In Brief

PRO FOOTBALL

Saints' Evans becomes NFL's highest-paid interior lineman

Once a fourth-round draft choice out of Division II Bloomsburg, Jahri Evans is now the highest-paid interior lineman in the NFL.

The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and Evans, who was both an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler last season, agreed Wednesday on a seven-year contract worth nearly $57 million.

A person familiar with the contract said the deal was for $56.7 million, with $19 million guaranteed. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the terms were not disclosed by the club.

Evans' agent, Jerrold Colton, confirmed the deal was the richest contract ever given to an NFL guard.

Also: A Minnesota judge will issue his decision today in a closely watched lawsuit by two Minnesota Vikings challenging their four-game suspensions for violating the NFL's anti-doping policy.

Clerks for Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson said he will rule after more than 1½ years of legal wrangling.

The NFL tried to suspend defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, who are unrelated, in 2008 after they tested positive for a diuretic that is banned because it can mask the presence of steroids. The players say they didn't know it was an unlisted ingredient in the StarCaps weight-loss supplement they took.

A Miami jury awarded former Dolphins wide receiver O.J. McDuffie $11.5 million in his lawsuit against a prominent physician over a career-ending toe injury.

The jurors returned the award against Dr. John Uribe after a two-week trial. McDuffie sued for negligence and malpractice over treatment for the toe injury he originally suffered in 1999.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

NCAA eyes toughening penalty for players throwing elbows

The NCAA has recommended tougher penalties for players who throw elbows.

The decision was announced one day after the Basketball Rules Committee completed its spring meetings. All proposals must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel in June.

If the new rule passes, officials would have to call an intentional or flagrant foul for anything more than incidental contact when a player hits an opponent with an elbow above the shoulders. If the player hits the opponent below the shoulders, it could still be a common foul.

Also: First-year assistant Mo Cassara was promoted to succeed Hofstra basketball coach Tim Welsh, who resigned from the head coaching job Monday, two days after he was arrested on a DWI charge.

Fran Dunphy and Temple agreed to an eight-year contract that could keep the basketball coach with the program through the 2018 season. Dunphy just finished his fourth season as coach.

Former Michigan basketball coach Brian Ellerbe was hired as an assistant to DePaul coach Oliver Purnell. Ellerbe spent last season as an assistant at George Washington after an eight-year absence from the sideline.

An Oklahoma State student was granted an emergency protective order against basketball player Matt Pilgrim, three weeks after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a campus dormitory in Stillwater, Okla.

Pilgrim, a forward who started 13 games for the Cowboys last season, has not been charged by police and has not been arrested.

Louisville center Samardo Samuels will hire an agent and remain in the NBA Draft.

Samuels averaged 15.3 points and 7.0 rebounds during his sophomore season with the Cardinals. He announced last month he would explore his options before deciding whether to return to Louisville for his junior year.

Northern Arizona guard Cameron Jones, who averaged 19.3 points as a junior last season, withdrew from the NBA Draft and said he will return for his senior season.

Temple football coach Al Golden, who led the Owls to a 9-4 record and an appearance in the EagleBank Bowl last season, agreed to a five-year contract that would keep him with the program through the 2014 season.

Southern California defensive tackle Christian Tupou is likely to miss the upcoming season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during the Trojans' final scrimmage of the spring.

Tupou will need surgery. He has been the Trojans' starting nose tackle for the past two seasons.

UNLV tennis player Kristina Nedeltcheva earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Singles Championships, which begin May 25 in Athens, Ga.

It will be the first singles appearance for the 45th-ranked Nedeltcheva (27-9), who twice competed in the NCAA doubles championships.

College of Southern Nevada third baseman Tomo Delp, a Bonanza High School product, was named National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Player of the Week after going 11-for-13 in a four-game series against College of Eastern Utah.

MISCELLANEOUS

Derby winner Super Saver has healthy jog in return to track

Super Saver returned to the track for the first time since winning the Kentucky Derby, jogging a mile at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The 3-year-old colt "jogged like a Derby winner," trainer Todd Pletcher's assistant Mike McCarthy said, adding "his energy, attitude and appetite are all good."

Super Saver is scheduled to remain at the track until Wednesday, when he will be shipped to Pimlico for the Preakness on May 15.

Also: Kentucky Derby runner-up Ice Box will skip the Preakness.

Trainer Nick Zito said it's more likely the 3-year-old colt will be pointed to the Belmont instead.

Ice Box finished a hard-charging second to Super Saver in last weekend's Run for the Roses. Zito said the day after the race he was concerned that his horse might have trouble with the short two-week turnaround between the first and second Triple Crown races.

The Williams sisters reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome.

Top-ranked Serena Williams defeated Andrea Petkovic of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 as she plays her first tournament in three months. Venus Williams advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Shahar Peer of Israel.

The sisters are back from knee injuries and could meet in the semifinals after being placed in the same half of the draw.

Roger Federer captured his first singles win on clay this season, beating Bjorn Phau of Germany 6-3, 6-4 at the Estoril Open in Oeiras, Portugal.

The world No. 1 conceded just 17 points on his service game as he rebounded from a first-round loss in Rome last week.

Former UNR standout and NBA player Kirk Snyder was sentenced to three years in prison for breaking into his neighbors' home and attacking them.

Judge Neal Bronson of Warren County Common Pleas Court in Ohio sentenced Snyder, 26, and ordered him to pay $5,550 in restitution.

A jury convicted Snyder in April of aggravated burglary, felonious assault and assault in the March 2009 break-in in Deerfield Township north of Cincinnati. Snyder had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

A California legislative committee advanced a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on the use of metal bats in high school baseball, responding to safety concerns that were raised when a Marin County teenager was severely injured this year.

The moratorium would allow time for the bodies that govern baseball at the high school and collegiate level to review the safety of aluminum and metal bats, which some say are more dangerous than their wooden counterparts.

The March incident left Gunnar Sandberg, a 16-year-old pitcher for Marin Catholic High School, in a coma for weeks and prompted the Marin County Athletic League to suspend the use of metal bats.

Andrew Tiberti of Las Vegas' Elite Boxing advanced to the second round of the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Little Rock, Ark., defeating Kitu Veal of Cincinnati by decision in the 201-pound weight class Tuesday.

Rydell Gipson of Barry's Boxing lost to California's Dustin Enriquez by decision in the first round of the 201-plus division.