.
Now comes the showdown.
brian.lewis@nypost.com
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin urged President Barack Obama on Saturday not to rush into a decision on striking Syria, but to consider whether strikes would help end the violence and be worth the civilian casualties they would inevitably cause.
Speaking for the first time since the suspected chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21, Putin also questioned whether Syrian government troops should be held responsible. He said it would make no sense for them to carry out such a devastating attack while they were on the offensive.
"In such conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for foreign military intervention is foolish nonsense," Putin said.
REUTERS
Russia's President Vladimir Putin
The United States said Friday that the attack in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital, killed 1,429 people, including more than 400 children.
The Russian leader implied the chemical attack came from among the rebels, saying he was convinced it was a provocation carried out by those who wanted to draw in the United States.
If the Americans have evidence to the contrary they should present it to the United Nations inspectors and the U.N. Security Council, he said. "If there is evidence it should be presented," Putin said. "If it is not presented, that means it does not exist."
Putin's foreign policy adviser complained Friday that Russia had not seen the U.S. intelligence that Washington insists proves the role of the Syrian government.
On Saturday, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, met with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov to provide information backing up the U.S. position, the Foreign Ministry said.
In addressing Obama, Putin said he was speaking to him not as the U.S. president but as a holder of the Nobel Peace Prize.
"We have to remember what has happened in the last decades, how many times the United States has been the initiator of armed conflict in different regions of the world," Putin said. "Did this resolve even one problem?"
He urged Obama to reflect on the results of the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq "before taking a decision to carry out air strikes that will bring casualties, including among the civilian population."
Despite giving up a big early lead, the Indiana Fever kept their composure and got a big win.
Tamika Catchings had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Shavonte Zellous scored 21 points and the Fever recovered after giving up a 17-point lead to beat the Liberty 73-67 on Friday night at the Prudential Center.
Indiana (13-15) pulled one-half game behind Washington for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Fever also increased their lead over the fifth-place Liberty to 2 1/2 games for the conference's final playoff position.
Liberty leading scorer Cappie Pondexter finished with seven points on 1-for-13 shooting. She had a chance to tie it with about 45 seconds left but her long jumper from the left corner rimmed in and out of the basket.
Zellous then made a layup with 27.5 seconds left to push the lead to 71-67 and Karima Christmas closed the scoring with a layup at the buzzer.
"We knew this was going to be a game," Zellous said. "New York is fighting for a playoff spot, we're fighting for a playoff spot. We knew this game was going to be a game of runs. Towards the end we just locked in defensively and got stops when we needed it and scored when we needed to."
Kelsey Bone scored 11 of her 13 points in the third quarter for the Liberty (11-18), who came back from their big first-quarter deficit to take a 54-52 lead heading to the fourth.
"We keep digging ourselves these weird holes," Bone said. "Same result in a loss, but we're fighting, we didn't just lay down. Now we've got to figure out a way to come out strong. First quarter, third quarter, we've got to get in a rhythm, start these games off right because when we make our run we give the other team time to make another run. And basketball is a game of runs."
Juan Martin Del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt returned to the court where they both won their first grand slam title, giving glimpses why they once hoisted the championship trophy. Unexpectedly, however, only Hewitt, the 32-year-old, unseeded Australian will have another chance to reclaim the crown this year after last night's five-set upset win over the sixth-seeded, 6-foot-6 Argentine.
The two former U.S. Open champions gave a divided crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium a rare, entertaining evening affair, but Hewitt's energetic, well-rounded play wore down an inconsistent Del Potro in a 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 win.
Hewitt will meet 23-year-old Russian Evgeny Donskoy in the third round.
"It's an amazing feeling. For me, just going back in the locker room afterwards I sort of had to pinch myself," said Hewitt, who hasn't advanced past the third round since 2006. "A year and a half ago I got told I probably wouldn't play again with the [foot] surgery I had. For me, I love being out in that atmosphere, sucking up every second of it."
The scene wasn't surreal so much as time travel.
Del Potro, who ended Roger Federer's string of five straight championships in 2009, came to New York off his first semifinal appearance in a grand slam (at Wimbledon) since his Open triumph, but for the second straight match, the assumed title contender struggled with a shaky backhand.
Hewitt, who knocked off five-time champion Pete Sampras in 2001, had Del Potro looking at the prospect of an unlikely early exit after the Australian earned two set points in the second set, but he failed on both opportunities to take a two-set lead.
Del Potro was frustrated, hitting himself in the head with his racket, but he recovered to win six straight games and finally showed flashes of the most fearsome forehand in tennis.
But flashes were not enough to overcome a weak backhand, impacted by a left wrist the oft-injured Argentine acknowledged is not 100 percent.
"[Hewitt is] a great champion and a great fighter," said Del Potro, a quarterfinalist at last year's Open. "For the second round, it's a really difficult player. I think he deserved to win. He's play[ing] like he has a chance to go far in this tournament."
After Hewitt failed to serve out the fourth set, leading 5-3, he bounced back to play a near-flawless tiebreaker.
As the match progressed, Hewitt outworked the fatigued 24-year-old, who was playing his second straight match exceeding four hours.
Though the two former champions were only separated by one winner (Hewitt, 42-41), Del Potro repeatedly handed points over to Hewitt with a 70-43 disparity in unforced errors.
howard.kussoy@nypost.com
Serena vs. Sloane — the showdown is set.
After Serena Williams asserted her dominance again last night, with a 75-minute, 6-3, 6-1, destruction of Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova — which finished past 1 a.m. this morning at Arthur Ashe Stadium — the defending champion delighted fans and TV executives by ensuring the most anticipated fourth-round match in recent U.S. Open history would happen, against 20-year-old Sloane Stephens.
"It's something I think everyone is looking forward to,'' said Stephens, who won earlier in the day but had already been expecting to see Williams in the next round. "I think it'll be epic. I'm really looking forward to it.''
EPA (above; Getty Images (inset)
AMERICAN WOMEN: Serena Williams (above) returns a shot during her 6-3, 6-1 win over Yaroslava Shvedova last night at the U.S. Open which set her up to play fellow American Sloane Stephens, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Jamie Hampton earlier (inset).
When the 15th-seeded Stephens dispatched friend and training partner Jamie Hampton, 6-1, 6-3, it seemed inevitable that the second-ranked American would take on the tournament's top seed, matching up tennis' top frenemies.
Stephens and Williams were once believed to have a mentor-protege relationship, but after Stephens' upset of Williams at the Australian Open earlier this year, the lack of a relationship between the two players soon surfaced. Stephens is one of just three players to beat Williams this year.
When the two played in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Williams was hobbled by a sprained ankle. Stephens came from behind for a breakthrough 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 upset, breaking Williams' 20-match winning streak and breaking open the truth of the relationship. In a May story in ESPN The Magazine, Stephens painted Williams as unhelpful and unfriendly.
