Puckett Gets Cleared of Sexual Assault Charges

Hall of Fame baseball player Kirby Puckett was cleared Thursday at Minneapolis of all charges in the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a restaurant bathroom.

A jury of six men and six women deliberated nearly 12 hours over two days. Puckett sat still as the verdicts were read, then hugged his lawyers.

The 43-year-old Puckett, who played his entire career for the Minnesota Twins, was accused of dragging a woman into the men’s room, forcing her into a stall and grabbing her breast hard enough to leave a bruise.

He was charged with false imprisonment, fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, and fifth-degree assault.

Prosecutors had said they wouldn’t seek more than a year’s jail sentence if Puckett were convicted.

“I think justice was served today,” Puckett said. “I think the jury listened to all the facts and I just want to go home.”

Defense attorney Todd Jones argued that the woman willingly accepted Puckett’s offer to escort her into the men’s room because there was a crowd outside the women’s room.

Puckett is one of Minnesota’s most beloved sports figures, having helped the Twins win the 1987 and 1991 World Series.

His career abruptly ended before the 1996 season, because glaucoma blinded his right eye.

Pro Football

The San Francisco 49ers gave receiver J.J. Stokes permission to seek a trade.

Stokes, a perennial underachiever who lost his job as the 49ers’ No. 2 receiver to Tai Streets last year, probably will be released after June 1 if his agents can’t arrange a deal.

Stokes had 32 receptions for 332 yards last season and started eight games.

The 49ers also agreed to a one-year contract with defensive tackle Travis Kirschke.

Kirschke, formerly of UCLA, signed as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and spent the last six seasons with the Detroit Lions. He has started 10 games and made 114 tackles.

The NFL released its schedule for the 2003 season, with rematches of last season’s conference championship games among the highlights.

Tampa Bay plays at Philadelphia and its new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, in the Monday night opener on Sept. 8. Oakland plays at Tennessee on Sept. 7.

On Oct. 5, Emmitt Smith and the Arizona Cardinals play at Dallas against Smith’s former team, and on the same day, Coach Steve Mariucci and the Detroit Lions play at San Francisco against Mariucci’s former team.

Wild-card playoff games are Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, the division playoffs Jan. 10 and Jan. 11 and the AFC and NFC championship games Jan. 18. The Super Bowl is Feb. 1 at Houston.

The complete week-by-week schedule is on D16.

The Cincinnati Bengals acquired fullback Mike Green on waivers from the Tennessee Titans. Green, 26, rushed 21 times for 71 yards last season with the Titans.... Free-agent kicker Carlos Martinez signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tennis

Russia’s Anastasia Myskina, ranked 11th in the world and seeded second, won over Nadia Petrova when her fellow Russian retired with a right ankle sprain in the third set of the $140,000 Sarasota Clay Court Classic at Sarasota, Fla. Myskina won, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0.

Myskina was the only player among the top four seeded players still going in the tournament.

Paola Suarez, who knocked off top-seeded Jelena Dokic in the opening round, moved into the quarterfinals by coming back to defeat Maja Matevzic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. Fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva beat Mary Pierce, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Third-seeded Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia was eliminated from the Grand Prix de SAR at Casablanca, Morocco, losing to Marta Marrero of Spain, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Swimming

Michael Phelps, the 17-year-old standout from Baltimore, won the 200-meter freestyle in the U.S. National Spring Swimming Championships at Indianapolis.

Phelps finished in 1 minute, 47.37 seconds, beating Klete Keller. Keller, the bronze medalist in the 400 meters at the 2000 Olympics, was second in 1:47.74.

Tom Wilkens secured his 16th national title by winning the 400-meter individual medley in 4:16.75.

Wilkens, 27, moved into a tie with Chad Carvin for most national titles.

Lindsay Benko won the women’s 200 freestyle in 2:00.58 and Kaitlin Sandeno, an Olympian from USC, won the women’s 400 individual medley in 4:45.48.

Miscellany

Joe Nemechek won the pole for the Busch series race at Talladega, Ala. Nemechek earned his 15th career Busch pole with a lap at 188.649 mph in a Chevrolet. Second-year driver Kasey Kahne was second in qualifying for Saturday’s Aaron’s 312.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified third.

John Moag, leading the charge to bring an NFL team to the Rose Bowl, met Thursday in New York with league executives and showed them the latest stadium-reconstruction designs.

He has said he plans to show the renderings to the public within a week.

Reserve fullback Ray Cassaday has left UCLA’s football team because of personal reasons.

Passings

Chuck Anderson, who led Florida Southern College to three NCAA Division II baseball titles, died of cancer at age 63. Anderson served as head coach of the U.S. national team in 1994, and was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Assn. Hall of Fame in 1999.