In Brief

horse racing

Jockey Velazquez, steward cited
for violations at Breeders' Cup

Kentucky racing officials say jockey John Velazquez and chief racing steward John Veitch broke the rules during the running of the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic last fall.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission determined Thursday there is "probable cause" to cite Velazquez and Veitch for violating state racing guidelines during mare Life At Ten's participation in the 1 1/8-mile race at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

The case now moves to a hearing officer, who will determine whether the violations occurred and could recommend disciplinary action.

Velazquez told TV commentators moments before the race the then 5-year-old horse didn't warm up properly on the track before heading to the starting gate.

Life At Ten, owned by Candy DeBartolo and trained by Todd Pletcher, was not scratched and went off as the 7-2 second choice. But she was never a factor and finished last in the field of 11.

A postrace exam found no major health issues, but the bizarre scene led to a four-month investigation into the circumstances that allowed her to compete.

Also: Horse of the Year Zenyatta is pregnant, according to Zenyatta.com.

The news comes about two weeks after Zenyatta was mated with 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini. She will be scanned twice in the coming month to monitor the development of the embryo. The gestational period for horses is about a year, meaning Zenyatta would be due in February.

The now 7-year-old Zenyatta was retired in November after a career in which she won 19 times in 20 starts. Her defeat was to Blame in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The pregnancy marked the second high-profile baby announcement this week. Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Horse of the Year, is in foal after breeding to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. Her expected foal date is Feb. 1.

unlv

Football team agrees to series
with Utah State, Louisiana Tech

UNLV agreed to home-and-home football series against Western Athletic Conference members Utah State and Louisiana Tech.

The Rebels will play at Utah State and Louisiana Tech in 2012. Utah State will visit UNLV in 2013, and Louisiana Tech will make the trip in 2014.

UNLV also officially announced it will host Western Illinois in 2013.

Also: The UNLV men's tennis team defeated Air Force 7-0 in Colorado Springs, Colo., in its Mountain West Conference opener.

The Rebels (12-6) won two of three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead, then swept all six singles matches.

Mehdi Bouras teamed with Johannes Markel to win at No. 1 doubles, then won at No. 1 singles. Markel (No. 2), Tamas Batyi (No. 3), Rene Ruegamer (No. 4), Alex Bull (No. 5) and Kasper Konyves (No. 6) also won in singles, and Ruegamer and Bull prevailed in No. 2 doubles.

UNLV senior outfielder Rance Roundy was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week. Roundy, who played at Silverado High School, hit .667 (12-for-18) during the Rebels' 4-1 trip at Texas Tech and UNR.

UNLV's Ashley Henry finished second in the heptathlon with 3,535 points in the Sheila Tarr-Smith Invitational on the Rebels' home track. Alaska-Anchorage's Kelsea Johnson was first with 4,491 points. Ria Daniels was third with 3,304 points and Erin Straughter fourth with 3,182 for UNLV.

miscellaneous

Stern will discuss Van Gundy's
jabs at him with Magic officials

NBA commissioner David Stern said he doesn't plan to talk with Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy about critical remarks Van Gundy made about him -- he will speak to Magic team executives. Stern made his remarks on ESPN Radio in response to comments Van Gundy made this week in defense of Magic center Dwight Howard.

Howard served a one-game suspension this week after receiving his league-leading 16th technical foul. Van Gundy responded to a reporter's question about whether the Magic had addressed their concerns to NBA officials about the frequency in which Howard has been fouled this season. He took a shot directly at the league's top brass.

"This is the system David Stern and his minions like," Van Gundy said. "So that's the system you have. ... I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinion or free speech or anything. So I'm not really allowed to have an opinion. So it's up to him.

"He decides, and he likes the system he has."

Stern, who fined Van Gundy $35,000 in January for critical comments about officiating, insinuated that he wouldn't fine the coach for his latest remarks.

Also: Citigroup signed a sponsorship deal with the U.S. Olympic Committee. Monetary details were not disclosed, but the banking category long has been one of the most lucrative in the USOC cache, traditionally worth $10 million to $15 million for four years. This deal, which includes ad buys on NBC's telecasts at the London Games, goes through 2012.

Argentine tennis player David Nalbandian is expected to be out for two months because of surgery on his left leg and groin. Nalbandian, a Wimbledon finalist in 2002, aggravated a groin strain and tore a muscle in his lower leg while playing a Davis Cup singles match last week.

Juan Martin del Potro defeated Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of the BNP Parisbas Open in Indian Wells, Calif. Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, was out most of last year with a wrist injury. He has opened this year by winning 14 of 18 matches and his eighth career title.

Police in Orlando, Fla., want to talk with New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather about a shooting that injured two men outside a bar near his hometown, authorities said. The 27-year-old was at the shooting in the early morning hours of Feb. 28 in Apopka, Fla.

Mitch Seavey, the 2004 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion, was withdrawn from this year's race in Alaska because of a severe hand injury that he sustained while cutting open a bale of straw.