Former Charger pleads guilty to misdemeanor

Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Steve Foley pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of driving with a blood-alcohol level above the state’s legal limit the night he was followed and shot by an off-duty police officer.

Foley was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to submit to alcohol testing if requested by authorities. He also was ordered to pay a $1,756 fine and appear at a public event for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Foley, 31, was shot early on Sept. 3 near his Poway home by officer Aaron Mansker, who had tailed the player’s 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme for nearly 30 miles on a freeway on suspicion the driver was drunk.

Mansker was in civilian clothes and driving his own car. He ended up cornered in a cul-de-sac in front of Foley’s home. The player got out of his car and began walking toward Mansker, who fired shots into Foley’s knee, hand and thigh, effectively ending the linebacker’s career.

Foley, who walks with a limp, missed the season and in March was released two years early from his contract with the team.

The son of famed NFL announcer John Facenda can seek damages for the use of his father’s voice on a program about a John Madden video game.

Facenda, in a written agreement signed before his 1984 death, gave the NFL full use of his announcing work except when it came to any product endorsement, according to the order of a federal judge.

The ruling allows John Facenda Jr. to seek damages from a jury on the question of liability, although a claim of invasion-of-privacy claim was thrown out. The NFL plans to appeal.

Cedric Kushner, president of Gotham Boxing Inc., filed a $5-million lawsuit against International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko over last year’s canceled fight with Shannon Briggs at Madison Square Garden.

NASCAR driver Scott Wimmer has filed a lawsuit against former employer Bill Davis Racing, asking for $1.2 million in unpaid salary for the 2006 season. Wimmer is now driving a part-time NASCAR Busch Series schedule for Richard Childress Racing.

TENNIS

Vakulenko upsets

Clijsters in Poland

Qualifier Julia Vakulenko beat second-seeded Kim Clijsters, 7-6 (3), 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the clay court J&S; Cup in Warsaw.

Venus Williams beat seventh-seeded Elena Dementieva, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Second-seeded Tomas Berdych advanced to the BMW Open quarterfinals, beating Nicolas Massu, 7-5, 6-1, at Munich, Germany.... Second-seeded Tommy Robredo rallied to beat Alberto Martin, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-2, in the second round of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.

Pete Sampras routed Petr Korda, 6-1, 6-2, in the opening round of the Champions Cup at Boston, the 14-time major winner’s first tournament in nearly five years. In the first match, John McEnroe beat Tim Mayotte, 6-1, 7-5.

MISCELLANY

Kreis retires as player

and becomes coach

Jason Kreis, Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer, retired as a player to become Real Salt Lake’s coach. Kreis replaces John Ellinger, who will stay with the team as technical director and director of soccer operations.

General Manager Steve Pastorino resigned.

Sevilla and Espanyol will play in an all-Spanish UEFA Cup soccer final. Sevilla advanced by defeating Osasuna, 2-0, in the second leg of the semifinals and 2-1 on aggregate. Espanyol beat Werder Bremen, 2-1, and 5-1 on aggregate.

Michael Waltrip Racing made its third crew chief change in less than a month, naming Jason Burdett to replace Matt Borland on Dale Jarrett’s No. 44 Toyota.

Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino, 54, signed a three-year contract extension that could keep him with the Cardinals through 2013.... Notre Dame basketball Coach Mike Brey signed a two-year contract extension through the 2012-13 season.

Hozumi Hasegawa successfully defended his World Boxing Council bantamweight belt with a unanimous decision against Simpiwe Vetyeka in a 12-round fight in Tokyo.

A lack of wind postponed Louis Vuitton Cup match racing off the coast of Valencia, Spain.

VOLLEYBALL

Pepperdine upset;

UC Irvine in final

Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne stunned top-seeded Pepperdine, 27-30, 30-27, 30-27, 30-25, and UC Irvine upended Penn State, 30-25, 30-22, 26-30, 30-23, in the NCAA volleyball championships at Columbus, Ohio.

The Mastodons (23-7) and Anteaters (28-5) play Saturday for the title.

PASSINGS

Hampton coach guided

softball team to a title

Tiny L. Laster Jr., 61, the longtime Hampton University (Va.) women’s coach who led the softball team to a regular-season championship Tuesday, died from kidney failure.... Alex Agase, a three-time All-American and a College Football Hall of Fame member who coached at Northwestern and Purdue, died Thursday. He was 85.