‘Pacman’ Jones surrenders and then is released

His distinctive dreadlocks gone, Adam “Pacman” Jones posted bail, walked out of jail in Las Vegas early Friday and headed home to Nashville, leaving his lawyers to again sort out the legal entanglements of the suspended NFL player.

Jones surrendered to face charges in a Las Vegas strip club melee that preceded a triple shooting. The Tennessee Titans cornerback was released on $20,000 bail, and was scheduled to return for an initial court appearance July 23.

Jones will plead not guilty to two felony charges of coercion stemming from allegations that he threatened to kill Minxx club employees and that he bit a bar bouncer, his lawyers said.

If convicted, the 23-year-old Jones faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The arrest was the sixth for Jones since he was drafted in 2005. NFL and team officials declined to comment Friday.

Jones’ attorneys complained that police had unfairly handled his latest case.

“They gave us a one-day notice to get people cross-country on warrants that weren’t even issued yet,” lawyer Manny Arora said.

Arora alleged that a criminal complaint wasn’t filed until Thursday and said defense lawyers had to prod authorities to file an arrest warrant so Jones could turn himself in.

Clark County Dist. Atty. David Roger was out of the office Friday and unavailable for comment. An aide said the criminal complaint was submitted to Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday, and the warrants were issued after 3 p.m. Thursday.

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Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson was pulled over for speeding in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert early Friday and police said they drew blood from him to determine whether he was drunk.

Johnson already is suspended for the first eight games of the 2007 NFL season after violating probation on a gun violation. Gilbert police said Johnson was stopped for driving 40 mph in a 25 mph zone and the officer made observations that led him to believe Johnson was impaired.

TENNIS

Henin to play Mauresmo for Eastbourne title

Top-seeded Justine Henin needed less than an hour to defeat eighth-seeded Marion Bartoli, 6-1, 6-3, and reach the final of the Eastbourne International in England.

Henin will play second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, who advanced when third-seeded Nadia Petrova retired because of an injury after losing the first set, 6-4.

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Second-seeded Ivan Ljubicic reached the final of the Ordina Open at Den Bosch, Netherlands, beating Julien Benneteau, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4. He’ll play the winner of the Peter Wessels-Antony Dupuis match, which was suspended by rain with Wessels leading, 6-5.

In the women’s draw, top-seeded Jelena Jankovic advanced to the final by beating fourth-seeded Dinara Safina, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6). She’ll play third-seeded Anna Chakvetadze, who beat fifth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, 6-3, 6-4.

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Eighth-seeded Arnaud Clement beat fourth-seeded Jonas Bjorkman, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the final of the Nottingham Open in England. Hours after upsetting top-seeded Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-3, in a rain-delayed quarterfinal, Clement beat Bjorkman to set up a meeting with Ivo Karlovic, who upset second-seeded Dmitry Tursunov, 7-5, 6-4.

MOTOR RACING

Benson wins again at Milwaukee Mile

Johnny Benson, driving a Toyota, took the lead from series points leader Mike Skinner on Lap 104, then held off Ron Hornaday Jr. on a late restart to win his second consecutive NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Milwaukee Mile. Hornaday finished second in a Chevrolet.

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Sebastien Bourdais won the provisional pole for Sunday’s Champ Car World Series Grand Prix of Cleveland with a fast lap of 56.961 seconds around the airport course. He was the only driver in the 17-car field under 57 seconds.

He earned one point for his second provisional pole win this season, giving him 106 points and increasing his series lead to 12 over Will Power, who was second in 57.301 seconds.

SOCCER

Report: Henry leaving Arsenal for Barcelona

Thierry Henry is leaving Arsenal to sign with Barcelona in one of European soccer’s major transfers of the off-season.

Barcelona will pay $32 million for the 29-year-old forward, who agreed to a four-year contract, Cadena Ser radio and the newspaper El Pais reported. Barcelona planned to announce the signing today.

Henry has been with Arsenal since 1999, scoring a club-record 226 goals in 364 appearances. He helped the Gunners win two English Premier League titles and three Football Assn. Cups.

BASEBALL

Oregon State seeking another NCAA title

Defending champion Oregon State (47-18) plays North Carolina (57-14) today at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium in the opener of a best-of-three series for the NCAA Division I championship.

It’s the second time in the College World Series’ 61-year history that the same teams have reached the finals in consecutive years. Arizona State and USC met in 1972 and 1973.

Oregon State is seeking to become only the fourth team in College World Series history to repeat as champion, joining USC (1970-74), Stanford (1987-88) and Louisiana State (1996-97).

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Infielders Evan Longoria (formerly of Long Beach State) and Ian Stewart (Westminster La Quinta High), catcher Bryan Anderson (Simi Valley High) and pitcher Garrett Olson (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) were named to the U.S. minor league team that will play in the All-Star Futures game at AT&T; Park in San Francisco on July 8.

BASKETBALL

Durant works out with Trail Blazers

Kevin Durant worked out with the Portland Trail Blazers, two days after Greg Oden, as both players show their talents to the team with the top draft pick.

“That was as impressive a workout as any I’ve seen in here,” Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard said.

Durant, a 6-foot-9 forward from Texas, was the Associated Press Player of the Year last season as a freshman.

“I feel good here,” he said. “Like I belong here.”

The Big 12 Conference player and freshman of the year, Durant averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds -- one of three players in the country to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds.

SAILING

Alinghi opens defense of America’s Cup today

Four years of testing, training and spending will come to a head when Alinghi of Switzerland and Emirates Team New Zealand face off for the America’s Cup.

Defending champion Alinghi begins the first European defense of the Auld Mug in its 156-year history when the best-of-nine match race series begins today at Valencia, Spain.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the coin toss to determine entry positions, and will have the advantageous starboard side for each odd-numbered race.

ACTION SPORTS

Sheckler posts win in skateboard park

Two-time Dew Cup winner Ryan Sheckler of San Clemente won the skateboard park competition at the Panasonic Open in Baltimore, the first stop on the Dew Action Sports Tour’s third season.

His clean, tricky run earned him a score of 90.25 to beat Greg Lutzka’s 85.83.