In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Goodell: Next labor deal must
include player testing for HGH

Commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL will insist that its next labor deal with players includes testing for human growth hormone.

After appearing Monday with U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings at a Woodlawn, Md., high school to speak about the dangers of steroid use, Goodell said the NFL needs to do more to keep banned substances out of the sport.

HGH use is prohibited by the NFL, but the league currently does not test for it. Goodell said he thinks players "recognize the importance of" adding HGH tests.

When one student asked why there is more substance abuse in baseball than in football, Goodell replied: "I'm not sure that's true."

Also: A federal judge in Minneapolis has decided to combine two requests to halt the NFL lockout.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said she will hear arguments from attorneys for Tom Brady, Drew Brees and other current players, as well as attorneys for retired players. The current players and retirees have filed similar antitrust lawsuits against the league in addition to their requests for an injunction to stop the lockout.

Arguments will be heard Wednesday.

Kansas City linebacker Mike Vrabel was arrested in Vivay, Ind., and charged with theft from a riverboat casino.

The Switzerland County sheriff's department said Vrabel, 35, was arrested at 5:30 a.m. and released about five hours later on $600 cash bond. He was charged with a class D felony.

Details of what was taken was not available.

In a statement, the three-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots said: "It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication. I feel comfortable that after talking with the appropriate parties, we will resolve this matter."

MISCELLANEOUS

Heat's Wade not sure if injury
to right thigh will affect play

Miami guard Dwyane Wade received treatment on his bruised right thigh and is not sure how it will affect him over the next few days.

Wade was hurt in the first half of Sunday's 108-94 win over the New Jersey Nets. Wade returned to the game in the second half.

Appearing at an event to promote his soon-to-be-released Jordan Brand signature shoe, Wade said he was experiencing pain in the leg.

He does not know if he'll be able to practice today or play in Miami's home game Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Also: Charlotte Bobcats leading scorer Stephen Jackson said he'll miss a third straight game today at Cleveland with continued pain in his left hamstring.

Jackson was unable to practice and said he still has sharp pain every time he straightens his leg. Jackson, averaging 18.5 points, wouldn't say he'll shut it done for the rest of the season, saying only, "You'll have to hear that from somebody else."

Robert Oliva, a New York City high school basketball coaching legend, pleaded guilty in Boston to child sex abuse dating to the 1970s.

Oliva, who won 549 games and five city championships in 27 seasons at Christ the King Regional High School, was sentenced to five years' probation after pleading guilty to two counts of child rape and one count of disseminating pornography to a minor.

Oliva's male accuser, who was 14 years old at the time of the 1976 assault, read a statement in court calling the 66-year-old Oliva "a disgusting human being" who used his power to treat him as a "sex toy."

Southern University athletic director Greg LaFleur was free on bond after his arrest in Houston on a charge of soliciting a prostitute.

Houston police spokesman John Cannon said the 52-year-old former NFL tight end was arrested on a downtown street about 8:30 p.m. Sunday as a result of a reverse prostitution sting by undercover officers. LaFleur was released on $500 bond.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is facing a two-match ban after being charged by England's Football Association for swearing into a TV camera while celebrating a goal during a Premier League match.

The England international striker shouted an expletive directly into the camera after converting a penalty to complete his hat trick in United's 4-2 win over West Ham on Saturday.

The UNLV women's golf team recorded a 45-over par 621 (311-310) to stand in 10th place, 25 strokes behind leader Texas A&M, after the first two rounds of the 14-team Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Therese Koelbaek (76-74--150) paced the Rebels, standing in a four-way tie for 13th, heading into today's final round.

Paul Hodsdon, a standout baseball player at Western High School in 1970 who went on to coach prep and college baseball in northern Nevada and California, died last Friday in Fresno, Calif., from an apparent stroke.

He was 58.