MESA FOOTBALL TEAM FILES SUIT OVER CANCELED FLIGHT
GRAND JUNCTION (AP) – Colorado Mesa University is suing over a canceled charter flight for its football team. The school says it paid Iowa-based STM Charters Inc. $75,000 to fly the team to Arcadia, Calif., for a game Aug. 30 against Humboldt State. The university says STM’s president said the flight was confirmed, provided the company was paid by Aug. 24. The university says it signed a contract Aug. 20 and made a payment the next day, but it was told Aug. 22 that the flight was no longer available.
The team made other travel arrangements for $93,000. It is seeking damages of $18,000. STM denies receiving a signed contract and says the university’s losses were caused by events outside its control. A trial is set for Aug. 27.
DENVER BRONCO LAS VEGAS ARREST
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) – A lawyer says he’s trying to resolve criminal allegations that Denver Broncos safety Quinton Carter cheated at a craps game at a Las Vegas-area casino.
Attorney Andrew Leavitt appeared on Carter’s behalf Monday before a North Las Vegas judge who postponed action in the case until April 18. Carter didn’t appear. Leavitt says Carter “adamantly denies” adding $5 chips to three bets after the dice already rolled. The 24-year-old former North Las Vegas high school football star was arrested late on March 9 at the Texas Station casino in North Las Vegas, where police say security video showed the acts. Carter faces three felony charges of fraudulent act in a gaming establishment that each carries a possible sentence of one to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
WES WELKER/PATRIOTS FALLOUT
PHOENIX (AP) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft says his team’s contract offer to Wes Welker was better than what the receiver got in Denver. Kraft also says Welker’s agent, David Dunn, “misrepresented” Welker’s market value. When asked about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady being upset that Welker left after Brady reworked his own contract, Kraft adds Monday: “I don’t answer to Tom Brady. He’s an important member of the team and we chatted. He has never put a demand” on the Patriots. Welker got a two-year, $12 million deal with the Broncos. Kraft says Welker could have received $8 million in the first year of a two-year contract with New England as opposed to $6 million he gets in Denver “and there is no guarantee that he plays the second year there.”
NFL LAWSUIT, HEAT STAY HOT, BAYLOR WOMEN TOP THE POLLS, TIGER WOODS AND LINDSEY VONN DATING
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The NFL has agreed to pay $42 million dollars to settle a lawsuit with former players over the use of their images and named without their consent. The league will use the money to fund a trust over the next eight years that will help retired players with an array of issues including medical expenses, housing and career transition.
UNDATED (AP) – The Miami Heat have a 22-game winning streak, while the Denver Nuggets have put together 11 wins in a row heading into tonight’s NBA action. Both of the streaks will be on the line tonight, while Miami at Boston and the Nuggets at Chicago.
PHOENIX (AP) – Former Phoenix Suns star Dan Majerle (MAR’-lee) has been named head coach at Grand Canyon University as the Phoenix school begins a four-year transition to NCAA Division I. Majerle was in his fifth season as an assistant coach of the Suns when he left the organization earlier this year after he was passed over for the interim coach position after Alvin Gentry was fired.
UNDATED (AP) – The Baylor’s women’s basketball team has ended the season on top of the final Associated Press poll for the second straight year, capturing all 40 first place votes. The Lady Bears topped the charts in the last 11 weeks of the season. Notre Dame is second this week, followed by Connecticut, Stanford and Duke.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Former top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods and four-time World Cup overall champion skier Lindsey Vonn confirmed they’re dating. Woods and Vonn posted separated items on their Facebook pages to announce their relationship.