"She has said not one word to me, not spoken to me, not said hi, not looked my way, not been in the same room with me since I played her in Australia," Stephens told the magazine. "And that should tell everyone something, how she went from saying all these nice things about me to unfollowing me on Twitter.
"Like, seriously! People should know. They think she's so friendly and she's so this and she's so that — no, that's not reality! You don't unfollow someone on Twitter, delete them off of BlackBerry Messenger. I mean, what for? Why?"
Stephens, widely and wrongly assumed to have been strongly influenced by the Williams sisters, has cited Kim Clijsters as her favorite player growing up. As a 12-year-old, Stephens was snubbed in her attempt to get an autograph from Venus and Serena.
Recently, though, Stephens has taken a more diplomatic approach regarding the world's top player.
"Obviously we're co-workers, we're Fed Cup teammates, but other than that, everything else is private," Stephens said yesterday. "That's all old news now. We've moved on. We're fine, so I think that's all that matters. ... [I] love her. She's a great competitor, one of the best players to ever play the game. Like I said, [she's a] co-worker, teammate. There's not much else you can say.''
Williams has taken a similar route.
"I mean, I've always really liked Sloane," Williams said. "I have a lot of respect for Sloane. I think she's a great girl. I think she's great for tennis, as well.
"I definitely don't feel like I'm going in there as a favorite because she's playing great, even though I'm playing good, too. She really has nothing to lose and she excels in situations like that. So I think she'll be really good.
After a tight first match, Stephens has lost just six games in the past two rounds, and Williams has dropped only eight games in the tournament.
Stephens, who is 17-15 in regular WTA tourneys, is 15-3 in majors and one of just three women to reach the Round of 16 at every major this year, including Williams.
"I guess Grand Slams are just showtime,'' Stephens said with a shrug.
Now comes the showdown.
brian.lewis@nypost.com
Last year, Fordham quarterback Michael Nebrich tore his ACL, ending his season after just three games, but Thursday night, he returned in style.
Playing for the first time in nearly a year, Nebrich accounted for five touchdowns as the Fordham Rams kicked off their 2013 season with a 51-26 victory over the Rhode Island Rams at Jack Coffey Field.
Nebrich completed 17 of 25 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns, while also running for 31 yards and a score.
"It was a good feeling," he said. "After last year's injury, it was a tough rehab. The most important thing I took out of this game was having full confidence in the knee."
The biggest touchdown came late in the third quarter, when Rhode Island had just scored to trim the Fordham lead to 31-19 and was riding a wave of momentum.
On a third-and-1 from the Rhode Island 49, Nebrich found Brian Wetzel, who ran about 20 yards after the catch to scoot into the end zone and extend the lead to 38-19.
Rhode Island responded with a touchdown, but Nebrich kept them at bay, finding Sam Ajala wide-open for a 64-yard touchdown pass that effectively iced the contest.
Freshman running back Kendall Pearcey finished the scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run with 1:27 remaining in the game.
After going three-and-out on their first possession, Fordham took advantage of a shanked Rhode Island punt and drove 65 yards in just 54 seconds, with Nebrich finding Ajala on a 29-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead.
"The coaches call the plays to put us in the right position," Ajala said. "It's just making plays."
"Sam's very much improved," coach Joe Moorhead said. "We switched him from the slot to the X — that position's a focal point in our offense. He's extremely talented, and he has good physical tools, but I challenged him to embrace the mental aspect. He embraced it, and his performance was indicative of that. There's still plenty of room to improve, though."
Jake Dixon stopped Rhode Island's next drive with an interception, and on a quarterback keeper, Nebrich scampered 32 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.
After a Rhode Island field goal, Fordham scored again, as Nebrich found Brian Wetzel for a 5-yard touchdown reception to extend the lead to 21-3 early in the second quarter.
The key defensive play for Fordham came in the third, when J.Q. Bowers intercepted a Bob Bentsen pass and took it 61 yards to the end zone to quell a Rhode Island threat, extending Fordham's lead to 31-12.
Moorhead said he was satisfied with the team's effort, while acknowledging there was room to improve.
"It was imperative that we come out and execute on both sides of the ball and special teams," he said. "For a large part of the game, we did it, but there's enough that we have to clean up if we're going to beat a team like Villanova [Fordham's next opponent]."
One of the areas that Moorhead said needed improvement was the rushing defense. Though Fordham neutralized Bentsen (who went 18-of-31 for 156 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions), they had trouble stopping the run, as Rhode Island rolled up 277 rushing yards on 50 attempts, an average of 5.5 yards per carry.
"We couldn't put any more guys in the box," he said. "We were committing people to stop the run, and a lot of that is a result of the tempo of which we play offensively. We score quickly, which puts the defense back on the field.
"Generally speaking, they're going to play a lot of snaps [81 to just 57 for Fordham]. We have to be able to stop the run better."
Nebrich said he could play better.
"I had a couple missed blitz checks," he said. "The biggest mistake I made was overthrowing Wetzel in the end zone. If we're going to beat Villanova next [Saturday], we need to be perfect, and I can't miss those things."
jdemarzo@nypost.com
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mike Davis ran 75 yards for a touchdown, Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson each threw long scoring passes and All-American Jadeveon Clowney helped No. 6 South Carolina's defense hold North Carolina to its lowest point total under coach Larry Fedora in a 27-10 victory last night.
The game was delayed nearly two hours in the fourth quarter by lightning. The Gamecocks were already in control by that then.
Clowney did not have a sack and finished with three first-half tackles. The Tar Heels' fast-paced offense wore him down and forced him to the sideline for several pit stops, yet he and the defense mostly hemmed in the Tar Heels' fast-paced attack. Shaw and Thompson ended things early as South Carolina led 17-0 in the opening quarter.
Shaw found Shaq Roland for a 65-yard touchdown on the game's third play. Thompson threw a 29-yard TD to Kane Whitehurst later in the quarter.
Matt Simms may have played his way onto the Jets last night ... if he can walk this morning.
The quarterback made his case to be the team's third-string quarterback after completing 33-of-44 for 285 yards in a 27-20 win over the Eagles at MetLife Stadium in the Jets' preseason finale.
We'll find out in the coming days if the Jets' brass feel Simms showed enough to get a roster spot over Greg McElroy, who did not play because of a left knee injury he aggravated in practice this week. The only problem for Simms may be how sore he is today after getting sacked seven times behind a porous offensive line consisting of almost all backups.
Getty Images
MATT'S INCREDIBLE! Matt Simms, son of the Giants legend Phil Simms, went 33-for-44 for 285 yards and ran for 19 yards while making his bid to make the Jets' roster as the third-string quarterback. Simms played the entire preseason finale against the Eagles last night, leading Gang Green to a 27-20 victory.
After a rocky start, Simms was unbelievably accurate. He completed 25-of-27 passes during one stretch.
"It's been coming on," coach Rex Ryan said of Simms' night. "You saw the improvement. He made some great strides through training camp. ... Some guys, it just takes a little longer with. Man, it's good to see. He's a smart kid and has great pedigree and a local product. It was really great to see him get the opportunity and take advantage of it."
The son of Giants legend Phil Simms, Matt made his first professional start last night and played the entire game. Rookie Geno Smith, the Jets' likely Week 1 starter, did not play in the game. Mark Sanchez is out with a shoulder injury.
General manager John Idzik and Ryan now must decide whether Simms makes the cut. They will cut 22 players by tomorrow at 6 p.m. to get the roster to 53.
"I just know that I went out there and played as hard as I could," Simms said. "I laid it all on the line and we'll see where that takes me."
Whoever is chosen between Simms and McElroy could be the Jets' backup quarterback against the Buccaneers on Sept. 8. The Jets remain unsure if Sanchez will be able to play in that game. He still has not thrown a football and with each passing day the chances he'll play are decreasing. A source said the most optimistic timeline the Jets have been given on Sanchez is he could play in Week 1, but it depends on how quickly Sanchez can begin throwing again.
A clean-shaven Sanchez watched Simms operate the offense from the sideline last night. He left without speaking to reporters. Ryan said there is no official update on his condition.
After the game, Smith said he is approaching the coming week as if he is starting against Tampa Bay.
"Business as usual," Smith said. "That's something that I always do and whether or not I am or am not [starting], I will always approach it the same way. So, I'm just going to continue to study hard. I've already watched a ton of film on the Buccaneers so far, so I'm just going to work extremely hard and prepare my mind and body for this upcoming game."
Smith spent last night taking "mental reps" by listening to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg call the plays and going over situations. Smith's preseason experience was limited to just parts of two games.
"Whether or not I'm ready, we'll find out on game day," Smith said, "and I think I'll be ready for it."
Sanchez and Smith were left to watch Simms last night. Things started out roughly for Simms. His first pass was nearly intercepted by Eagles linebacker Chris McCoy. He was sacked by McCoy on his second attempt and then was sacked for a safety on his third play to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
After that initial drive, Simms settled in and picked apart the Eagles defense. Granted, the Eagles were playing their backups but Simms looked like he was playing a video game, hitting every pass and marching the Jets down the field. Outside of two fumbles, both of which were recovered, he played very well.
brian.costello@nypost.com
Fordhams kicks off Year 2 of the Joe Moorhead Era Thursday night, playing host to Rhode Island in a game that, on the surface, appears to heavily favor the Rams.
Fordham returns most of the core of its prolific offense from a season ago, in which the Rams went 6-5 — a five-win improvement from 2011.
The Rams will lean on an attack spearheaded by preseason All-American running back Carlton Koonce, who broke the school's single-season rushing mark last season. Newly minted starting quarterback Michael Nebrich, whose 2012 season was cut short by a torn ACL, will have two all-Americans to throw to in wide receiver Brian Wetzel and tight end Dan Light.
On the other hand, Rhode Island is coming off an 0-11 season, in which it was outscored by nearly 30 points per game. Rhode Island also lost its top three receivers to graduation.
Despite the apparent mismatch, Moorhead has urged his players not to look past Rhode Island, because a key clash with Villanova Sept. 7 could turn tonight's contest into a "trap game" of sorts.
"Right now, we're two teams that are both 0-0," the Forham coach said. "Rhode Island played in one of the toughest, if not the toughest, conference in FCS football [the Colonial Athletic Association].
"They brought a couple of guys back who were injured and missed the entire season last year on the defensive side of the ball, and they've added some 1-A transfers and some junior college kids. They're a hungry team, and they're going to come out with something to prove."
Last year, Fordham opened its season with a 55-0 drubbing of Lock Haven, which set the tone for a vastly improved season. Moorhead said getting off to a good start tonight will have a similar effect.
"It's imperative in Week 1 to come out and lay a solid foundation for the season," he said. "You want to execute on both sides of the ball.
"Offensively, you want to limit your turnovers, and defensively, you want to create them. The teams that don't turn the ball over give themselves an opportunity to win. Hopefully the way we perform will be a good springboard into the upcoming part of the season."
Moorhead said he is happy with his team's progress and enters the game confident.
"I think the kids put in a tremendous amount of effort and made very positive strides in camp," he said. "The thing that we've preached is that we're going to win the game with our preparation, effort and execution. Since the [Rhode Island] preparation has begun, we've improved every practice."
Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, and it is Moorhead's hope the kinks will iron themselves out throughout both the game and the season.
"I think the big thing that we're looking for is consistency across the board," he said. "You can't come out and play well for stretches of the game and then tail off. We have to play at a high level of effort and execution for the entire game. That's something that we're improving on, and will continue to improve on throughout the season."
jdemarzo@nypost.com
Google mogul and Glass enthusiast Sergey Brin has split from his wife and is shacking up with a pretty Glass marketing manager, according to a new report.
Brin, who has put himself at the top of the massive 'wearable device' project, has left Anne Wojcicki — his wife of six years — and is reportedly dating Amanda Rosenberg, ValleyWag reported.
AllThingsD first reported that Brin split from Wojcicki and was involved with a Google staffer, but did not name the new gal pal.
A spokesman confirmed to AllThingsD that the high-profile Silicon Valley couple "have been living apart for several months. They remain good friends and partners."
Getty Images
Sergey Brin, right, co-founder of Google and wife Anne Wojcicki.
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Google+
Amanda Rosenberg - Brin's alleged new gal pal.
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Google+
Google+
The pair have two children and reportedly a pre-nup - a fact that should ease potential concerns for shareholders.
AllThingsD also reported that Rosenberg "had also at one point been involved with another Googler."
Brin is currently worth $22.8 billion, according to a Forbes report, and he holds nearly $21 billion in Google shares.
Juan Lagares has excelled in center field for the Mets. And now Matt den Dekker has arrived for his major league debut. Ma* ager Terry Collins said he wants to see the two side-by-side and as for who plays where — den Dekker starts Thursday in center — it will work itself out in the last month.
Actually, what Collins wants to see most from den Dekker is at the plate.
"I just want to see with Matt how his plate discipline is," Collins said before the Mets' 6-2 loss to the Phillies Wednesday night at Citi Field. "In his career in the minor leagues, he put up some power numbers but he's had some high strikeout numbers. They're telling me he's really worked hard at the two-strike approach. I want to see him apply it up here. ... We know he can play defense."
Getty Images
Matt den Dekker.
den Dekker was summoned after Marlon Byrd was traded and could get some outfield corner work. But right, left, center, doesn't matter. He wants the opportunity to duplicate his success at Triple-A Las Vegas (.296 batting average, six homers, 53 games). He hopes to show one thing above all else in the final month.
