Sex scandal indictments are nixed
A grand jury declined to indict an escort and former Louisville men’s basketball staffer in a sex scandal that engulfed the program.
The Jefferson County grand jury decided Thursday there wasn’t enough evidence for charges of prostitution and unlawful transactions with a minor against Katina Powell and Andre McGee.
Powell wrote in a book published in 2015 that McGee hired her to provide dancers to perform sex acts for Cardinals recruits and players from 2010-14.
The announcement by the commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office comes as the school awaits discipline in early June by the NCAA after an investigation.
More college basketball
Kentucky will travel to Morgantown to play West Virginia and Kansas will play host to Texas A&M in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The field for the annual event was announced, with all 10 games being played Jan. 27.
• Valparaiso officially is the newest member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Indiana college accepted the league’s invitation and will join July 1. The Crusaders have been part of the Horizon League since 2007.
College football
Penn State’s season opener against Akron Sept. 2 will kick off at noon and air on WTAE and the Penn State Sports Network. No other start times have been announced as of yet.
• A potential matchup of preseason No. 1 vs. No. 2 between Alabama and Florida State will be ABC’s first Saturday night football game (Sept. 2) of the 2017 season. ESPN/ABC announced its opening-weekend schedule, along with the Saturday prime-time games for the first three weeks of the season. West Virginia and Virginia Tech also meet on the first weekend (Sunday night Sept. 3 on WTAE) at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
Auto racing
Kevin Harvick will start on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, while Cup Series point leader Kyle Larson will begin NASCAR’s longest race at the rear of the field after he failed to get through pre-qualifying inspection. Harvick turned a lap of 193.424 mph Thursday night on the 11⁄ 2- mile oval. It’s only the second time a Ford has won the pole in the past 16 Cup races at Charlotte. Kyle Busch, the All-Star race winner Saturday at the track, will start alongside Harvick.
Pro football
The Chicago Bears added former New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz on a one-year contract. He was released in February by the Giants after seven seasons.
Women’s basketball
Karima Christmas scored 18 points as the Dallas Wings rallied past the host San Antonio Stars, 94-82, in the WNBA.
College baseball
Winning pitcher Brendan McKay of Blackhawk High School hit a grand slam as top-seeded Louisville (47-9) beat Notre Dame (26-32), 10-3, in pool play at the ACC tournament in Louisville, Ky. Louisville must beat Florida State (36-20) Friday to advance to a semifinal Saturday to face Duke (30-27), which beat Virginia, 4-3, to reach the final four.
Soccer
Lionel Messi lost his Supreme Court appeal over a tax-fraud conviction in Spain. The court confirmed the 21-month prison sentence handed to Messi for defrauding tax authorities of $4.6 million from 2007-09. He is not expected to go to prison because sentences of less than two years for first offenses are usually suspended in Spain.