Sports shorts Appeal for harsher Pistorius sentence dismissed

A South African judge on Friday dismissed an appeal by prosecutors for a harsher sentence against Oscar Pistorius who was found guilty of murder for killing his girlfriend in 2013.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said the state’s appeal to extend the six-year sentence against the 29-year-old double amputee Olympic sprinter had a limited prospect of success.

“I am not persuaded that there are reasonable prospects of success for an appeal,” she said in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of February 14. He claimed he thought she was an intruder. The state charged that he shot her in anger after an argument. Pistorius was found guilty of murder and sentenced by Masipa to six years in prison.

The Texas Rangers placed reliever Jeremy Jeffress on the restricted list Friday following his overnight arrest on a drunken driving charge.

Jeffress wasn’t with the team for its home game Friday night against the Indians. While there was no timetable for his return, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Jeffress might be away only a day.

Daniels said the team is “certainly disappointed” in Jeffress. Major League Baseball is looking into the arrest of the pitcher who was suspended twice as a minor leaguer for violating drug rules.

Online records for the Dallas County jail show that the 28-year-old was booked around 5:15 a.m. on a driving while intoxicated charge. Bond was later set at $500. No attorney information was available for Jeffress.

Texas acquired Jeffress from Milwaukee as part of a trade Aug. 1.