Canseco goes to bat for Clemens again

On "The Late Show With David Letterman" last night, Jose Canseco reiterated his belief that Roger Clemens didn't use steroids, telling Letterman that he and Clemens were close friends and joked about steroid use when they were Toronto Blue Jays teammates in 1998. "We trusted each other, we played a lot of golf together," Canseco said. "His family knew my family. His wife and my wife at the time talked a lot, and we shared private information, and, yeah, we kind of jested and joked about using steroids, but I never injected him, never supplied him, never saw anyone give him steroids, and he never tried to acquire steroids from me. And I would try to actually give him information about myself, but he never seemed like he used it at all." He said again that Clemens never attended a party Canseco gave for teammates at his house. The party was the center of much discussion when Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testified Feb. 5 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Scott Spiezio agreed to a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves, who gave a second chance to the infielder after he was released by St. Louis in February for an arrest on drunken driving and assault charges. The 35-year-old Spiezio missed more than a month last year while getting treatment for substance abuse. In December, he was charged after police said he crashed his car, fled the scene, and then beat up a friend who tried to help him. He was cut by the Cardinals after the case became public . . . The Blue Jays and Alex Rios are ironing out the final details of a six-year contract extension through 2014 that would guarantee the outfielder about $64 million . . . Lefthanded reliever Mike Stanton was designated for assignment by the Cincinnati Reds. The 40-year-old Stanton had a 4.50 ERA in six spring training appearances.

Serena Williams beat Kaia Kanepi, 6-3, 6-3, at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., and will next play top-ranked Justine Henin, a 6-2, 6-2 winner over Elena Vesnina. Venus Williams joined her sister in the quarterfinals by beating 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-3. But Lindsay Davenport hit a bump in her career comeback when she lost to Dinara Safina, 6-3, 6-4. On the men's side, No. 1 Roger Federer reached the fourth round when Robin Soderling retired because of illness trailing, 6-4, 3-0, and Andy Roddick beat qualifier Ivo Minar, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

The Arizona Cardinals signed quarterback Brian St. Pierre to a one-year contract. St. Pierre was the third-string quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. He was a fifth-round draft pick by Pittsburgh out of Boston College in 2003 . . . Safety Chris Crocker signed a $1.15 million, one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins and the former Falcon is expected to compete for a starting job . . . Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin will miss the rest of spring practice and might need surgery to repair a heel injury.

Boston College's Jerry York is one of nine finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award as the Division 1 college coach of the year. York, who won the award in 1977 at Clarkson, has led the Eagles to a 23-11-8 record this season and a berth in the Frozen Four . . . The Phoenix Coyotes signed top draft pick Kyle Turris to an entry level contract. Turris just completed his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, where he was the Badgers' leading scorer with 11 goals and 25 assists . . . Saku Koivu has a broken bone in his left foot and will miss the last three of the Canadiens' regular season games. The team said his status for the playoffs is uncertain.

Greek sprinter Katerina Thanou was awarded the silver medal from the 100 meters at the 2001 world championships following Marion Jones's doping admission. Jones finished second in Edmonton but all her results since September 2000 have been expunged because of doping. Thanou was third in the race . . . IRS agent Jeff Novitzky, the lead investigator in the government's wide-ranging steroid distribution probe, testified in San Francisco that former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas made extra work for investigators when she allegedly lied to a grand jury when she denied using steroids. Thomas has pleaded not guilty to making false statements and obstruction of justice . . . Abby Wambach, Natasha Kai, and Hope Solo highlighted the 20-woman US roster chosen by coach Pia Sundhage for the Olympic qualifying tournament April 4-12 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico . . . Hugo Sanchez was fired as coach of Mexico's soccer team . . . Swimmer Nick D'Arcy was charged with assault in a nightclub fight in Sydney that happened hours after he won a spot on Australia's Olympic team . . . Georgie Boy is off the Kentucky Derby trail after pulling a muscle in his back. Trainer Kathy Walsh said the colt won't require surgery.