Lions' bid is no money-back guarantee

May 10, 2007

Football
An arbitrator is expected to hear the Detroit Lions' case in their bid to recover $10.1 million of a rookie signing bonus paid to Charles Rogers, a first-round draft choice whose career was cut short by injuries and drug problems. Today's hearing in Detroit is expected to involve a grievance the Lions filed late in the 2005 season. The club claimed Rogers, the No. 2 overall pick in 2003, diminished his value to the team by failing a drug test earlier that season. The NFL Players Association has argued that the Lions have no right to make Rogers repay any portion of his signing bonus that totaled $14.4 million . . . The Seattle Seahawks confirmed starting center Chris Spencer will not need a second shoulder surgery and instead is doing more intensive rehabilitation in Birmingham, Ala. Spencer could return by training camp in late July . . . The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free agent cornerback Bruce Thornton, filling the roster spot that opened Monday when Ahmad Carroll was waived following his arrest on weapon and drug charges . . . The Tennessee Titans signed quarterback Tim Rattay and claimed linebacker Gilbert Gardner off waivers from Indianapolis . . . The Oakland Raiders fired senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi after eight seasons with the team.

Basketball

Coach Pat Riley issued a one-sentence statement regarding the future of the Miami Heat: Shaquille O'Neal will be a part of it. "I want to set the record straight and say that we are not trading Shaq," Riley said of the 35-year-old superstar, who missed 42 games this season because of injuries and averaged a career-low 17.3 points per game . . . Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal said he has spoken with team CEO Donnie Walsh, but trade talk never entered the conversation and there is nothing to reports that he's pushing to be reunited with his old coach Isiah Thomas in New York . . . The NCAA reduced the penalty period against former Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien from five years to two, limiting his ability to seek athletic employment at another NCAA school during that time. The reduction follows the NCAA's decision last month to throw out violations that included accusations O'Brien, who also coached Boston College from 1986-97, improperly gave $6,000 to a recruit who became a member of the Buckeyes' Final Four team in 1999 . . . George Washington coach and Roxbury native Karl Hobbs was selected as an assistant coach for the US men's under-19 team that will compete at the world championships in July in Serbia.

Baseball

Cincinnati Reds lefthander Eric Milton went on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed pitching elbow, the second year in a row he has been hampered by elbow problems. Milton is 0-4 with a 5.17 ERA in six starts this season. The Reds reinstated righthanded reliever Jared Burton off the disabled list to take Milton's spot, and also released veteran lefthanded reliever Rheal Cormier . . . Righthander Brian Lawrence, who missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets . . . San Francisco Giants center fielder Dave Roberts said he expects to have arthroscopic surgery on his inflamed left elbow in the coming days to remove floating bone chips as well as bone spurs . . . The Florida Marlins optioned rookie outfielder Eric Reed to Triple A Albuquerque and recalled outfielder Reggie Abercrombie . . . Texas Rangers minor leaguer pitcher Francisco Cruceta was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance under baseball's minor league drug program.

Boxing

A total of 2.15 million households subscribed to the HBO pay-per-view title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweater Jr. last Saturday, setting a record for most televised buys for a fight. The match, won by Mayweather in a split decision, generated a TV revenue of $120 million. The previous record was 1.99 million buys for the second fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. A person close to the promotion said De La Hoya would end up making about $45 million for the fight and Mayweather just over $20 million -- with De La Hoya's total the biggest purse ever paid to a fighter.

Miscellany

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s future has been the topic of discussion this season, with seemingly everyone in NASCAR consumed with where the sport's biggest star will drive next year. Answers should be coming this morning, when Earnhardt holds a news conference at his race shop in Mooresville, N.C., presumably to address plans for when his contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. runs out after this year. Earnhardt owns JR Motorsports, which fields a Busch Series team but no cars in the Nextel Cup Series . . . Rain limited the second day of practice for the Indianapolis 500 to just two hours in the late afternoon. For the first time, the qualifications (which start Saturday) and race (May 27) will be telecast in high definition on ESPN2 and ABC . . . Russian runner Lyubov Denisova, a two-time Los Angeles Marathon winner and the 2003 runner-up in Boston, failed an out-of-competition doping test and could face a two-year ban. The positive test will almost definitely keep Denisova out of next year's Olympic marathon in Beijing . . . Dartmouth is hosting the NCAA New England men's and women's track and field championships, which run today through Saturday and will feature more than 30 schools among Divisions 1, 2, and 3. Admission is $5 per day ($2 for children 14 and under).

Correction: Because of an editing error, an item in yesterday's Sports Log misidentified the player to whom former Ohio State basketball coach Jim O'Brien was accused of giving $6,000. The NCAA dropped violations that accused O'Brien of paying the money to a recruit named Aleksander Radojevic, who never enrolled in the school.