Minnesota Center Is Acquitted in Indiana

Michael Olowokandi of the Minnesota Timberwolves was found not guilty Monday of misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct at a downtown Indianapolis nightclub last fall.

Olowokandi was arrested Nov. 25 after he refused to leave Tiki Bob’s and had to be subdued by police with a stun gun.

He was held overnight in jail and released in the morning, and the Timberwolves suspended him for their game against the Indiana Pacers that night and their next game against Memphis for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

Olowokandi said he was trying to retrieve a sweatshirt from the club.

Judge William Nelson made the ruling after a bench trial in Marion Superior Court.

*

Forward-center Esteban Batista, 22, signed with the Atlanta Hawks, and could become the first native of Uruguay to play in the NBA.

Batista, at 6 feet 10, played for Uruguay in the 2005 FIBA Americas Championship in August and earlier this month, and led the tournament with 15.6 rebounds a game. He averaged 18 points.

*

The Phoenix Suns signed free-agent guard Eddie House, 27, who played with the Charlotte Bobcats, Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings last season, averaging 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

*

Veteran coach John MacLeod was hired as an assistant on Mike Montgomery’s staff with the Golden State Warriors. MacLeod’s record was 707-657 in 18 seasons as an NBA head coach with Phoenix, Dallas and the New York Knicks, ranking 15th in league history in coaching victories. He also coached at Notre Dame from 1991 to ‘99, going 112-126.

*

The WNBA’s Washington Mystics announced that Coach Richie Adubato would return for the 2006 season.

*

Tennis

Juan Carlos Ferrero rallied from a set down to defeat Lee Hyung-Taik in first-round action at the China Open at Beijing. Lee pushed the former French Open champion, erasing a flurry of match points before Ferrero triumphed, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Carlos Moya beat Paradorn Srichaphan, 7-6 (6), 6-3. Dominik Hrbaty, seeded fifth, withdrew from the event because of a back sprain.

Defending champion Jose Acasuso beat Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the second round of the BCR Open at Bucharest, Romania. Seventh-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, downed David Sanchez, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1; Florian Mayer topped Oscar Hernandez, 6-2, 6-0; Florent Serra beat Victor Crivoi, 3-6, 7-6, 6-1; and Davide Sanguinetti beat Razvan Sabau, 6-4, 6-3.

Fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone had to struggle against Jamea Jackson in the first round of the Wismilak International, but the Italian held on to win, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, at Bali, Indonesia.

The ratings for Roger Federer’s victory over Andre Agassi in the U.S. Open men’s final Sunday were 100% higher than those for last year’s match, which was the lowest-rated final. Federer’s 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1 victory Sunday over Agassi earned a 6.2 overnight rating with a 12 share for CBS. That’s up from the 3.1 with a 6 that Federer’s 2004 win over Lleyton Hewitt received.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

*

Miscellany

Defending champion Austin Eaton III advanced to the second round of golf’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Chattanooga, Tenn. Eaton beat Anton Salome, 6 and 5, on the par-72, 7,037-yard the Honors Course. Trip Kuehne also advanced, beating Skip Taylor, 5 and 4.

Jeffrey Deardorff and Benjamin Zobrist each drove in two runs to help the U.S. beat the Czech Republic, 7-3, in the Baseball World Cup at Amsterdam. The victory gave the Americans a quarterfinal berth. Nicaragua also earned a quarterfinal spot with an 11-4 victory over Taiwan, and Puerto Rico advanced with a 7-4 victory over Spain.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka and five others were plucked by helicopter from a stranded boat during a rescue in the Bering Sea.

The former Miami Dolphin back, his partner and a film crew were not injured, the Anchorage Daily News reported in Sunday editions.

Csonka was returning from filming a hunting trip on an isolated island Wednesday when the group ran into bad weather.