Out of nowhere Pitcher arrested after Class-A brawl

A minor league pitcher accused of throwing a ball that hit a fan during a bench-clearing brawl in Dayton, Ohio, was charged with felonious assault, ordered held on $50,000 bond and directed to surrender his passport.

Peoria Chiefs pitcher Julio Castillo was arrested Thursday night following a fight between the Class-A Chiefs and Dayton Dragons. Umpires ejected 15 players and the teams’ managers after the 10-minute brawl ended.

Video from the game shows the 21-year-old Castillo angrily throwing a ball, but doesn’t show where it landed.

The fan, who remains unidentified, was treated and released at Miami Valley Hospital on Thursday night, said a hospital spokeswoman. The extent of the fan’s injuries was unknown.

“This charge is a result of outlandish and inexcusable conduct by a professional baseball player,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias Heck Jr. said in a statement.

TENNIS

Kiefer routs Blake at the Rogers Cup

James Blake became the latest big-name player to lose at the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

Nicolas Kiefer routed the seventh-seeded American, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals. Kiefer, ranked 37th in the world, will play Gilles Simon, who defeated Marin Cilic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Andy Murray eliminated defending champion Novak Djokovic with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) win in the quarterfinals. Murray will play Rafael Nadal, who defeated Richard Gasquet, 6-7 (12), 6-2, 6-1.

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from next week’s Rogers Cup women’s tournament in Montreal because of a knee injury.

OLYMPICS

Dara Torres stunned by her coach’s illness

Swimmer Dara Torres’ coach, Michael Lohberg, 58, has been stricken with a rare, potentially fatal blood disorder that has left the 41-year-old swimmer devastated and prone to crying two weeks before the Beijing Games.

He is not part of the U.S. coaching staff in Beijing, but Lohberg was going to be there to oversee Torres and the other seven Olympians from five countries that he coaches.

Now, Torres can communicate with him only by phone.

“It’s just been an emotional roller-coaster. I’m in total shock,” Torres said.

Each team’s at-bat in the 11th inning and beyond will begin with runners on first and second base in the Olympic baseball tournament. Teams may start the 11th at any point in their batting order under format changes announced by the International Baseball Federation.

SOCCER

McBride going to Fire in trade with Toronto

Toronto FC has agreed in principle to trade its rights to former U.S. national team striker Brian McBride, 36, to the Chicago Fire, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

With the move, McBride returns to the United States after four years with Fulham in the English Premier League. McBride is a native of the northern Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.

Blackburn has given Aston Villa permission to open discussions with American goalkeeper Brad Friedel about a transfer. The teams had already settled upon a transfer fee for the 37-year-old Friedel, who had extended his contract with Blackburn through 2010 in February.

MISCELLANY

Baker stepping down as Arena commissioner

Arena Football League Commissioner David Baker surprisingly resigned, two days before the ArenaBowl championship game. Baker, 55, ended his 12 years on the job by telling the league’s board of directors that he felt it was “time” to leave.

Baker said that Ed Policy, his deputy commissioner, will assume the commissioner’s role while a committee seeks his successor.

Asafa Powell of Jamaica won the 100 meters at the London Grand Prix, finishing in 9.94 seconds at Crystal Palace. Marc Burns of Trinidad and Tobago was second in 9.97 and Michael Frater of Britain was third in 10.00.

Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson won the women’s 200 in 22.70. Bianca Knight, a 19-year-old American, was second in 22.79 and Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas was third in 22.84. World champion Allyson Felix of the United States was fourth in 23.00.

Cassandra Cardinell and Nick McCrory led the women’s and men’s 10-meter platform semifinals at the U.S. national diving championships at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center.

Cardinell totaled 333.50 points, highlighted by six 8.5s on her first dive, a back arm stand with two somersaults and 1 1/2 twists, to edge out Olympian Laura Wilkinson.

UCLA added a Dec. 17 game at Pauley Pavilion against Loyola Marymount and a Nov. 7 exhibition game against Biola to its 2008-2009 basketball schedule, which was released last month.

Johnny Benson held off Ron Hornaday Jr. in a two-lap shootout to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Clermont, Ind. Benson, the truck series points leader, scored his second consecutive win.