"That I can play at this level. A lot of guys can play at Triple-A," said the lefty hitting, lefty throwing den Dekker. "I want to show I can perform here and play the same way I know I'm capable of when I played down in Triple-A."
* A young Mets pitcher facing possible surgery is awaiting another exam before making a determination — and it's not Matt Harvey.
Closer Bobby Parnell is awaiting another MRI exam which might provide a better indication of what to do about a herniated disc in his neck.
"Not much has changed. We're going to wait two weeks and have a follow up MRI [exam] and go from there," said Parnell, who was placed on the disabled list Aug. 6 and re-examined this week.
"It could heal on its own or I can have surgery. The real thing weighing on me is if I don't have surgery, does it come back?"
There's a lot of that question going around.
"I don't want to miss next year or any service time. From my understanding if I have surgery the middle of September, I'll be back 100 percent for spring training," said Parnell, who said, if the disc heals on its own, he also would be ready for spring training. "So it's just trying to figure out the reoccurrence issue. So I'm trying to get as much info as I can until that time comes."
* Vic Black, a 25-year-old right handed closer, will be the player to be named in the trade with Pittsburgh, sources confirmed.
Black saved 30 games the past two seasons between Double-A and Triple-A. He appeared in three games for the Pirates this year, pitching four innings.
* Starters Jeremy Hefner and Jenrry Mejia, as expected, underwent their procedures at the Hospital for Special Surgery with the operations performed by Dr. David Altchek.
Hefner underwent Tommy John surgery with a general cleaning of the elbow while a bone spur was removed from Mejia's elbow.
* Recently recalled Anthony Recker will start Thursday at catcher. Collins didn't want to use Travis d'Arnaud in a day game after a night game.
* "Recker's going to play tomorrow. [Yesterday] was what, four days in a row for Trav, so I'm going to get Recker in there," Collins said.
The week has been as turbulent as any the Mets have faced. The loss of Harvey. The trade. But Collins said he wants no self pity.
"It's human nature to say, 'Wow, what are we doing?' " Collins said. "But you know what? You've got forget it and go play. That message was sent [Tuesday] to every single player.
"If they're going to feel sorry for themselves because of what's happened in the last two days, they're looking at failure. You know what that means? That means someone else is going to wear that uniform next year."
fred.kerber@nypost.com
AP
Shellie Zimmerman, wife of George Zimmerman, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing after her husband's arrest.
SANFORD, Fla. — George Zimmerman's wife says she's going to have to "think about" whether she stays married to him.
Shelli Zimmerman made the comments to ABC on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge for lying during a bail hearing following her husband's arrest for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012.
Her husband, who was acquitted on second-degree murder charges in July, wasn't in the Sanford courtroom Wednesday as she was sentenced to a year's probation and 100 hours of community service — even though she supported him and even lied about their finances.
"She was scared," her attorney, Kelly Sims, said after Wednesday's hearing. "Her husband was locked up. She didn't know what was going on. So, she stood by her man, like Tammy Wynette says."
Shelli Zimmerman told ABC "I always want my husband's support."
Asked if she and George Zimmerman are still together, Shelli Zimmerman said, "I'm not going to answer that."
She added that she "wants to have children and stay married."
"With George?" the interviewer asked.
"That's something I'm going to have to think about," Shelli Zimmerman replied.
In the interview, she also revealed that she wasn't at their home the night of the teen's controversial shooting because she'd had a fight with her husband.
"I was staying at my father's house," she said. "We had gotten into an argument the night before and I left."
Shelli Zimmerman says that while she believes her husband's version of the events leading to the shooting, "I can't tell you how many nights I've gone or laid awake at night just thinking that I wish to God the circumstances had been different."
She says the couple lived in hiding while awaiting his trial.
"We have pretty much lived like gypsies for the past year and a half. We've lived in a 20-foot trailer in the woods, scared every night that someone would go and find us and that it would be horrific," she said.
Shelli Zimmerman admitted she did not tell the truth during the bail hearing.
"I can rationalize a lot of reasons for why I was misleading, but the truth is that I knew I was lying," she said.
She said she plans to do her community service with a Christian ministry.
"I've made mistakes and I want to own them right now," Shelli Zimmerman said.
She also told ABC she is deeply sorry for the Martin family's loss. "I can't even begin to understand the grief a parent experiences when they lose a child," she said.
Youtube
Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend, Hyon Song-wol, was reportedly executed along with 11 others after being arrested on Aug. 17th for filming and selling pornographic videos.
The ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was one of a dozen people reportedly executed by a firing squad last week.
The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reports that singer Hyon Song-wol and 11 others had been arrested on August 17 for violating North Korea's laws against pornography and was executed three days later.
The paper reported that the condemned, all members of the performing groups Unhasu Orchestra and Wangjaesan Light Music Band, were accused of making videos of themselves having sex and selling the videos, which the paper reported were available in China.
"They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on," a source told the paper. The source added that the victim's families appear to have all been sent to prison camps.
Kim Jong-un reportedly met Hyon Song-wol approximately 10 years ago, before he was married. The relationship between the two is believed to have ended after interference from Kim's father, Kim Jong-il, though the two had been rumored to be having an affair. Kim Jong-un's wife, Ri Sol-ju, was also a member of the Unhasu Orchestra before their marriage. It is not clear if she had any role in the executions.
Read more: Fox News
Guards 'forced a mother to kill her own baby' – horrors of North Korea's prison camps revealed at UN panel
Court McGee's miraculous comeback story reached new heights last night.
Eight years ago, the Utah native overdosed on heroin and was clinically dead before being resuscitated. Now, McGee is making a name for himself fighting in the UFC, and he raised his profile with a split decision win over Robert Whittaker last night at UFC Fight Night in Indianapolis.
The victory was arguably the biggest of McGee's career, but it didn't come easy. He was outclassed boxing in the first round, left bloodied with multiple cuts on his face. But in the second round he dropped Whittaker with a combination and McGee's cardio took over in the third. The pace he pushed was just too much for the Australian.
McGee said he isn't thinking about a title shot anytime soon — and he's still awhile away in the welterweight division. McGee said he is more concerned with spreading his anti-addiction message to the masses, something that becomes easier the more he wins on a big stage like last night's.
"I have everything I need today," McGee told The Post earlier this week. "It's fantastic. My life is better than I ever imagined it could be. The title is the ultimate goal, but for me I can't look forward too far. That's what I did before and it didn't work for me."
* Carlos Condit (29-7) stopped Martin Kampmann (20-7) early in the fourth round, putting himself in position to challenge for Georges St. Pierre's UFC welterweight title.
mraimondi@nypost.com
MLB: Byrd joins Pirates in style
Marlon Byrd celebrated his arrival in Pittsburgh with a three-run homer, and the Pirates beat the Brewers 7-1. Byrd, acquired along with catcher John Buck from the Mets on Tuesday, hit his 22nd homer of the season into the bushes in center field in the seventh inning as Pittsburgh ended a three-game losing streak.
