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Cowboys assistant is paralyzed

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Associated Press

Rich Behm, a Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant, was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed during Saturday’s collapse of the team’s tent-like practice structure in a severe storm at Irving, Texas.

The team announced Behm was in stable condition at Parkland Hospital on Sunday after surgery to stabilize a fracture to the thoracic spine.

The 33-year-old Behm was among a dozen people hurt in the accident and was one of three Cowboys staffers who remained hospitalized.

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Joe DeCamillis, 43, the team’s new special teams coach, suffered a fracture of one of his cervical vertebrae without paralysis. He was scheduled for surgery today.

Assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither, 35, had surgery Saturday night to repair a fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg. He is expected to be released this week.

“To the Behm family we extend our love, comfort and the full support of every person and resource within the organization,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement.

Behm, DeCamillis and Gaither were standing on the field when the $4-million structure gave way because of high winds, sending debris such as the framework and lights crashing to the ground.

TENNIS

Nadal wins record fourth Rome Masters

Rafael Nadal won his record fourth Rome Masters title on Sunday, beating defending champion Novak Djokovic, 7-6 (2), 6-2.

It’s the third clay-court title in three weeks for the top-ranked Spaniard, after victories at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.

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Nadal broke an Open Era tie with Thomas Muster, who won Rome titles in 1990, 1995 and 1996. Jaroslav Drobny and Martin Mulligan also each won three titles before the Open Era.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova upset top-ranked Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-3, to win the Porsche Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany, and win her first WTA title since September 2007.

BASEBALL

Girardi has issues with Rodriguez book

New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi lashed out at a potentially damaging biography of Alex Rodriguez, questioning why the book was written and its accelerated release date.

Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts’ “A-Rod” reportedly offers an unflattering portrait of the slugger. The book’s release was moved up to today after details from the book leaked last week.

“I have some issues with it, that it’s interesting how the book date got moved up now,” Girardi said, “and I get tired of answering these questions. I don’t understand why someone would write a book like this anyway, and some people may not care to hear that, but I don’t understand.”

ETC.

UC Irvine joins USC in volleyball field

The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team is seeded first and USC third for this week’s national championship at Provo, Utah.

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UC Irvine (25-5), the at-large selection, will face fourth-seeded Ohio State (17-10) at 8 p.m. PDT Thursday. USC (23-11) will play second-seeded Penn State (27-3), the defending national champion, at 6 p.m.

The championship will be played at 4 p.m. PDT Saturday.

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Levi Leipheimer won the Tour of the Gila at Pinos Altos, N.M., after finishing first in two of the early stages and coming in third behind Lance Armstrong in Sunday’s last stage. Armstrong moved up in the overall classification from fourth to second after Sunday’s stage.

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Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs won their third beach volleyball tournament this season, beating Lisa Rutledge and Brooke Hanson, 21-18, 21-15, in the final of the AVP Crocs Tour San Diego.

The men’s title went to seventh-seeded John Mayer and Jeff Nygaard, who beat second-seeded Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, 21-18, 21-17.

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Russia routed Latvia, 6-1, securing a spot for the United States in the world hockey quarterfinals at Bern, Switzerland.

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