Former Buckeyes plead not guilty
Two former Ohio State football players pleaded not guilty to charges that they held a woman against her will and raped her this month.
Defensive backs Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint — who were kicked off the team Wednesday after they were charged — made an initial appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court in Columbus, and their respective attorneys entered pleas of not guilty.
Judge Cynthia Ebner set bond at $100,000 for Riep and $75,000 for Wint and ordered that the men not have contact with the accuser or each other.
Defending champion Nelly Korda shot a fourunder 69 to trail Jodi Ewart Shadoff by three strokes after the first round of the LPGA’s Women’s Australian Open.
Ewart Shadoff had seven birdies in her round of 66 at Royal Adelaide and held a one-stroke lead over U.S. Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, who had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch in the middle of her round, and Inbee Park.
News outlets and the public will be able to attend a hearing next week in New Orleans on the confidentiality of emails between Roman Catholic officials and the city’s NFL franchise concerning clergy sex-abuse scandals.
A state judge in New Orleans ruled that the Feb. 20 hearing will be open, although she cautioned attorneys that they must not disclose the contents of the emails at that hearing.
As the Associated Press reported last month, victims’ lawyers allege that hundreds of Saints emails show team executives did behind-the-scenes public relations damage control amid the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ clergy abuse crisis. The team has gone to court to keep the emails from being made public, saying court rules would ordinarily keep them under seal and that the plaintiffs’ lawyers want them released “for publicity purposes.”
Injured Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia won’t report to spring training with the rest of the position players next week, manager Ron Roenicke said. Roenicke confirmed reports that Pedroia had a setback in his latest attempt to rehab his left knee.
Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic and TedJan Bloemen of Canada won individual gold medals on the first day of the ISU World Single Distances Speedskating Championships at the Utah Olympic Oval.
Samoa-born Jimmy Peau, who as Jimmy Thunder recorded one of the fastest knockouts in professional boxing with a firstpunch victory over American Crawford Grimley, died. He was 54.