In Detroit, Brandon Moss homered twice, drove in a career-high six runs in the Athletics' 14-4 rout of the Tigers.
In Los Angeles, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly pulled star rookie Yasiel Puig from the teamn's 4-0 win against the Cubs in the fifth inning for disciplinary reasons. Mattingly would not disclose the exact reason for Puig's benching.
In St. Petersburg, Fla., Chris Archer pitched seven strong innings, David DeJesus scored twice and the Rays, 4-1 winners, ended Los Angeles' four-game winning streak.
In Boston, pinch-hitter Mike Carp's bloop single to left in the eighth inning scored the tiebreaking run and lifted the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over the Orioles.
In Atlanta, Chris Johnson singled to left with two outs in the ninth inning for his first career walk-off hit and the Braves beat the Indians 3-2.
A federal judge has sentenced ex-White Sox scouting executive David Wilder to two years in prison for accepting about $400,000 in kickbacks from Latin American players the team signed.
NFL: Flacco flap takes Denver by storm
Joe Flacco looms larger than life in Denver, and not just because he engineered the stunning upset of the Broncos in the playoffs that propelled the Ravens to the Super Bowl title.
The league's marketing campaign for next week's kickoff game between the Broncos and the defending Super Bowl champs features several large banners of Flacco fluttering from lamp posts on downtown streets — and a giant one several stories high that hangs at Sports Authority Field alongside a banner of Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.
That has drawn an angry public reaction from Broncos fans who have taken to Twitter and to the streets to vent their frustration. Some have organized an online petition asking the league, to remove the Flacco banners.
ETC.:
Landon Donovan signed a multiyear contract extension with the Los Angeles Galaxy, keeping the United States forward with his MLS club.
Veteran NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte suffered three broken ribs in a cycling accident and won't participate in this weekend's race in Atlanta. The accident happened while Labonte, 49, was riding his bicycle near his home in Trinity, N.C.
Lindsey Vonn said her surgically repaired right knee is almost completely healed and she plans to ski this weekend in Portillo, Chile.
Juan Lagares has excelled in center field for the Mets. And now Matt den Dekker has arrived for his major league debut. Ma* ager Terry Collins said he wants to see the two side-by-side and as for who plays where — den Dekker starts Thursday in center — it will work itself out in the last month.
Actually, what Collins wants to see most from den Dekker is at the plate.
"I just want to see with Matt how his plate discipline is," Collins said before the Mets' 6-2 loss to the Phillies Wednesday night at Citi Field. "In his career in the minor leagues, he put up some power numbers but he's had some high strikeout numbers. They're telling me he's really worked hard at the two-strike approach. I want to see him apply it up here. ... We know he can play defense."
den Dekker was summoned after Marlon Byrd was traded and could get some outfield corner work. But right, left, center, doesn't matter. He wants the opportunity to duplicate his success at Triple-A Las Vegas (.296 batting average, six homers, 53 games). He hopes to show one thing above all else in the final month.
"That I can play at this level. A lot of guys can play at Triple-A," said the lefty hitting, lefty throwing den Dekker. "I want to show I can perform here and play the same way I know I'm capable of when I played down in Triple-A."
* A young Mets pitcher facing possible surgery is awaiting another exam before making a determination — and it's not Matt Harvey.
Closer Bobby Parnell is awaiting another MRI exam which might provide a better indication of what to do about a herniated disc in his neck.
"Not much has changed. We're going to wait two weeks and have a follow up MRI [exam] and go from there," said Parnell, who was placed on the disabled list Aug. 6 and re-examined this week.
"It could heal on its own or I can have surgery. The real thing weighing on me is if I don't have surgery, does it come back?"
There's a lot of that question going around.
"I don't want to miss next year or any service time. From my understanding if I have surgery the middle of September, I'll be back 100 percent for spring training," said Parnell, who said, if the disc heals on its own, he also would be ready for spring training. "So it's just trying to figure out the reoccurrence issue. So I'm trying to get as much info as I can until that time comes."
* Vic Black, a 25-year-old right handed closer, will be the player to be named in the trade with Pittsburgh, sources confirmed.
Black saved 30 games the past two seasons between Double-A and Triple-A. He appeared in three games for the Pirates this year, pitching four innings.
* Starters Jeremy Hefner and Jenrry Mejia, as expected, underwent their procedures at the Hospital for Special Surgery with the operations performed by Dr. David Altchek.
Hefner underwent Tommy John surgery with a general cleaning of the elbow while a bone spur was removed from Mejia's elbow.
* Recently recalled Anthony Recker will start Thursday at catcher. Collins didn't want to use Travis d'Arnaud in a day game after a night game.
* "Recker's going to play tomorrow. [Yesterday] was what, four days in a row for Trav, so I'm going to get Recker in there," Collins said.
The week has been as turbulent as any the Mets have faced. The loss of Harvey. The trade. But Collins said he wants no self pity.
"It's human nature to say, 'Wow, what are we doing?' " Collins said. "But you know what? You've got forget it and go play. That message was sent [Tuesday] to every single player.
"If they're going to feel sorry for themselves because of what's happened in the last two days, they're looking at failure. You know what that means? That means someone else is going to wear that uniform next year."
fred.kerber@nypost.com
Fordhams kicks off Year 2 of the Joe Moorhead Era Thursday night, playing host to Rhode Island in a game that, on the surface, appears to heavily favor the Rams.
Fordham returns most of the core of its prolific offense from a season ago, in which the Rams went 6-5 — a five-win improvement from 2011.
The Rams will lean on an attack spearheaded by preseason All-American running back Carlton Koonce, who broke the school's single-season rushing mark last season. Newly minted starting quarterback Michael Nebrich, whose 2012 season was cut short by a torn ACL, will have two all-Americans to throw to in wide receiver Brian Wetzel and tight end Dan Light.
On the other hand, Rhode Island is coming off an 0-11 season, in which it was outscored by nearly 30 points per game. Rhode Island also lost its top three receivers to graduation.
Despite the apparent mismatch, Moorhead has urged his players not to look past Rhode Island, because a key clash with Villanova Sept. 7 could turn tonight's contest into a "trap game" of sorts.
"Right now, we're two teams that are both 0-0," the Forham coach said. "Rhode Island played in one of the toughest, if not the toughest, conference in FCS football [the Colonial Athletic Association].
"They brought a couple of guys back who were injured and missed the entire season last year on the defensive side of the ball, and they've added some 1-A transfers and some junior college kids. They're a hungry team, and they're going to come out with something to prove."
