Canuck Bertuzzi Barred From Playing in Europe

Vancouver Canuck player Todd Bertuzzi was barred from playing in Europe by the International Ice Hockey Federation on Friday because of his violent conduct on the rink.

Bertuzzi was charged with assault after slugging Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore from behind and driving his face into the ice during a March 8 game. Moore was hospitalized with three fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, postconcussion symptoms and amnesia.

Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely by the NHL, missing 13 regular-season games and seven postseason games and losing nearly $502,000 in salary. Several European clubs appeared to show interest in Bertuzzi this season.

“The violent nature of Mr. Bertuzzi’s action with the severe injuries inflicted to the opposing player, as a result of his deliberate act, were regarded as an extremely serious violation of the rules, putting the sport into disrepute,” an IIHF statement said.

IIHF rules allow the governing body to ban players from competition on grounds of the sport’s wider interests, and his application to play was denied until his case is resolved in court. Bertuzzi can appeal the decision to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, the governing body said.

Bertuzzi’s trial is set for Jan. 17. He faces a maximum sentence of 18 months if convicted.

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Ray Whitney scored for the second consecutive game and added an assist, helping the World Stars rebound from a lopsided loss and beat Swedish champion HV71, 5-1, in Jonkoping, Sweden.

The World Stars, a team made up of locked-out NHL players, improved to 5-2 on their 10-game, seven-country European tour.

Skiing

On a day that belonged to Austrians, Bode Miller found himself in an unusual spot, off the podium after a demanding run in a World Cup super giant slalom at Val Gardena, Italy.

Miller came in fourth in a race won by Michael Walchhofer but maintained his commanding lead in the overall standings, having won six of 11 races this season.

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Miscellany

Production cars tuned to the hilt will race today and Sunday in the Japan GT Championship series at California Speedway, the series’ first venture on American soil.

The SCCA-sanctioned JGTC All-Star 200, beginning today at 4:30 p.m., will be the series’ first night event, and will incorporate nearly half the Fontana speedway’s two-mile oval before veering into the infield to make up a 21-turn, 2.3-mile road course.

Thirteen of the series’ top 15 teams in the championship will be competing.

The All-Star Sprints, two 24-minute sprint races on a high-speed road course that doesn’t use the oval, take place Sunday.

Drifting will also be a major part of the weekend.

The D1 Grand Prix U.S. vs. Japan exhibition is Sunday, 5 p.m.; Xtreme Drifting League runs at 2 p.m.

Cole Ford, a former Oakland Raider and USC kicker charged with shooting at the home of entertainers Siegfried & Roy, must attend a competency hearing, a judge ruled in Las Vegas.

Ford, 31, waived a preliminary hearing and was not asked to enter a plea to several charges, including felony assault with a deadly weapon.

His attorney, Assistant Clark County Public Defender Daren Richards, has said Ford might seek an insanity defense. Ford could face up to 27 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Weightlifter Dean Goad was suspended for two years after testing positive for an elevated testosterone-epitestosterone ratio, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said.

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Passings

Bobby Mattick, who managed the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980 and ’81 and helped develop the talent that produced five division titles and two World Series championships, died at 89.

Mattick died Thursday night after a stroke earlier in the day at his Scottsdale, Ariz., home, the Blue Jays said.

“There is a major void in Blue Jays land today,” President Paul Godfrey said. “This is a major loss. Bobby was a father figure to everyone here. His life was baseball and everyone here recognizes his worth to the organization.”

He first joined the Blue Jays in 1976 as the expansion team’s scouting supervisor and was one of the team’s original employees.

Former Washington State football coach Robert “Bert” Clark Jr., whose 1965 “Cardiac Kids” beat three Big Ten teams on the road, has died. He was 74.

Clark died Monday in Katy, Texas, the school said in a statement. A graveside service was scheduled today in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Clark, who played linebacker at Oklahoma under Bud Wilkinson, coached at Washington State from 1964 to 1967, compiling a 15-24-1 record. His 1965 team was the most successful at 7-3, with close road wins over Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana.