sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, May 26, 2008

Basketball: Detroit's Billups will fight off sore hamstring

Chauncey Billups probably isn't going to be healthy during the Eastern Conference finals.

Billups refuses, though, to let his sore right hamstring keep him off the court or be an excuse for him and the Detroit Pistons against the Boston Celtics.

"Hurt or not, I still have to play better and fight through it," Billups said Sunday.

The All-Star point guard was 1-for-6 for six points with four assists and two turnovers in the Celtics' 94-80 win Saturday night that gave them a 2-1 lead in the series.

Billups missed two-plus games in the second round against the Orlando Magic after straining his right hamstring and he aggravated the injury when Detroit won Game 2 at Boston.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls forward and former Florida star, has been charged by authorities in Gainesville with possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol.

Gainesville police spokesman Sgt. Rick Roberts says Noah was arrested around 1:50 a.m. Sunday after an officer spotted him on a sidewalk holding a plastic cup containing an amber drink, a violation of city law. During a search at the station, officers found marijuana in his pocket.

Noah was released after signing a notice to appear before a judge - standard procedure for such offenses. He could face up to 6 months in jail and a $500 fine for the marijuana charge.

Football: Man convicted of fraud hangs himself in jail

Kirk Wright, convicted in a multimillion dollar investment fraud whose victims included pro football players, has committed suicide in jail.

Wright hanged himself Saturday in the Union City jail, Betty Honey, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office, said on Sunday.

The 37-year-old Wright, of Marietta, Ga., was convicted Wednesday of leading an investment scheme that bilked millions of dollars from clients ranging from NFL players to his mother.

Wright faced as many as 710 years in prison and a fine of up to $16 million. He already had been hit with a $20 million judgment as part of a civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Honey said no foul play is suspected in Wright's death.

Authorities are investigating the death of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Thomas McHale, who was found dead at a friend's home. He was 45.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office said McHale was found by the friend early Sunday in the Tampa-area home. Authorities say foul play is not suspected. An autopsy has been scheduled.

No further information was immediately available.

General: U.S. men finally get victory at French Open

To James Blake, 1-0 sounds a lot better than 0-9.

A year after all nine U.S. men competing at the French Open lost in the first round, Blake won his opener at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament Sunday, beating former top-10 player Rainer Schuettler 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

He lost to Ivo Karlovic in four sets at Roland Garros in 2007, part of the worst showing by American men at any major tennis championship in 34 years. It also continued their recent trend of struggling on clay.

"We all feel like, you know, last year was an aberration that should never happen again," Blake said, "and this year we're definitely looking for better results."

Serena Williams, eight-time Grand Slam champion, advanced to the second round of the French Open, beating Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6- 1.

The 2002 French Open champion was broken in the first game of the match Sunday and trailed 2-0 before winning seven straight games as a light rain fell. The 61st-ranked Ashley Harkleroad is an American who will appear in the August issue of Playboy.

The fifth-seeded Williams, the only woman in the field who has won the clay-court major, had a 10-0 edge in aces.

Gustavo Kuerten bid farewell to tennis Sunday in the first round of the French Open, losing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to Paul-Henri Mathieu at the site of his biggest triumphs.

The former top-ranked Brazilian won three French Open titles.

Big Brown's perfect path has its first bump.

The unbeaten Triple Crown contender has a slight crack on his left front hoof, although trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. was confident the injury won't keep his colt from running in the Belmont Stakes in less than two weeks.

However, Big Brown has missed two days of training at Belmont Park, and will miss at least several more while being treated by hoof specialist Ian McKinlay for a five-eighths of an inch long quarter crack on the inside of his left heel.

Soccer's ruling body could make a decision Tuesday on whether Australia's World Cup qualifier against Iraq in Brisbane on Sunday will go ahead.

J.P. Lamunyon allowed just one hit, leading Blue Valley to a 4-0 victory over Goddard in the Class 6A baseball championship game Sunday.

The tournament final was delayed until Sunday because storms Friday night knocked out electricity at Hummer Sports Park.

From staff and wire reports