In Brief

BASEBALL

Embattled Red Sox ace Beckett
hears it loud, long from 'fans'

Josh Beckett lasted longer on the golf course than he did on the mound.

The embattled Red Sox ace was booed off the field at Fenway Park when he was pulled after just 2 1/3 ineffective innings Thursday night in an 8-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians.

Hours earlier, Boston manager Bobby Valentine downplayed the uproar over Beckett's golf outing last week, which came a day after he was scratched from his scheduled start because of stiffness.

Already in hot water with Red Sox fans when the story surfaced that he was hitting the links with his sore lat, Beckett was jeered early and often as the Indians tagged him for seven runs and seven hits, including two homers, while building a 7-1 lead.

One fan yelled "FORE!" when Michael Brantley lined a foul ball down the right-field line, but all the chuckles quickly subsided when Brantley doubled to left-center. It was the second straight double for the Indians, ending Beckett's night.

Los Angeles Angels catcher Chris Iannetta will be out six to eight weeks because of an injury to his right wrist.

Without specifying the injury, the Angels announced Iannetta will undergo surgery today. The veteran catcher is in a 2-for-25 slump and hasn't managed a hit since his injury. His average has dropped to .197 with three homers and nine RBIs.

Vladimir Guerrero agreed to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, and general manager Alex Anthopoulos cautioned there's no guarantee the 37-year-old will join the big league team.

Toronto will send Guerrero to extended spring training in Dunedin, Fla., and assess his condition. He hit .290 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs in 145 games as a designated hitter for Baltimore last season.

FOOTBALL

Prisoner's email about bounty
compounds troubles for Saints

An email from an imprisoned friend of the Saints coaching staff with a postscript saying "put me down for $5,000" on Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has become another sore point between players being punished for New Orleans' bounty system and the NFL.

The email, obtained by The Associated Press, was written from prison by marketing agent Mike Ornstein shortly before the Saints' 2011 season opener against the Packers. Ornstein once represented Reggie Bush and later got to know members of the Saints' coaching staff.

The bulk of Ornstein's note to the Saints discusses his experiences in prison and offers sometimes brash words of encouragement to various coaches, including then-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The last line states: "PS Gregg Williams put me down for $5000.00 on Rogers (sic)."

Ornstein says now that the email was written "in total jest."

Also: The NFL is looking for potential replacement officials while it negotiates with the officials' association on a new contract.

The previous contract expired after last season and another negotiating session is expected later this month, NFL Referees Association executive director Tim Millis said.

"I am surprised by the timing," Millis said of the league memo to its officiating scouting department to begin identifying possible replacements.

The Minnesota Vikings moved to within a governor's signature of getting a new $975 million stadium after the state Senate approved a plan that relies heavily on public financing.

Gov. Mark Dayton has said he'll sign the measure, meaning the Senate's 36-30 vote was effectively the final barrier for the stadium. The House passed it overnight.

Tim Tebow said he has worked exclusively at quarterback as Mark Sanchez's backup during the early portion of the New York Jets' offseason program, and is "just trying to learn the offense."

Coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano have said Tebow, acquired from Denver in March, could have extensive playing time for the Jets in various roles, including running the team's wildcat-style package.

Tebow said he hasn't been studying any other position - fullback or tight end - and added that "they haven't told me anything" as far as whether he would play on special teams.

Tebow added that he and Sanchez have a "great" relationship on and off the field.

Phil Taylor's season could be in jeopardy after the Cleveland Browns defensive tackle injured a chest muscle lifting weights.

The team said the massive Taylor hurt his left pectoral muscle while working out during the team's offseason conditioning program.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Da'Quan Bowers tore his right Achilles tendon during an offseason workout and will undergo surgery.

The second-year pro started six of 16 games as a rookie, finishing with 25 tackles.

Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey of the Oakland Raiders was charged with misdemeanor drunken driving following his arrest last month after a traffic stop on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The USFL is back, with Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff among its advisers.

Biletnikoff will consult on football operations for the league, which went out of business in 1987 after losing millions of dollars and, despite winning a lawsuit against the NFL, being awarded just $3 in indemnities. The USFL plans to kick off next March in eight cities and play a 14-game season.

Cities being considered are Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; San Antonio or Austin, Texas; Columbus or Akron, Ohio; Oklahoma City; Omaha, Neb.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Memphis, Tenn.

Former embattled Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor said he sold a pair of his football pants for $3,000 to help his family pay rent and heating bills during a cold winter.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Pryor said he broke NCAA rules by selling the items so his sister and mother wouldn't be cold but the NCAA "didn't have any sympathy for me."

He said he sold the pants to help his family, but the NCAA also looked into sweetheart deals on cars and his role in other players getting in trouble for rules violations - including cash payments from a booster.

local colleges

UNLV women's golf team tied
for 12th at NCAA West Regional

The UNLV women's golf team shot 14-over-par 302 and is in a four-way tie for 12th place after the first round of the NCAA West Regional in Erie, Colo.

Stanford shot 1-under 287 to lead second-place North Carolina by a shot.

Stanford's Sydney Burlison is the individual leader at 5-under 67. She had six birdies and a bogey on the day to lead Baylor's Hayley Davis by two shots.

Katerina Prorokova and Marguerite Swearingen led the Rebels, standing tied for 32nd at 2-over 74.

Also: Derek Ernst and Kevin Penner of UNLV were named to the 10-player all-Mountain West Conference men's golf team.

Ernst, a senior who ranks second in the conference with a 71.06 stroke average, was honored for the fourth straight year. Penner, a junior, has a stroke average of 71.39.

UNLV softball pitchers Amanda Oliveto and Jessica O'Connor were battered for eight hits and five earned runs each in an 11-7 loss to San Diego State in a Mountain West Conference game at Eller Media Stadium.

Five players had two hits apiece in a losing cause for the Rebels (21-26, 2-8 MWC).

Taylar Mills and Rita Rudell finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the heptathlon and UNLV stands in fourth place after the first completed event of the Mountain West Conference Women's Track and Field Championship in Air Force Academy, Colo.

The Rebels have six points. San Diego State leads with 10.

Andy Weissberg, Jordan Van Hoosier and Sean McCracken homered as the College of Southern Nevada baseball team stayed alive in the NJCAA Region 18 tournament in West Jordan, Utah, with a 10-2 win over Colorado Northwestern.

The fourth-seeded Coyotes (37-22) lost to No. 1 seed Salt Lake Community College 5-4 earlier in the day to fall into the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tourney.

The College of Southern Nevada softball team beat North Idaho College 8-7 in the opening game of the NJCAA Region 18 tournament in Salt Lake City, but the fourth-seeded Coyotes (27-35) fell into the losers' bracket with a 3-1 loss to top-seeded Salt Lake Community College.

MISCELLANEOUS

UFC 151: Henderson fights for
Jones' light heavyweight title

Jon Jones will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title against Dan Henderson on Sept. 1 in Las Vegas.

UFC president Dana White announced the date on his Twitter account late Wednesday night.

The bout will headline UFC 151, expected to take place at Mandalay Bay.

Also: Oklahoma City's James Harden was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year after leading all bench players in scoring this season.

Harden averaged 16.8 points on career-best 49 percent shooting this season.

Rafael Nadal lost to Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 at the Madrid Open, then threatened not to return to his home-country tournament if the new blue-clay court wasn't discarded.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer eased into the quarterfinals with straight-set wins.

Nadal blew a 5-2 lead in the third set en route to the loss, his first to Verdasco in 14 matches. The Spaniard blamed his first loss on clay in almost a year on the blue clay, calling it soft and slippery earlier in the week.