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Sports Log

Ex-Jaguar Smith facing drug charges

April 23, 2009
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Football
Former Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith was pulled over yesterday afternoon in Jacksonville and found with crack cocaine and marijuana in his car, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Smith, who played 10 seasons for Jacksonville and is 12th on the NFL's career receptions list with 826, was pulled over on Interstate 95 for excessive window tint on his 2009 Mercedes Benz. During a search, the state trooper found crack cocaine, marijuana, and a business card with powder cocaine residue in the car's center console. Smith faces multiple drug charges, plus a charge of driving with a suspended license. He was being held at the Duval County Jail with no bond set . . . According to a report on Foxsports.com, wide receivers Percy Harvin and Brandon Tate, expected to be taken during the first day of the NFL draft Saturday, tested positive for marijuana during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in February. Two sources told FoxSports.com Harvin and Tate were the only two high-profile players to flunk their combine drug tests, which makes them subject to entry into the NFL's substance-abuse program. Harvin was considered a first-round pick after leaving the University of Florida following his junior season. Tate was considered a possible second- to fourth-round pick after a solid college career at North Carolina . . . The Patriots signed free agent defensive lineman Kenny Smith, who was with the club in training camp each of the last two seasons but never appeared in a regular-season game.

Baseball
Rangers' Benson back on disabled list
Rangers pitcher Kris Benson is back in a familiar place, on the disabled list. Texas put the veteran righthander on the 15-day DL because of tendinitis in his right elbow. Benson is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts after being out of the majors since 2006. He missed the 2007 season after shoulder surgery and pitched in Philadelphia's minor league system last year. The Rangers also claimed righthanded reliever Darren O'Day off waivers from the Mets . . . Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez ran the bases for the first time since undergoing right hip surgery. Rodriguez also increased his defensive drills during the workout in Tampa, charging slow rollers for the first time and extending his range going after grounders . . . Astros closer Jose Valverde will likely miss a couple of days recovering after being hit on the leg by a grounder Tuesday night . . . Orioles rookie righthander Alfredo Simon will undergo season-ending elbow ligament replacement surgery . . . Lars Anderson hit his second homer of the season for the Sea Dogs, but Portland lost on the road to the New Britain Rock Cats, 6-4.

Basketball
Saunders officially signs with Wizards
The Washington Wizards confirmed new coach Flip Saunders signed a four-year, $18 million contract Tuesday night. Saunders will be formally introduced today . . . Nets president Rod Thorn met with high-ranking team officials Tuesday night to discuss the future of coach Lawrence Frank. Frank has one year left on his contract, which will pay him $4.5 million . . . All-America guard Stephen Curry will announce today if he'll return for his senior season at Davidson or enter the NBA draft . . . The UConn men's team will face Kentucky and new coach John Calipari Dec. 9 at Madison Square Garden in the annual SEC/Big East Challenge . . . The Boston College men's team will play at Michigan Dec. 2 as part of the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Soccer
Revolution's Albright out 6-8 weeks
Revolution defender Chris Albright will miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital, the team announced. Team physician Bert Zarins performed the surgery. Albright suffered the injury during training last week. Albright has appeared in just one game this season, April 4 against FC Dallas . . . Amado Guevara scored his third goal of the season as Toronto FC beat Chivas USA, 1-0, the visitors' first loss of the MLS season. -- MONIQUE WALKER

Miscellany
Phelps adding new techniques in pool
As he focuses on swimming shorter races, Michael Phelps is changing some of the technique that carried him to eight Olympic gold medals in Beijing. Phelps will reveal the new technique when he returns to competition at the Charlotte UltraSwim May 14-17 in North Carolina. He plans to swim four events, including the 100- and 200-meter freestyles and the 100 butterfly . . . In a bid for his fifth straight title at the Barcelona Open, Rafael Nadal cruised past Frederico Gil, 6-2, 6-2, in a second-round match that took just 90 minutes . . . Martin Lel, who is attempting to become the first four-time winner of the London Marathon, said he still plans to run in Sunday's race despite being hampered by an aching hip . . . Juan Martin Nero, a member of a Venezuelan-owned polo team, says a supplement likely killed 21 horses before a match last weekend in Florida. Nero told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion the horses were given a commonly used supplement known as Biodyl that contains a combination of vitamins and minerals, but the drug was likely tainted at a lab.

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