RACING: Filly champ retired
Rags to Riches, never quite the same after her thrilling victory in last year’s Belmont Stakes, was retired yesterday. The first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont went through a series of ailments. But she made it back to the races last Sept. 15, when she finished second in the Gazelle Stakes at Belmont Park. The day after the race, it was discovered the 3-year-old champ had a hairline fracture of her right front pastern which she recently reinjured.
NFL: New trial date for Vick
Surry County (Va.) Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerald Poindexter said yesterday he was working with Michael Vick’s lawyers to determine a new trial date. The trial originally was scheduled for April 2.
* The 49ers forfeited their fifth-round pick in next month’s NFL draft after commissioner Roger Goodell said they tampered with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs. Goodell also said the teams will switch picks in the third round of the April 26-27 draft.
* Broncos WR Brandon Marshall has an injured right arm and the NFL Network reported last night he could take several months to recover. Marshall told the Rocky Mountain News he had slipped on a fast-food bag while vacationing at a resort with his mother, father and siblings. But the NFL Network reported, citing no sources, Marshall had severed an artery, a vein and a nerve in his forearm along with tendons to five muscles and had told the team he was wrestling with family members when he got hurt.
NBA: Dirk out indefinitely
Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks is out indefinitely with a moderate high ankle sprain and a mildly sprained knee. He he’s hoping to be out only one or two weeks. The regular season ends three weeks from tomorrow.
MLB: Lidge to DL
Phillies closer Brad Lidge will start the regular season on the 15-day disabled list while he rehabilitates his knee.
STEROIDS: BALCO trial starts
The first trial in the BALCO steroids case started yesterday, with former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
* Floyd Landis’ hearing in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sport ended after 35 hours of testimony spanning five days that included 14 witnesses and written testimony from 10 others.
NCAA: RU gets top recruit
Rutgers basketball coach Fred Hill Jr. got the signature recruit he needed yesterday when 6-foot-9 St. Benedict’s junior Greg Echenique picked RU over Duke, Memphis, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Echenique was the fifth-ranked center in the country according to Rivals.com, seventh-best according to Scout.com.
An excellent student, the Venezuelan led the St. Benedict’s to a 24-1 mark. Austin Johnson – a 6-foot-7 forward from Blair (N.J.) Academy – also joined the 2009 class that includes Dane Miller, the 15th-ranked small forward in the country.
* Kia Vaughn scored 23 points to lead four players in double figures and Rutgers advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA women’s tournament for the fourth straight season by beating Iowa State 69-58 last night in Des Moines.