Last year, Fordham opened its season with a 55-0 drubbing of Lock Haven, which set the tone for a vastly improved season. Moorhead said getting off to a good start tonight will have a similar effect.
"It's imperative in Week 1 to come out and lay a solid foundation for the season," he said. "You want to execute on both sides of the ball.
"Offensively, you want to limit your turnovers, and defensively, you want to create them. The teams that don't turn the ball over give themselves an opportunity to win. Hopefully the way we perform will be a good springboard into the upcoming part of the season."
Moorhead said he is happy with his team's progress and enters the game confident.
"I think the kids put in a tremendous amount of effort and made very positive strides in camp," he said. "The thing that we've preached is that we're going to win the game with our preparation, effort and execution. Since the [Rhode Island] preparation has begun, we've improved every practice."
Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, and it is Moorhead's hope the kinks will iron themselves out throughout both the game and the season.
"I think the big thing that we're looking for is consistency across the board," he said. "You can't come out and play well for stretches of the game and then tail off. We have to play at a high level of effort and execution for the entire game. That's something that we're improving on, and will continue to improve on throughout the season."
jdemarzo@nypost.com
TORONTO — This simply won't work.
You can't produce a game like this, a multi-platform meltdown, when you've given yourself such little room for error. Against an opponent deader than pagers or VCRs.
Let's not sit here this morning and declare the Yankees (70-63) are officially out of the American League playoff race, because they aren't. Far greater mathematical miracles have occurred in the wild-card era. But let's assert that last night's 7-2 defeat to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, which set them 5 1/2 games behind Oakland (75-57) — six in the loss column — is symptomatic of why the Yankees' situation looks so bleak.
Reuters
FEELING BLUE: Derek Jeter looks appropriately distressed during the Yankees' 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays last night in Toronto, which further dimmed their fleeting playoff hopes.
Their starting pitching, which has helped them stay afloat in this injury-riddled campaign, is showing serious holes, and the once-brilliant Hiroki Kuroda has sprung a leak at a most inopportune moment. The Blue Jays knocked around Kuroda for seven runs (five earned) and nine hits last night, giving the AL East cellar-dwellers a 2-1 edge in this series.
Kuroda has an 8.10 ERA in his last three starts. Combine Kuroda's downturn with the season-long struggles of CC Sabathia, who starts the Yankees' next game tomorrow night against Baltimore, and the epic problems of Sunday's starter Phil Hughes, and you have a liability where you can least afford it.
Without strong starting pitching, Joe Girardi said, "It's going to make it very, very hard" to pull this off.
PHOTOS: POST COVERS A-ROD THROUGH THE YEARS
In losing their second straight series, the Yankees also suffered a pair of damaging malfunctions that spoke to greater realities. Catcher Chris Stewart, who originally was supposed to be Francisco Cervelli's co-tenant or backup behind the plate rather than the primary occupant, dropped a Kuroda called third strike to J.P. Arencibia in the first inning — the result of crossed signals, Stewart said. With the ball far away from home, Stewart conceded, he should have held onto the ball once he retrieved it. Instead, his throw to first hit Arencibia in the back and went into foul territory in right field. Brett Lawrie (from second base) and Rajai Davis (from first) scored in the "Bad News Bears"-like sequence. Stewart, with a career-high 90 games on his ledger, has been overexposed.
In the top of the fourth, with the Yankees mounting a rally and two runs already on the board, third-base coach Rob Thomson sent Alex Rodriguez (coming from first base) home on Mark Reynolds' blast off the right-field wall. The lumbering A-Rod, 38 with a pair of surgically repaired hips, was thrown out easily on an 8-4-2 play, killing the momentum. Thomson's poor decision — he copped to it, saying he read the play too early — reminded us, not that we needed it, how much the Yankees are relying on older, limited players to make this happen.
And if you want to know the most meaningful sign of all that a September surge ain't happening in The Bronx, just look at these two numbers: 529 and 535. That's the Yankees' runs scored and runs allowed this season. It's to the team's credit, especially Girardi's, they have outplayed their run differential to this juncture. It's difficult to complete that mission, however, even though the Yankees' lineup looks much better than it did in the first half.
Let's examine three of the most memorable late-season runs from the Yankees' neighborhood to the playoffs:
1) In 2011, the Rays were 73-60 after 133 games and trailed the Red Sox (82-51), who led the AL East at the time, by nine games. The Rays' run differential after 133 games was 571-508; they were under-performing their expectations. Tampa Bay was on track for an uptick, and it went 18-11 to claim the AL wild card over collapsing, fried-chicken-munching and beer-guzzling Boston.
2) Also in 2011, the Cardinals were 69-64 and trailed the Braves (79-54) by 10 games in the National League wild-card race. St. Louis had scored 617 runs and allowed 583. Tony La Russa's bunch also should have expected an improvement, and the Cardinals posted a 21-8 mark to leap over Atlanta and subsequently win the World Series.
3) In 2004, the Astros, having lost Andy Pettitte to left elbow surgery for the rest of the season, were 70-63, just like Pettitte's 2013 Yankees. The differences, however, were twofold: 1) Houston trailed the Cubs (73-60) by just three games in the NL wild-card race; and 2) with a 654-584 run differential, the Astros were due for a major improvement. They finished the season with a 22-7 run.
So the Yankees must produce better starting pitching, get more out of their old and tired players and benefit from some luck when they've already received their fair share. That must start pretty much immediately.
A run like that is a terrible bet. Everything you see, both on the field and in the statistical analysis, tells you the Yankees will be home for October. Go with your gut, and your brain, too.
kdavidoff@nypost.com
TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals court has found a person who knowingly sends a text to a driver can share liability if the driver causes an accident.
Tuesday's ruling comes in the case of a couple who lost both their legs when their motorcycle was hit by a teenager who was texting and driving in Morris County in 2009.
The motorists had sued his girlfriend who sent him messages. The judges upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed the lawsuit.
The appeals court says someone who texts a motorist is not liable for the driver's negligent actions. But the texter has a duty to refrain if the person knows the recipient is driving and likely to read the message.
The injured couple settled their lawsuit against the driver for $500,000.
HAMPTON, NJ — Authorities are on the scene of a fire and a possible explosion that leveled a home in New Jersey.
One person escaped the inferno that turned the dwelling into charred ruins.
State Police Lt. Stephen Jones says a person reported a fire or explosion in the home on New Street in Hampton just before 7 a.m. Wednesday.
Jones says a person might have been trapped inside.
Officials don't know what sparked the blaze in Hunterdon County.
Legal advisor for family of Li Tianyi, Lan He (center) is surrounded by journalist before entering Haidian court in Beijing on Aug. 28th. Since 17-year-old Li is a minor, the case is closed to the public.
BEIJING — The son of a well-known Chinese general went on trial Wednesday over an alleged gang rape, in a case that has focused attention on the sometimes outrageous behavior of the offspring of the country's elites.
