Monday’s Sports In Brief

TRACK AND FIELD

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Looking grim and solemn, Olympian Oscar Pistorius was charged Tuesday with the premeditated murder of his model girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that Pistorius shot 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp four times through the bathroom door of his home in a guarded and gated complex in the South African capital, Pretoria. Nel said the door had been broken open.

The family of the 26-year-old double-amputee who last year became the first disabled person to compete in the Olympics says police evidence will show there should be no murder charge.

The charge was made as Steenkamp’s body was being driven to a church for a memorial service in the south-coast city of Port Elizabeth. The family said members have gathered from around the world.

June Steenkamp, the model’s mother, said the family wants answers.

PRO BASKETBALL

Jerry Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers’ playboy owner who shepherded the NBA team to 10 championships from the Showtime dynasty of the 1980s to the Kobe Bryant era, died Monday. He was 80.

He died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Bob Steiner, his assistant.

Buss had been hospitalized for most of the past 18 months while undergoing cancer treatment, but the immediate cause of death was kidney failure, Steiner said. With his condition apparently worsening in recent weeks, several prominent former Lakers visited Buss to say goodbye.

“The NBA has lost a visionary owner whose influence on our league is incalculable and will be felt for decades to come,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said. “More importantly, we have lost a dear and valued friend.”

After growing up in poverty in Wyoming, he earned success in academia, aerospace and real estate before discovering his favourite vocation when he bought the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979. Under Buss’ leadership, the Lakers became Southern California’s most beloved sports franchise and a worldwide extension of Hollywood glamour. Buss acquired, nurtured and befriended a staggering array of talented players and basketball minds during his Hall of Fame tenure, from Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard.

DEERFIELD, Illinois (AP) — Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose participated in five-on-five drills, the latest step in his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after practice that Rose “did what everyone else did.”

Rose has been sidelined since he tore his ACL late in last season’s playoff-opening win over Philadelphia. The top-seeded Bulls wound up losing that first-round series.

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) — Utah Jazz assistant Sidney Lowe was arrested and charged with failing to file his North Carolina state income taxes for three years.

Lowe, the former North Carolina State coach, didn’t file returns in 2009, 2010 and 2011 — the last three years he coached the Wolfpack, according to the state Department of Revenue. He was booked at the Wake County jail and released on a $10,000 unsecured bond on the misdemeanour charges.

Lowe was not with the Jazz when they returned to practice Monday night after the All-Star break, but head coach Tyrone Corbin said Lowe would be with the team Tuesday when it faces Golden State in Salt Lake City.

NCAA

CORAL GABLES, Florida (AP) — Calling the NCAA’s investigation “unprofessional and unethical,” Miami President Donna Shalala lashed out at the governing body for college athletics, insisting that their long probe of the Hurricanes not only come to a swift end but result in no other penalties against her school.

“We have been wronged,” Shalala said.

Her statement came shortly after the embattled NCAA said it was pressing on with the case against Miami, even after acknowledging “missteps” that led to the replacement of its enforcement department and the throwing out of all ill-gotten information gleaned from two depositions that could have been very damaging for the Hurricanes.

The NCAA said it paid Maria Elena Perez, the attorney for former booster Nevin Shapiro, more than $19,000 for work she performed, primarily using subpoena power to ask questions on the association’s behalf and doing so under the guise of a bankruptcy case. The NCAA does not have subpoena power and was not involved in Shapiro’s bankruptcy proceedings.

At NCAA headquarters, President Mark Emmert announced that Julie Roe Lach, the vice-president of enforcement, is leaving and will be replaced by private attorney Jonathan Duncan after her role in the botched investigation. He even suggested the NCAA’s board of directors and executive committee could hold him accountable for this mess.

BASEBALL

KISSIMMEE, Florida (AP) — Roger Clemens says he’s “not going to lose any sleep” over failing to make the Hall of Fame last month.

The 354-game winner was at spring training as a special instructor for the Houston Astros, and he spoke for a bit with the team’s pitchers about his mental approach to the game. Later, he watched some of the Astros throw live batting practice.

When Clemens met with reporters Monday, he began by handing out a written statement about the death of country star Mindy McCready, who made headlines in April 2008 when she claimed a longtime relationship with Clemens. Published reports at the time said she met the pitcher at a Florida karaoke bar when she was 15 and he was 28 and married. Clemens has denied the relationship.

Authorities said McCready died Sunday at her home in Heber Springs, Ark., of an apparent suicide.

“Yes, that is sad news,” Clemens’ statement said. “I had heard over time that she was trying to get peace and direction in her life. The few times that I had met her and her manager/agent they were extremely nice.”

TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Derek Jeter took part in most of the drills during the New York Yankees’ first full-squad workout.

The 38-year-old captain participated in on-field batting practice for the first time since ankle surgery last October. Jeter, who has been hitting in an indoor cage, also took part in a 25-minute defensive session at shortstop.

FORT MYERS, Florida (AP) — Pedro Martinez might have been the most popular person in a Red Sox uniform during the team’s morning workout.

The former ace has rejoined the organization as a special assistant to general manager Ben Cherington.

Martinez, who turned 41 in October, has not pitched since 2009, his final season with the Phillies. He last played for the Red Sox in 2004, when he helped them to their first World Series championship in 86 years.

PHOENIX (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for the second time in less than a year and will miss the season.

The 27-year-old was injured May 1 at San Diego when he hit a wall while chasing Nick Hundley’s foul popup, cutting short his season after 21 games. Gamel reinjured the knee Saturday during Milwaukee’s first full-squad workout this year.

PRO FOOTBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da’Quan Bowers was arrested at a New York airport after police found a loaded handgun in his luggage.

Bowers was arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a weapon and posted $10,000 bond.

He was arrested at LaGuardia Airport as he was about to board a US Airways flight to Raleigh, N.C. Authorities say the loaded .40-calibre weapon was found during a search of his carry-on bag.

BRADENTON, Florida (AP) — Manti Te’o told USA Today that he doesn’t believe the online hoax that fooled him will affect his stock in the upcoming NFL draft.

The former Notre Dame linebacker also said he has shut down his Twitter account and isn’t sure if he will ever use social media again.

Te’o has only granted a couple of interviews since he acknowledged falling in love with a nonexistent woman invented by another man who insists the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy was unaware of the scam during the online relationship.

Te’o has been training in Florida for this week’s NFL combine. He told USA Today he just needs to “go out there and perform and all that other stuff is behind me.”

GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) — The Green Bay Packers released veteran centre Jeff Saturday.

Saturday signed a two-year deal with the Packers as an unrestricted free agent in March 2012 after playing 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He had been the Colts’ full-time starting centre since 2000. He became a fan favourite, a key figure in the NFL Players Association and one of Peyton Manning’s closest friends.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

BERKELEY, California (AP) — California coach Mike Montgomery was reprimanded by the Pac-12 for shoving one of his players in the chest during a game.

The conference did not announce what specific punishment Montgomery received for his actions Sunday night, although he will not be suspended.

The confrontation happened during a timeout early in the second half of Cal’s 76-68 win over Southern California on Sunday night, when Montgomery yelled at star guard Allen Crabbe for nonchalant play and then shoved him in the chest with both hands.