Tyson is sent to jail for a day

Mike Tyson was sentenced Monday in Mesa, Ariz., to 24 hours in jail and three years’ probation for cocaine possession and driving under the influence. He will begin serving his jail time today.

The former heavyweight champion had pleaded guilty in September to a single felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count.

“I take responsibility for my actions,” Tyson told Superior Court Judge Helene Abrams in an almost inaudible voice before she handed down the sentence.

Tyson faced a possible maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison. Prosecutor Shane Krauser had recommended one year in prison, saying that Tyson was a multiple offender who previously had been convicted of a violent crime and that only now has he sought treatment for his drug addiction.

The latest charges stemmed from a traffic stop in Scottsdale on Dec. 29 after the boxer had spent the evening at Scottsdale’s Pussycat Lounge and was seen driving erratically.

An officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard of his car, and that his speech was slurred. Authorities said they found bags of cocaine in Tyson’s pocket and in his car.

Tyson attorney David Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without a relapse since his arrest and has attended Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

In addition to probation, Tyson also will have to pay a fine and serve 360 hours of community service, including at least 20 hours per month.

MISCELLANY

Louisville center is outfor at least 10 weeks

Louisville center David Padgett will sit out at least 10 weeks because of a broken right knee, Coach Rick Pitino said.

Padgett injured the knee in the first half of Louisville’s win over Jackson State on Sunday.

Padgett is a fifth-year senior. If he could not return this season, his college career would be over unless the NCAA granted a sixth year of eligibility because of medical hardship.

The Azusa Pacific men’s soccer team defeated Simon Fraser, 1-0, at Olathe, Kan., to advance to the NAIA national championship game. Azusa Pacific will play the winner of Monday night’s Concordia-Auburn Montgomery game today for the title.

Sprinters Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix were named the winners of the Jesse Owens Award as the outstanding U.S. track and field athletes of 2007.

Gay won the 100 and 200 meters at the world championships in Osaka, Japan, and was part of the victorious 400-meter relay team. Felix became the second woman in world championships history to win three golds.

Liberty’s Josh McDougal outran Oregon’s Galen Rupp in the final straightaway to win the men’s NCAA cross-country title at Terre Haute, Ind., while Rupp’s top-ranked team grabbed its first championship since 1977.

Texas Tech junior Sally Kipyego secured a second consecutive women’s title, and Stanford took home a third straight women’s team title.

Two former Bruins were among seven winners of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, which is given to former student-athletes who completed their college athletics eligibility 25 years ago and have since excelled in their chosen professions. Cormac Carney (football) and Dot Richardson (softball) of UCLA were honored, along with Theresa Andrews (Florida, swimming), Todd Blackledge (Penn State, football), Anne Donovan (Old Dominion, basketball), Robin Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana, basketball) and Bob Woodruff (Colgate, lacrosse).

PASSINGS

Ringo, 75; former Packers, Eagles center

Jim Ringo, a Hall of Fame center who played 15 seasons for the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, died at Chesapeake, Va., after a short illness. He was two days shy of his 76th birthday. Story, Section B.

Ellen Mueller-Preis, who won Olympic gold in fencing for Austria at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, has died in Vienna. She was 95.

Mueller-Preis won bronze medals at the 1936 Berlin Games and the 1948 London Olympics. She also won fencing world titles in 1947, ’49 and ’50.