A group of journalists awaited Li Tianyi and four co-defendants as they were driven through the gate of Beijing's Haidian District Court. The case is not open to the public because Li is a minor.
REUTERS
Li Shuangjian, a general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army joins his son, Li Tianyi, onstage after his solo concert at an odeum of the China National Orchestra in Beijing on Aug. 19, 2011.
The 17-year-old Li has denied taking part in the February incident at a Beijing hotel that followed a night of heavy drinking.
Li is the son of Li Shuangjiang, a general famed for crooning patriotic anthems for the People's Liberation Army and starring in scores of television galas. He was sentenced to a year in detention in 2011 as a 15-year-old for attacking a couple over a minor traffic dispute and threatening onlookers in a case that attracted widespread attention.
The children of China's wealthy and politically connected are routinely mocked on public networking sites for their sense of entitlement and wasteful spending.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Bail was set at $3 million Tuesday for a 16-year-old boy who is charged with killing a World War II veteran and contends the man was beaten to death because he shorted the teen and another boy on a sale of crack cocaine.
The allegation was sharply rebutted by friends of Delbert Belton, the 88-year-old veteran known as "Shorty."
"Shorty never did no drugs," said Ted Denison, a friend who added that the defendants were "smearing his name."
The drug-dealing claim is in a letter police found after they arrested Kenan Adams-Kinard early Monday morning, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Larry Haskell said during Tuesday's court hearing.
Haskell said the letter contends that Adams-Kinard and Demetrius L. Glenn, 16, were buying crack cocaine from Belton when the attack occurred Aug. 21. That notion was scoffed at by family members and friends of Belton, who was known as Shorty because he was little more than 5 feet tall.
Haskell did not return several telephone calls seeking additional information on the drug-dealing claim.
Both teens are charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery. The charges carry a potential life sentence.
Police said Belton, who was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa, was beaten in his vehicle as he waited for a friend in the parking lot of an Eagles Lodge in north Spokane. Officers found Belton with serious head injuries, and his wallet had been taken. He died in the hospital Thursday.
The teens will be tried as adults, and Spokane County District Judge Debra Hayes on Tuesday ordered Adams-Kinard moved from a juvenile jail to the Spokane County Jail.
A lower bail of $2 million had been set for Glenn on Monday, but Hayes said Adams-Kinard is more of a flight risk if he's released. The judge noted that Glenn turned himself in Thursday night, while Adams-Kinard hid out for days before he was arrested.
The Associated Press does not generally identify minors accused of a crime but is naming the teens because of the severity of the charges.
Both of the 16-year-olds have criminal records.
Court records show that in 2011, Glenn and people he was with surrounded and confronted another teenager in a park because they saw a black bandana on the ground, which they took as an act of disrespect. Glenn was convicted of assault, riot and obstruction after attacking the person with a stick or bat studded with nails. He was placed on probation and later agreed to pay restitution.
Earlier this year, Glenn had two run-ins with law enforcement. On Feb. 9, he was charged with malicious mischief after damaging a garage door, and on March 18, he was arrested and charged with driving without a license.
Adams-Kinard was also arrested earlier this year after snatching a cellphone from a girl on a city bus. The girl suffered scratches on her hand, and Adams-Kinard pleaded guilty to theft and assault.
Belton was born and raised in Spokane. He survived being shot in the leg in 1945 at Okinawa, one of the fiercest battles of the war, and went on to spend 33 years working for Kaiser Aluminum before retiring in 1982.
Lamar is back home and reportedly ready to listen to his family.
The basketball player and his reality star wife Khloe Kardashian are addressing "serious issues" — including Odom's reported drug problems, according to TMZ.
Sources with the gossip site say the NBA star still remains unsure about seeking treatment but is "receptive."
A week ago, he rejected an attempted intervention by his wife, leading to his getting kicked to the curb and going off the grid.
Friends reached out to Odom Monday at an undisclosed location to address his alleged issues with crack and other drugs.
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Lamar Odom returned to his LA pad after getting kicked out by his wife, reality star Khloe Kardashian.
RadarOnline reports that the hoopster has been using the powerful painkiller OxyContin and Ambien, a sedative used for insomnia, over the last season.
But the ball player wasn't tossed out of the league from random drug tests because he had a valid prescription.
The 33-year-old allegedly became addicted to Oxycodin, a synthetic form of morphine that he preferred to smoke, a source told the celeb site.
Intervention attempts by teammates from the Los Angeles Clippers and his former team the Los Angeles Lakers at an L.A. hotel were rejected by Odom.
"There was a bit of time it appeared that Lamar was going to admit publicly his addiction and go to rehab, again," the source told Radar. "But then, he abruptly bolted from the hotel and left the premises."
Last August, the athlete went to a rehab facility for his alleged crack addiction, TMZ reported. He was at the treatment center for three weeks before checking himself out, despite several attempts by Kardashian to convince him to stay.
