Miller leads Hall of Fame class of 2012
Five-time NBA All-star Reggie Miller, NBA winningest coach Don Nelson and college standout Ralph Sampson were announced Monday as part of a 12-member class that will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
Miller, 46, was voted in on his second opportunity, joining his sister, 1995 enshrinee Cheryl Miller.
He retired from the NBA in 2005 after an 18-year career, all with the Indiana Pacers. He’s the Pacers’ all-time leading scorer and is second all time in the NBA in three-point field goals.
Also announced Monday as joining five previously announced members of the 2012 class: two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina Mcclain, four-time NBA champion Jamaal Wilkes, longtime college referee Hank Nichols and the All-american Red Heads, the female version of the Harlem Globetrotters.
Five-game suspension for Jimenez
Cleveland Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez was suspended for five games and fined by Major League Baseball on Monday for intentionally throwing at the Colorado Rockies’ Troy Tulowitzki during a spring training game. Jimenez will serve his suspension during the first five games of the season unless he asks the players association to appeal the decision. Rockies manager Jim Tracy, who called Jimenez’s act the “most gutless” he’s seen in his 35 years in baseball, said justice had been served. “That kind of stuff can’t happen,” Tracy told USA TODAY Sports. “It (the suspension) just fortifies the importance of professionalism. . . . I’m not one to make phone calls and complain Honored: Reggie Miller, with Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame President John Doleva. about a whole lot of things, but that’s one there you don’t want to take sitting down.” — Bob Nightengale
-Left- hander Aroldis Chapman is headed back to the Cincinnati Reds bullpen. ... Josh Beckett went to Texas on Monday to have his injured thumb examined, but Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said he expected the right-hander to make his scheduled start Saturday at the Detroit Tigers. . . . Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Cristhian Martinez was arrested early Monday and charged with drunken driving after police say they saw him weaving in and out of a lane while driving slowly on an Atlanta highway.
Lions’ Leshoure caught with marijuana
Police said Detroit Lions running back Mikel Leshoure was caught chewing marijuana during a traffic stop in southwestern Michigan. The March 12 incident occurred a few weeks after Leshoure was caught with marijuana by police in another southwestern Michigan community. Leshoure was due in court Monday for the more recent case but didn’t appear. A police report said he was a passenger in a car stopped on I-94 in Lake Township. The officer said Leshoure was chewing marijuana and noticed small pieces on his shirt. Leshoure was ticketed for marijuana possession. He was drafted in 2011 but missed the season because of a torn Achilles tendon. Police said Leshoure paid $485 on March 1 to settle the other marijuana case.
NFL cheerleader charged with sex crime
The captain of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleading squad pleaded not guilty Monday in Covington, Ky., after being indicted in a first-degree sexual abuse case involving a student during her time as a high school teacher. Sarah Jones, 26, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual or other prohibited acts. Jones was an English teacher at Dixie Heights High in Edgewood, Ky., before resigning Nov. 29. Her mother, Cheryl Jones, 55, principal of Twenhofel Middle School in Independence, Ky., pleaded not guilty to a charge of tampering with physical evidence and was placed on administrative leave. Each charge is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Judge Patricia Summe reduced Sarah Jones’ $50,000 bond and Cheryl Jones’ $30,000 bond to $15,000 each. She required the pair to be placed on electronic monitoring and have no contact with the alleged victim and his family. The Joneses’ case is set for trial June 27. Summe ordered that text messaging on the Joneses’ mobile phones be disabled as a term of their release from jail, and computers have been seized as part of the investigation. The indictment states the alleged sexual relationship with the high school student took place between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Briefly . . .
No. 9-ranked Mardy Fish is pulling out of this week’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against France. Fish, the highest-ranked U.S. tennis player, was seen by doctors in Miami last week and was told he has extreme fatigue and needs to rest at least two or three days. The USA plays France at Monte Carlo starting Friday. Ryan Harrison is replacing Fish on the U.S. roster. . . . Skier Lindsey Vonn won’t need surgery on her sore knees, just rest after a long season. Tests on Monday revealed fraying of the meniscus in her left knee, but no tear. The right knee turned out to be fine. Vonn was bothered by aching knees during the season but still compiled the most points ever by a female skier as she won her fourth overall World Cup crown. She had been chasing Hermann Maier’s record of 2,000 points, but finished at 1,980. . . . U.S. cyclist Levi Leipheimer, 38, was hit by a car on Sunday while training in Spain for the Tour of Basque Country. He had no broken bones, but Leipheimer, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, injured his lower left leg and did not compete in the race, which began Monday.
Compiled by John Tkach from staff, wire reports