In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Jaguars RB Jones-Drew skips
opener of voluntary workouts

The Jacksonville Jaguars opened a new era Tuesday without their star player.

All-Pro running back Maurice Jones-Drew skipped the opening day of the team's voluntary orientation for veterans in what appears to be a contract dispute.

Jones-Drew is scheduled to make $4.45 million this season, considerably less than fellow running backs Chris Johnson, Arian Foster and Marshawn Lynch.

"It would've been nice to have Maurice Jones-Drew here," first-year coach Mike Mularkey said. "I can't ask any of them to be here. We want them to be here ... just to kind of get a feel for how we are, what they can expect from us, and he just was one of the no-shows."

Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing last season, gaining 1,606 yards for the league's worst offense and making his third consecutive Pro Bowl. He has two years remaining on a five-year deal worth $31 million that he signed in 2009. The deal included $17.5 million guaranteed.

Also: The New York Giants re-signed middle linebacker Chase Blackburn, a key to their run to last season's Super Bowl title.

Blackburn, also a special teams leader, was out of football last year until late November, when the Giants brought him back after injuries to other linebackers. His steady play culminated in a key interception of a Tom Brady pass in the 21-17 Super Bowl win.

He was New York's second-leading tackler in the postseason with 25. Blackburn joined the Giants as a rookie free agent in 2005 and has spent his entire career with the team.

Linebacker Gary Guyton signed with the Miami Dolphins after spending the past four seasons with New England. He started 32 games for the Patriots.

BASEBALL

UNLV baseball team comes up
short against UC Riverside

The UNLV baseball team lost to UC Riverside 3-1 in a nonconference game at Riverside, Calif.

The Rebels (17-20) scored in the eighth inning, when Trent Cook hit a one-out double and came home on T.J. White's single to make it 2-1. But the Highlanders got the run back in the bottom of the inning.

Also: Johnny Damon is officially with the Cleveland Indians and hopes to be in the starting lineup soon.

The 38-year-old outfielder signed a minor league contract, the next step before he joins the major league club and possibly moves into a permanent spot in left field. The sides agreed on a $1.25 million deal last week, when the Indians were off to a sluggish start with a team batting average below .200.

Damon can make another $1.4 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances.

Also, Cleveland placed All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera on the bereavement list after a family death.

The team said Cabrera has returned to his native Venezuela after the death in his immediate family. He must be on the list for a minimum of three days.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Scott Baker had elbow-ligament replacement surgery on his right arm. As announced last week, he will miss the entire season.

The Cincinnati Reds placed infielder Miguel Cairo on the 15-day disabled list with an injured hamstring and called up infielder Todd Frazier from Triple-A Louisville.

MISCELLANEOUS

Petrino's ex-mistress resigns
from Arkansas football post

The former mistress of fired Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino resigned from her position with the program, school officials announced.

Jessica Dorrell's decision to step down as the football team's student-athlete development coordinator was mutual and there are no immediate plans to replace her, athletic director Jeff Long said in a statement.

Dorrell will be paid about $14,000 to settle "all matters between the parties."

Long fired Petrino last week for not disclosing that he was having an extramarital affair with Dorrell, as required by conflict-of-interest rules at the school.

Also: UNLV's Amanda Bingson was named the Mountain West Conference women's track and field athlete of the week. Bingson set a stadium record in the hammer throw with a toss of 228 feet, 10 inches in UNLV's Randall Cunningham Invitational last weekend. The throw ranks first in the nation this year.

Kim Clijsters, recovering from a torn hip muscle, will skip the French Open and clay-court season to focus on adapting to grass ahead of the London Olympics and Wimbledon. In her farewell season, Clijsters has focused on the Olympics.

Mario Gomez scored in the 90th minute to hand Real Madrid its first loss in the Champions League soccer tournament this season and give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win in Munich, Germany, in the first leg of the semifinal between two teams with a combined 13 titles. The second leg is next week in Madrid.