In Brief

BASEBALL

Orioles pitcher Simon
suspect in fatal shooting

Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon is the main suspect in a fatal shooting on New Year's Eve in the Dominican Republic, police in Santo Domingo said Sunday.

The pitcher is suspected of killing 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte and wounding his 17-year-old brother during a celebration in the northeast coastal town of Luperon, police said in a statement. No motive was disclosed. Simon is from the Dominican Republic, and police said he fled after the violence.

Felipe Alou Jr., a Dominican representative for the Orioles, said he spoke with Simon on Saturday, and the player said he was in the area when the violence occurred but insisted he was not involved in the shootings.

"He says to us that the wounded man can confirm that he was not the one who fired," Alou said.

The injured teenager was shot in the right arm and remains hospitalized in the Dominican city of Santiago.

BASKETBALL

Mavericks' Butler out
with serious knee injury

Caron Butler could be out at least a couple of months because of a knee injury, a tough blow for the already ailing Dallas Mavericks.

A person with direct knowledge said the initial diagnosis is a torn patellar tendon. The team was awaiting MRI results before making any announcements.

Butler went down during a loss at Milwaukee on Saturday night. He was coming off a season-high 30-point performance the previous game while picking up the offensive slack because of a minor knee injury to leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki.

Also: Prosecutors say the woman convicted of trying to extort University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino sought at least $2.5 million and potentially more than $7 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford said in a filing on Dec. 31 that among the things Karen Sypher sought were a home valued at close to $1 million and a $45,000 Lexus SUV from Pitino, in exchange for keeping quiet about a sexual tryst between the two in 2003.

Ford filed the information in an objection to a presentence report compiled by federal probation officers in advance of Sypher's Jan. 18 sentencing. The probation office's report was not made public. Ford noted the probation office's estimated value of some of Sypher's demands were lower than prosecution estimations.

MISCELLANEOUS

Canada to face U.S.
in junior hockey semis

Canada reached the semifinals of the world junior hockey championships with a 4-1 win over Switzerland in Buffalo, N.Y., and will face the United States today. The winner will advance to the gold medal game Wednesday.

The semifinal will be a rematch of last year's championship game, when the Americans snapped Canada's string of five straight gold medals with an overtime win.

Team USA won its group, getting a bye into the semis.

Also: Kansas hired Sheahon Zenger as its athletic director.

The former Illinois State athletic director will replace Lew Perkins, who retired in September after a ticket scandal and accusations of personal misconduct.

American goalkeeper Brad Friedel made outstanding saves to help Aston Villa tie host Chelsea 3-3 in London, leaving defending English champion Chelsea outside the top four in the Premier League.

Defending champion Carlos Sainz won the first stage of the Dakar Rally, covering the 138-mile course to Cordoba, Argentina, in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 32 seconds.