Pacer Guard Johnson Pleads in Brawl Case

Indiana Pacer guard Anthony Johnson pleaded no contest Friday in Rochester Hills, Mich., to a count of misdemeanor assault and battery stemming from last season’s Pacer-Detroit Piston brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Johnson, one of five Indiana players involved in the incident, is scheduled for a sentencing hearing Oct. 7.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing. Johnson could be sentenced to a maximum of just more than three months in jail and a $500 fine.

Pretrial hearings are scheduled Monday for David Harrison and Sept. 23 for Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal, all Pacer players.

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Former Atlanta Brave pitcher Rick Camp was sentenced to federal prison for roughly three years for conspiring to steal more than $2 million from a mental health agency.... Jay Gruden, the younger brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneer Coach Jon Gruden and a part-time assistant coach with the team, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving early Friday, the Hillsborough County (Fla.) sheriff’s office said.

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A federal judge in Seattle has cleared for trial a lawsuit challenging NCAA scholarship limits filed on behalf of walk-on football players who are shut out of financial benefits.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour ruled that the lawsuit should go to trial, rejecting an NCAA motion to dismiss the case.

The association argued that as a noncommercial operation, it is not subject to antitrust laws.

Tennis

Lindsay Davenport defeated Maria Elena Camerin, 6-3, 6-1, to reach the semifinals of the Wismilak International at Bali, Indonesia.

Davenport will play Li Na, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 winner over Alona Bondarenko, in a semifinal today.

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Top-seeded Rafael Nadal and second-seeded Guillermo Coria reached the China Open semifinals at Beijing, each winning two matches on a crowded schedule because of rain the previous day. Nadal first defeated Justin Gimelstob, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, and later ousted Peter Wessels, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Coria routed Toshihide Matsui, 6-1, 6-0, then beat seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

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Top-seeded Mariano Puerta was ousted in the quarterfinals of the BCR Open, losing to last year’s finalist Igor Andreev, at Bucharest, Romania.

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Marc De Hous, Kim Clijsters’ coach, has resigned, less than a week after she won her first Grand Slam title, saying they had “come full circle” and it was the right time for him to step aside.

Soccer

Eddie Johnson, a forward for the U.S. national team, reinjured his right foot and probably will sit out the rest of Major League Soccer’s regular season with FC Dallas.

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Goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who starred for the U.S. national team at the 2002 World Cup, signed a three-year contract extension with the Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League through 2008.

Basketball

Italy overcame a 27-point, 15-rebound performance by Dirk Nowitzki to edge Germany, 84-82, in overtime in the European Championship at Vrsac, Serbia and Montenegro.

Spain, playing without top star Pau Gasol, dominated reigning world champion Serbia and Montenegro, 89-70, in a Group D match at Novi Sad, getting 27 points from Juan Carlos Navarro.

Also at Vrsac, Russia defeated Ukraine, 86-74, led by Andrei Kirilenko’s 22 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots, three steals and two assists.

Miscellany

The NCAA will not grant automatic waivers of its transfer rules for athletes affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The association has relaxed some rules to help athletes, but said it would consider transfer waivers case by case and take into account how the moves would affect the athletes and schools involved.

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The No. 25 Chevrolet that Hendrick Motorsports took to New Hampshire International Speedway as the primary Nextel Cup car for Brian Vickers was in NASCAR’s possession after it failed five inspections. Vickers will try to qualify for Sunday’s race in a backup car.

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Speedskater Anzhelika Kotyuga of Belarus was suspended for two years for failing a drug test at the World Cup finals.

Cal State Fullerton will induct its first Athletic Hall of Fame class at a dinner Nov. 5 at the school. The honorees are baseball coach Augie Garrido, baseball player Tim Wallach, softball player Susan LeFebve-Wyman, basketball players Leon Wood, Greg Bunch and Eugenia Miller-Rycraw and gymnast Tami Elliott-Harrison. Details: (714) 278-3480.

Passings

John J. McMullen, former owner of the New Jersey Devils and the Houston Astros, died at 87 in Montclair, N.J. McMullen acquired the Colorado NHL franchise in 1982 and moved it to New Jersey. Under his ownership, the team won two Stanley Cups. He sold the franchise in 2000 to an affiliate of the YankeeNets sports holding company for $175 million.

McMullen owned the Astros from 1979 to ’92.

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Charlie Williams, the first black umpire to work behind home plate in a World Series game, has died. He was 61. Williams, who grew up in Long Beach but lived near Chicago, died last Saturday of complications from diabetes in Oak Lawn, Ill.

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Polish Olympic volleyball star Arkadiusz Golas, 24, was killed when his car hit a highway barrier in Austria.