| (Game time) | 2013 | '13 vs OPP | CAREER | LAST 3 STARTS | ||||||||
| LINE | W-L | ERA | *REC | W-L | ERA | vs OPP | W-L | IP | ERA | *AHW | ||
| Yankees | Kuroda (R) | 6-7 | 11-9 | 2.71 | 14-12 | 2-0 | 1.69 | 4-1 | 1-2 | 19.2 | 4.58 | 11.4 |
| Blue Jays | Redmond (R) | (7:07pm) | 1-2 | 4.44 | 3-5 | — | — | 0-0 | 0-1 | 14.2 | 4.91 | 13.5 |
| Phillies | Hamels (L) | 7 1/2-8 1/2 | 5-13 | 3.62 | 9-18 | 1-2 | 4.76 | 6-12 | 1-0 | 23.0 | 2.35 | 8.2 |
| Mets | Matsuzaka (R) | (7:10pm) | 0-1 | 9.00 | 0-1 | — | — | 1-0 | 0-1 | 5.0 | 9.00 | 12.6 |
| Cubs | Jackson (R) | (3:10pm) | 7-13 | 5.00 | 9-16 | — | — | 3-1 | 0-1 | 17.0 | 5.29 | 15.4 |
| Dodgers | Nolasco (R) | 10-12 | 10-9 | 3.42 | 13-14 | 2-0 | 4.50 | 6-2 | 2-0 | 20.1 | 1.77 | 7.5 |
| Marlins | Alvarez (R) | (7:05pm) | 2-3 | 3.86 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2.70 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 18.0 | 6.50 | 12.5 |
| Nationals | Strasburg (R) | 10-12 | 6-9 | 3.00 | 10-15 | 1-1 | 7.00 | 5-3 | 1-0 | 18.2 | 2.89 | 8.2 |
| Brewers | Gorzelanny (L) | (7:05pm) | 3-5 | 3.60 | 4-5 | 1-0 | 1.69 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 15.1 | 7.04 | 14.7 |
| Pirates | Morton (R) | 7-8 | 5-3 | 3.42 | 8-5 | 0-0 | 0.00 | 0-4 | 1-0 | 20.2 | 2.18 | 11.8 |
| Reds | Bailey (R) | (8:15pm) | 8-10 | 3.71 | 12-14 | 0-2 | 9.58 | 3-9 | 1-0 | 20.1 | 3.54 | 9.3 |
| Cardinals | Wainwright (R) | 7-8 | 15-7 | 2.58 | 18-9 | 1-1 | 2.57 | 5-7 | 2-0 | 23.0 | 1.96 | 7.8 |
| Giants | Bumgarner (L) | Even-6 | 11-8 | 2.84 | 13-13 | 2-1 | 5.19 | 7-4 | 0-1 | 17.0 | 3.71 | 13.8 |
| Rockies | Chacin (R) | (8:40pm) | 12-7 | 3.22 | 15-10 | 1-1 | 5.40 | 4-5 | 2-1 | 20.1 | 2.66 | 11.5 |
| Padres | Erlin (L) | (9:40pm) | 1-2 | 7.15 | 1-3 | — | — | 0-0 | 0-2 | 14.0 | 9.00 | 14.8 |
| D'Backs | Miley (L) | 8-9 | 9-8 | 3.60 | 14-12 | 0-3 | 7.36 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 21.0 | 3.86 | 10.3 |
| Rangers | Perez (L) | (3:40pm) | 7-3 | 3.62 | 9-4 | 1-0 | 2.19 | 1-1 | 3-0 | 23.0 | 3.13 | 9.8 |
| Mariners | Hernandez (R) | 6-7 | 12-7 | 2.63 | 13-14 | 0-3 | 5.55 | 12-19 | 1-2 | 19.0 | 3.32 | 9.0 |
| Athletics | Straily (R) | (7:08pm) | 6-7 | 4.56 | 11-10 | — | — | 0-0 | 0-1 | 16.1 | 5.51 | 14.9 |
| Tigers | Fister (R) | 8-9 | 11-6 | 3.54 | 15-11 | — | — | 5-4 | 1-1 | 18.2 | 3.86 | 15.9 |
| Orioles | Norris (R) | (7:10pm) | 9-10 | 4.22 | 13-13 | 0-1 | 4.50 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 15.1 | 7.63 | 18.8 |
| Red Sox | Lackey (R) | 7-8 | 8-11 | 3.17 | 10-13 | 1-1 | 4.72 | 12-5 | 1-2 | 21.2 | 2.91 | 8.7 |
| Angels | Richards (R) | (7:10pm) | 4-5 | 3.95 | 5-5 | — | — | 0-0 | 1-1 | 21.1 | 2.95 | 11.0 |
| Rays | Archer (R) | 8-9 | 7-5 | 2.93 | 10-6 | — | — | 0-0 | 1-1 | 19.0 | 3.79 | 9.5 |
| Royals | Duffy (L) | Even-6 | 1-0 | 1.86 | 2-0 | 0-0 | 4.91 | 0-1 | 1-0 | 9.2 | 1.86 | 11.2 |
| Twins | Albers (L) | (8:10pm) | 2-1 | 3.00 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 0.00 | 1-0 | 1-1 | 21.2 | 4.15 | 8.7 |
| Astros | Cosart (R) | (8:10pm) | 1-1 | 1.60 | 3-4 | — | — | 0-0 | 0-1 | 17.0 | 2.65 | 12.2 |
| White Sox | Sale (L) | 10-12 | 9-12 | 3.08 | 12-12 | 0-1 | 0.00 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 23.0 | 5.09 | 11.0 |
| Indians | Masterson (R) | (7:10pm) | 14-9 | 3.50 | 17-10 | — | — | 0-0 | 1-1 | 18.2 | 3.86 | 14.0 |
| Braves | Maholm (L) | 5 1/2-6 1/2 | 9-10 | 4.51 | 10-11 | — | — | 0-2 | 0-3 | 12.2 | 10.66 | 20.6 |
* REC: Won-lost record of pitcher's team in games he has started.
* AHW: Average total of hits and walks yielded per nine innings.
MLB: Victorino leads Red Sox over O's
Shane Victorino homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs to lead the Red Sox to a 13-2 victory over the Orioles.
In St. Petersburg, Fla., Erick Aybar hit a two-run double off closer Fernando Rodney in the ninth in the Angels 6-5 win over the Rays, who blew a 5-1 lead.
In Atlanta, rookie Alex Wood pitched five-plus strong innings, Elliot Johnson had a two-run triple as the Braves beat the Indians 2-0.
In Detroit, Brandon Moss hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Justin Verlander, and the A's beat the Tigers 6-3 in a game cut short by rain.
Blue Jays' general manager Alex Anthopoulos said manager John Gibbons will return as manager in 2014, even though the team remains stuck in last place in the AL East.
NFL: RG3 could get all-clear tomorrow
Robert Griffin III could get the all-clear to play in the regular season when he meets with his surgeon tomorrow night.
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said yesterday Griffin, who had reconstructive right knee surgery in January, will meet with Dr. James Andrews while the Redskins are in Florida for their final preseason game against the Buccaneers.
Andrews cleared Griffin for practice before the start of training camp but has yet to clear the quarterback to play in games.
The NFL Players Association has filed a grievance to help former Patriots star tight end and murder suspect Aaron Hernandez collect an $82,000 workout bonus.
The 49ers traded outside linebacker Parys Haralson to the Saints and will receive an undisclosed 2014 draft pick in return.
Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain will miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season as he recovers from a bruised spinal cord.
Denver safety Quinton Carter has landed on season-ending injured reserve for the second straight year due to an injured left knee.
Carolina's veteran running back Jonathan Stewart will miss at least the first six weeks of the season following offseason ankle surgeries.
Packers starting running back DuJuan Harris is out for the year after injuring his right knee last week against the Seahawks.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he "is rooting" for Tim Tebow to make the team, but that it's coach Bill Belichick's call.
Cowboys defensive tackle Jay Ratliff will miss at least the first six games of the season with hamstring and groin injuries.
HOOPS:
Former Bulls star Scottie Pippen won't face any criminal charges after a June fight with an autograph seeker outside a Malibu, Calif. sushi restaurant, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Madrid's 2020 Olympic bid committee said it has appointed Lakers star Pau Gasol to act as one of its spokesmen. Madrid is vying with Tokyo and Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Games.
ETC.: WADA blames it on Rio
The anti-doping laboratory in the 2016 Olympics host city of Rio de Janeiro had its accreditation revoked because of "repeated failures."
The World Anti-Doping Agency announced it is withdrawing the lab's accreditation, less than 10 months before it was expected to analyze players' samples for FIFA during the World Cup in Brazil.
