In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

NFL looking into report
of players' ties to casino

The NFL is investigating the reported investment by at least 25 players in an Alabama casino that has been shut down, a business venture that might have run afoul of league rules.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the investigation Friday, a day after Yahoo! Sports reported that wide receivers Terrell Owens, Santonio Holmes, Santana Moss and other players had invested some $20 million in Country Crossing casino in Dothan, Ala.

NFL rules bar employees from involvement with any gaming operation. Players violating that rule could be subject to fines or suspensions and have to give up their investment.

Also: NFL defensive end Raheem Brock was arrested in his hometown of Philadelphia after a dispute at a restaurant.

Police Lt. Raymond Evers said Brock ran out on a $27 bar tab at Copabanana on Thursday.

Bartender Rob Harris told WTXF-TV that Brock's party was asked to leave after one of them brought in food from another eatery. Harris said they told the waitress they weren't going to pay the bar tab.

MOTOR SPORTS

Probation ends, but not
ill will for Busch, Harvick

Probation is over for Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, but the drivers aren't ready to shake hands and make up.

Asked how much the end of the penalty would change his driving, Busch said "zero."

"It didn't matter being on it or being off it," he said before practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. "I try to race the best I can each and every week, as hard as I can and as clean as I can."

The two drivers, fined and disciplined for a run-in after the May 7 race at Darlington, were again told to cool it last week at Pocono. Harvick said afterward he wanted Busch to know he had one coming.

"Fine with me," Busch said. "It's not my problem. I race my racecar, he drives his. You saw how I raced."

The two have not spoken to each other since NASCAR sat them down before the May 15 race at Dover. Their trailers are parked next to each other this weekend because placement is determined by points standings.

Also: A Michigan high school basketball player who died earlier this year after making a game-winning shot will be honored at Michigan International Speedway this weekend.

Travis Kvapil's No. 38 Ford will carry the logo of the Wes Leonard Heart Team on its rear quarter panels. The 16-year-old Leonard suffered cardiac arrest March 3 because of an enlarged heart.

Brandon Bernstein had the best provisional qualifying time in Top Fuel at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, clocking a 3.859-second run at 312.50 mph at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.

Bob Tasca (Funny Car, 4.107 seconds, 308.21 mph) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock, 6.679 seconds, 206.04 mph) topped their divisions.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

BCS title game set for
New Orleans on Jan. 9

College football's bowl schedule has been released for the 2011-12 season, featuring 35 games over 23 days and ending with the BCS national championship game Jan. 9 in New Orleans.

The Football Bowl Association said the bowl season will open Dec. 17 with three games -- the New Mexico Bowl, the Humanitarian Bowl and the New Orleans Bowl.

The traditional bowl date of Jan. 1 will have no games since it falls on a Sunday, when the NFL plays a full schedule of games to close its regular season.

The Rose Bowl is Jan. 2, the Sugar is Jan. 3, the Orange is Jan. 4 and the Fiesta is Jan. 5.

Also: Organizers say it's all but certain that the Michigan State-North Carolina basketball game on Veterans Day will be played aboard the USS Carl Vinson, the aircraft carrier that carried Osama bin Laden's body to a burial at sea.

The Carl Vinson returned from its deployment Wednesday to Coronado, across the bay from downtown San Diego.

Kansas added 6-foot-8 inch forward Kevin Young, a former Loyola Marymount player, to its basketball roster.

Kansas coach Bill Self said Young will be a junior at Kansas for the 2011-12 season. He said he expects Young, of Perris, Calif., to be "an impact player" for the Jayhawks.

Young played for Loyola Marymount in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and started 62 of 65 with the Lions. He averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds his sophomore year.

He attended junior college last year.

College of Southern Nevada promoted assistant softball coach Callen Perreira to head coach, replacing Ysidrio Jimenez.

Prior to arriving at CSN in 2009, Perreira spent 20 seasons as head coach at Hawaii-Hilo.

MISCELLANEOUS

Cyclist's crash caused
by hitting curb, fence

Colombian cyclist Juan Mauricio Soler hit a raised curb, fell onto a spectator and then smashed into a fence during the crash in which he suffered brain injuries and multiple fractures, a fellow Tour of Switzerland rider said.

Australian rider Baden Cooke said the crash happened as the peloton was nearing a traffic circle and the road narrowed quickly during Thursday's stage.

"All of a sudden, there was a footpath with a 5-centimeter (2-inch) edge dropping down to the road level," Cooke told The Associated Press in an email. "(Soler) had no time to brake at all."

The 28-year-old Soler then hit a fence about 2 feet away from the road. He remains in an induced coma at a hospital in the eastern city of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Also: Michael Phelps continued his inconsistent year, easily winning the 100-meter butterfly but finishing second in the 100 freestyle at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix in Santa Clara, Calif.

The 14-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder handled the competition in the butterfly. He nearly chased down Park Taehwan of South Korea in the 100 free before finishing a close second.

Marcos Baghdatis' 26th birthday started well with a straight-set victory over Germany's Denis Gremelmayr at the Unicef Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands, but Croatia's Ivan Dodig cut short his celebrations by beating the Cypriot 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the semifinals.

Dodig, seeded fourth, will face unseeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in the final of the Wimbledon tuneup. Tursunov beat third-seeded Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-3, 7-6 (1) in the other semifinal. Both men had to finish their rain-interrupted quarterfinals earlier in the day.

In the women's draw, Roberta Vinci of Italy beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-1 to set up a final against Jelena Dokic.

Dokic had an easy path to the final when Italian opponent Romina Oprandi injured her left wrist and pulled out of their semifinal with Dokic leading, 6-4, 2-0.

Rain washed out semifinal play at Eastbourne, England, with all women's and men's tennis matches rescheduled for today.

The tournament will attempt to complete all four semifinal matches, with the finals to follow.

In the women's event, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic is to play Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, and Sam Stosur of Australia will face Marion Bartoli of France.

The men's semifinals pit Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia against Kei Nishikori of Japan and Igor Kunitsyn of Russia against Andreas Seppi of Italy.

Andrea Perrino and Craig Lee shared a one-shot lead after the second round of the Saint-Omer Open in Saint-Omer, France.

Lee had six birdies and three bogeys for a 3-under 68 and 5-under 137 total in windy and wet conditions. His Italian rival carded a 2-under 69 with three birdies and one bogey.

Both men have a one-stroke lead over first-round leader George Coetzee of South Africa.