In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Lifting lockout would harm
NFL, owners' lawyers contend

Lifting football's labor lockout without a new contract in place would allow better-off teams to sign the best players, tipping the NFL's competitive balance and damaging the league, attorneys for the owners argued in court papers Monday.

The 74-page filing to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis laid out the league's position in advance of a June 3 hearing on its appeal of a key decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

Nelson issued an injunction that lifted the lockout on April 25. But the 8th Circuit issued a temporary hold of that order four days later -- meaning that players cannot work out, or sign contracts, with any of the 32 clubs.

The arguments in the filing were an expanded version of what the league has claimed all along: that the union's move to decertify after the initial bargaining talks broke down is a sham; that Nelson does not have the jurisdiction to lift the lockout; and that she should have waited for a decision from the National Labor Relations Board before ruling.

The league also said that lifting the lockout with no deal in place would cause chaos, with teams trying to sign free agents and making trades under a set of rules that could change drastically under a new agreement.

Also: The NFL is considering turning to the World Anti-Doping Agency to oversee testing of players for performance-enhancing drugs,

The New York Times reported, one of many changes it is mulling if forced by the courts to operate without a new collective bargaining agreement with the players.

The Times reported, citing an unidentified NFL official briefed on its planning, that the league is discussing getting WADA involved in drug testing. That could eventually lead to players being blood-tested for human growth hormone for the first time.

Also: Minneapolis leaders offered to have the city pay 22 percent of the cost of a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings at the current Metrodome site, putting the longtime home of the team in competition with an offer from neighboring Ramsey County.

The Minneapolis plan throws in a sweetener by setting aside money to renovate the aging Target Center basketball arena, relieving what has been a decades-long burden on property taxpayers in the state's largest city.

GOLF

UNLV men's team gets record 23rd straight regional invite

The UNLV men's golf team was awarded the No. 6 seed for the NCAA's San Diego Regional, which will be played May 19-21 at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

The invitation marks UNLV's 23rd straight appearance in an NCAA regional, which is a record for most consecutive appearances.

Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted those three days. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of the regionals, while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals.

The low five teams and low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the national finals at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla., on May 31 through June 5.

The Rebels took third in the Mountain West Conference championship in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday.

Also: Ernie Els, a three-time major champion and the ultimate global player of his generation, was among six people inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla.

Known as the "Big Easy" for his languid swing and soothing smile, Els won 62 times around the world, including the U.S. Open twice and a British Open at Muirfield.

Els was elected on the PGA Tour ballot.

Japanese icon Jumbo Ozaki, who won more than 100 tournaments, was voted into the Hall of Fame on the International ballot. Doug Ford and the late Jock Hutchison, both two-time major champions, were selected through the Veterans category.

Former President George H.W. Bush and the late Frank Chirkinian, the television golf producer for CBS Sports, were selected through the Lifetime Achievement category.

HORSE RACING

Archarcharch retired after
breaking left front leg in Derby

Archarcharch has been retired from racing after fracturing his left front leg during Saturday's Kentucky Derby, owner Bob Yagos said.

Yagos said the decision was made after surgeon Larry Bramlage treated the Arkansas Derby winner Sunday and found extensive cartilage damage.

Yagos said Bramlage was certain the injury occurred when the colt stumbled leaving the gate on his way to a 15th-place finish. Archarcharch and jockey Jon Court managed to finish ahead of four other horses.

Also: One-time Kentucky Derby favorite Uncle Mo is heading to a central Kentucky farm to deal with a lingering stomach problem.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said the 3-year-old colt is being sent to WinStar Farm, about an hour east of Churchill Downs, so veterinarians can try to get a handle on Uncle Mo's ailment.

Uncle Mo, the 2-year-old champion last year, was diagnosed with a gastrointestinal infection following his third-place finish in the Wood Memorial. He trained up to the Derby, but Pletcher scratched him due to health concerns less than 36 hours before the race.

MISCELLANEOUS

Garnett, Bryant tie NBA record
for making all-defensive team

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett and Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant were selected to the NBA all-defensive first team for a record-tying ninth time.

Garnett and Bryant were joined by Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who has won the past three Defensive Player of the Year awards and received the most points.

Also selected for the first team were Miami Heat forward LeBron James and Celtics guard Rajon Rondo.

Garnett and Bryant tied Michael Jordan and Gary Payton for the most selections in NBA history.

Also: Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon has agreed to take over at Maryland, calling it a "great opportunity."

Turgeon went 97-40 in four seasons with the Aggies, leading them to four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. They went 24-9 this past season, losing to Florida State in the second round.

The Terrapins had been looking for a coach since Gary Williams retired last week after recording a school-record 461 wins over 22 seasons.

Turgeon spent seven years at Wichita State before joining Texas A&M, compiling a 128-90 record.

Goalkeeper Hope Solo, who missed Women's World Cup qualifying with a shoulder injury, is on the U.S. roster for this summer's tournament in Germany.

Abby Wambach, who scored nine goals at the last two World Cups, and Christie Rampone, the only player left from the U.S. team that won the 1999 title, also made the 21-person team. U.S. coach Pia Sundhage took four forwards, seven midfielders, seven defenders and three goalkeepers.

The Americans, defending Olympic champions, will be trying to win their third World Cup title and first since 1999 when they begin play June 28 against North Korea.

Kevin Lotscher scored two goals to lead Switzerland to a surprising 5-3 victory over the United States in their final group match at the ice hockey world championship in Kosice, Slovakia.

The Americans already qualified for the playoff round, but the loss means they will now face defending champion Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Switzerland already had been eliminated.

Novak Djokovic has a chance to claim the No. 1 ranking in men's tennis for the first time if he wins this week's Italian Open in Rome.

The second-ranked Serbian has won all 32 of his matches this year and beat top-ranked Rafael Nadal in straight sets on clay in the Madrid Open final Sunday.

On Monday, no American man or woman was in the top 10 for the first time in the 38-year history of the rankings.

Andy Roddick extended his troubled start to the clay-court season with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Gilles Simon of France in the opening round of the Italian Open in Rome.