Witness says Lawrence Taylor did not have sex with girl

Lawrence Taylor’s attorney says a woman has come forward as a defense witness in the NFL legend’s sexual assault case to say he did not rape a 16-year-old girl.

The 23-year-old woman says in a sworn statement given to defense investigators that she accompanied the teen to the Holiday Inn north of New York City, where the girl was to meet Taylor. She said that the girl returned to the car after the meeting with Taylor with $300 cash, and told her that they did not have sex.

Taylor’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he would use the woman’s testimony to bolster his case. The 51-year-old Taylor was charged May 6 with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

College football powers Notre Dame and Miami appear ready to play again for the first time since 1990. The once-vaunted rivals are nearing a deal for a three-game series, starting with a game at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 2012, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on Friday. The game would be followed by a home-and-home, likely in 2014 and 2016.

PRO FOOTBALL

Donovan McNabb apologized to the fans of Philadelphia for not winning a Super Bowl title for them.

“I look back — the things that I set out that I wanted to accomplish and bring back to Philadelphia I wasn’t able to, and I apologize more than anything to the people of Philadelphia, not bringing that Super Bowl to them,” McNabb told a Philadelphia radio station.

McNabb was traded to division rival Washington last month after 11 seasons with the Eagles, who drafted him third overall in 1999.

He led the Eagles to five appearances in the NFC championship game and a spot in the Super Bowl after the 2004 season. The Eagles lost that game 24-21 to New England.

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Former NFL defensive tackle Norman Hand died after collapsing at his home in South Carolina.

Hand’s 10-year NFL career included playing stints with the Dolphins, Saints, Chargers, Seahawks and Giants. Hand, who had 22 1/2 career sacks, was drafted in the fifth round by the Dolphins in 1995 after playing at Mississippi.

TENNIS

Defending champion Roger Federer rallied from a set and a break down to beat Ernests Gulbis 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Friday and secure a place in the Madrid Masters semifinals.

Federer lost to Gulbis last month at the Rome Masters in his first clay-court match of the season, and the Latvian looked set to repeat the upset until the top-ranked Swiss found his stride in the second set.

Federer will play ninth-seeded David Ferrer, who beat 2008 champion Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3.

Earlier Friday, Rafael Nadal was close to his clay-court best in beating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal will play fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

On the women’s side, fourth-seeded Venus Williams reached the semifinals, beating Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-3.

In a strong performance Williams broke the eighth-seeded Stosur’s serve four times.

Williams will play Shahar Peer of Israel, who beat Li Na of China 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

MOTOR SPORTS

Martin Truex Jr. has been first to finish at Dover International Speedway and now he’ll be first to start. Truex turned a lap of 157.315 mph and won the pole on Friday — nearly three years after he won his only career Cup race at Dover. Truex won his first pole of the season and first since last November at Phoenix.

GOLF

Rain washed out the second round of the Texas Open on Friday, and PGA officials said more bad weather this weekend could push the tournament into Monday.

More than three inches of rain soaked the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, where leader Matt Jones and the rest of the field never got on the course.

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Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice was disqualified from the Nationwide Tour event Friday because his caddie used a range-finding scope to check yardages. The disqualification came a day after Rice shot a 92, the highest round ever since the BMW Charity Pro-Am began in 1992.

“A rookie mistake that I made,” Rice said with a smile. “So I got DQ’ed.”

Rice announced after a second-round 82 that he’s done competing on golf’s Triple-A circuit.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

John Calipari is reassuring Kentucky basketball fans that he plans to coach the Wildcats next year, despite speculation he is being pursued by the NBA.

Calipari sent a message on Twitter on Friday that said: “I will be coaching at Kentucky next year. Now let’s finish what we started!”

Calipari added that Kentucky is “the best job in the country” but that he couldn’t stop the speculation. He also said he was addressing the topic for the last time.

Several reports have linked Calipari to the vacant head coaching position with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, the point guard he coached at Memphis.