In Brief
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
White: Against Overeem or not,
dos Santos will defend UFC title
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said a heavyweight championship fight will take place as scheduled May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden with or without Alistair Overeem.
White said Thursday that Junior dos Santos will defend his title in the UFC 146 main event but that it's up to the Nevada Athletic Commission to determine whether Overeem will be the challenger.
Commission executive director Keith Kizer said the Dutch kickboxing champion can seek analysis of a second sample from his March 27 urine test.
Kizer said Wednesday that Overeem's first sample tested unacceptably high for testosterone and Overeem will need commission approval to fight dos Santos.
His representatives haven't responded to messages left through his Las Vegas lawyer, David Chesnoff.
Overeem knocked out Brock Lesnar in the first round of UFC 141 on Dec. 30 at the MGM Grand.
SPORTS AND THE LAW
Sandusky's lawyer doesn't see
dismissal of sex abuse charges
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky's lawyer said after a short pretrial hearing that he expected the presiding judge to soon dismiss defense motions to have the child sexual abuse charges thrown out, but he hoped he would allow them to be refiled after more evidence is disclosed by prosecutors.
During a 20-minute hearing in Bellefonte, Pa., attended by the retired defensive coordinator and his wife, Sandusky defense attorney Joe Amendola withdrew his attempt to prevent the attorney general's office from using at trial secretly recorded conversations between Sandusky and two of the 10 boys he is accused of sexually abusing.
Judge John Cleland said it probably would be next week before he makes any rulings on the set of issues that are being ironed out before Sandusky's trial on 52 child sexual abuse counts, scheduled to start in early June.
Amendola said Cleland told lawyers during a private session in chambers after the hearing that remaining matters should be addressed with a filing by mid-May.
"We're still challenging all the charges, we're still challenging all the issues that we raised," Amendola said.
Also: Three more Texas Christian football players have been charged with felony marijuana delivery after a six-month sting.
Defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey, linebacker Tanner Brock and offensive tackle Ty Horn are among 14 people charged in the TCU drug investigation, bringing the total number charged to 23. All three are charged with delivering a quarter-ounce to 5 pounds of marijuana.
Cornerback Devin Johnson was charged last month with three cases of delivering a quarter-ounce to 5 pounds of marijuana.
Convictions could mean up to two years in state jail for Brock, Horn and Johnson. Conviction could mean up to 10 years in prison for Yendrey, charged with delivering in a drug-free zone.
The four are accused of selling marijuana to undercover officers, sometimes arranging deals around practices.
MISCELLANEOUS
Arkansas' Petrino put on leave
for not telling of female rider
Arkansas put football coach Bobby Petrino on paid leave after he failed to disclose he had been riding with a female employee half his age when his motorcycle skidded off the road last weekend.
Petrino, married with four children, apologized and said he had been concerned about protecting his family and keeping an "inappropriate relationship from becoming public."
Athletic director Jeff Long announced the decision at a late-night news conference and said he had no timeline in determining the 51-year-old Petrino's future with the Razorbacks. Long said he was disappointed he didn't hear about the passenger -- former Arkansas volleyball player and current football program employee Jessica Dorrell, 25 -- until Petrino called him Thursday afternoon, minutes before a police report was released that disclosed her presence at the accident.
Long said assistant head coach Taver Johnson has been put in charge of the program while he conducts a review that could lead, based on conduct clauses in Petrino's contract, to a possible suspension or firing.
Also: American cyclist Levi Leipheimer will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his left leg when he was hit by a car in training.
His Omega Pharma-Quickstep team said X-rays diagnosed a broken leg after he was hit Sunday while riding solo ahead of the Tour of Basque Country in Spain.
Venus and Serena Williams reached the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., with straight-set victories.
Venus defeated Anastasia Rodionova 7-5, 6-2 on center court shortly after Serena ousted Marina Erakovic, 6-2, 6-2. Should the sisters win today, it would set up a Saturday showdown in the semifinals.
Ferris State will play for the NCAA hockey championship for the first time Saturday after Aaron Schmit scored two goals and Kyle Bonis had the tiebreaking tally in the third period for a 3-1 victory over Union (N.Y.) in Tampa, Fla.
The Bulldogs (26-11-5) from Grand Rapids, Mich., who are making their first Frozen Four appearance, will play Boston College in the title game. The Eagles (32-10-1) downed Minnesota, 6-1.
Drake sophomore guard Rayvonte Rice, the Missouri Valley's third-leading scorer in 2011-12, was granted a release from his scholarship so he can transfer to another school. Rice was a second-team All-Valley pick last season, averaging 16.8 points.
San Diego State erupted for six runs in the final three innings to break a tie and defeat UNLV 12-6 in a Mountain West Conference baseball game at Wilson Stadium.
The Rebels' Trent Cook went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI and Danny Higa drove in two runs, but UNLV (14-16, 2-8 MWC) struck out 15 times against three San Diego State pitchers. Winning pitcher Ethan Miller retired the final eight hitters.
Four Rebels pitchers combined to strike out 11, but they allowed 15 hits. UNLV had four errors that led to four unearned runs.
Jockey Joe Talamo rode his 1,000th career winner at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., then three races later he won the $61,138 Cloud Nine Purse aboard Let's Go Cheyenne.
In the fourth race, Talamo, 22, guided Splendid Fortune to a 7¼-length victory ahead of jockey Mike Smith, who was second in his pursuit of 5,000 winners. Smith remained at 4,997 after being shut out in four races.
The United States women's soccer team will play Canada on June 30 in Sandy, Utah, as a final tuneup before heading to the 2012 Olympics in London. The top-ranked USA recently returned from the Kirin Challenge Cup exhibition tournament in Japan, where it drew 1-1 with the hosts and beat Brazil, 3-0.
Spanish clubs had another impressive night in European play, with Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Valencia advancing to the Europa League semifinals along with Sporting Lisbon.
Bilbao rallied twice for a 2-2 draw against visiting Schalke to advance on 6-4 aggregate, Valencia routed visiting AZ Alkmaar 4-0 for a 5-2 win in the home-and-home, total-goals series, and Atletico won 2-1 at Hannover to advance 4-2. Sporting tied 1-1 at Metalist Kharkiv to win 3-2.
In the all-Iberian semifinals, Sporting plays Bilbao and Atletico faces Valencia. The Spanish clubs also reached the final four in 2007.
Earlier in the week, Barcelona and Real Madrid reached the Champions League semifinals.
