Track coach Graham gets home confinement

A federal judge in San Francisco sentenced disgraced track coach Trevor Graham to a year of home confinement Tuesday for lying to federal investigators.

Graham once coached Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Justin Gatlin. All were later banned for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Jones was released from prison Sept. 5 after completing most of her six-month sentence for lying about her steroid use.

It’s the second time this month that U.S. District Judge Susan Illston turned down federal prosecutors’ calls for prison time for a sports figure caught lying about their involvement with performance-enhancing drugs. Former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas was sentenced to six months of home confinement for lying to a grand jury about her performance-enhancing drug use.

Baseball home run king Barry Bonds has pleaded not guilty to similar charges and faces trial in March.

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Vick planning to plead guilty

Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick plans to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges, a step that could allow him to qualify for an early release from federal prison and into a halfway house, court papers show.

In a motion filed Oct. 15 in Surry County Circuit Court in Virginia, Vick’s attorneys asked to have him enter his plea by video teleconference. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for Oct. 30, Surry County Circuit Court administrator Sally Neblett said.

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Reggie Bush hires new lawyers

The civil lawsuit against former USC tailback Reggie Bush -- a case watched closely by the NCAA -- might have moved a step closer to a confidential out-of-court settlement after Bush hired new lawyers.

Bush severed ties with David Cornwell and is now represented by Howard Weitzman, a celebrity attorney and USC alumnus. The lawyer for a would-be sports marketer who is suing Bush said he spoke with a representative from Weitzman’s firm Tuesday.

“We got along great,” Brian Watkins said, adding he was more hopeful a settlement could be reached. “At least the new lawyer sounded reasonable.”

-- David Wharton

PRO FOOTBALL

Cowboys’ Romo says he won’t play

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo says his broken pinkie will keep him off the football field again this week.

Romo, who announced the news on Terrell Owens’ radio show, broke the pinkie on his throwing hand during overtime of the Cowboys’ loss to Arizona two weeks ago. The team originally said he would be out three to four weeks, but Romo had hoped to play last week against St. Louis.

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Browns’ Winslow is suspended

Tight end Kellen Winslow has been suspended for one game without pay by the Cleveland Browns for critical comments he made following Sunday’s loss at Washington.

Winslow, who spent three days at the Cleveland Clinic this month with an undisclosed illness, revealed he had a staph infection. He also complained that the team, which has had at least six cases of staph in the last three years, asked him to hide his illness.

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Harrison’s career could be over

Rodney Harrison, the hard-hitting but injury-plagued safety of the New England Patriots, appears to be done for the season -- and perhaps his career -- after being hurt again.

The 15-year veteran tore his right thigh muscle on the last play of the third quarter of the Patriots’ 41-7 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night when he chased quarterback Jay Cutler.

ETC.

Cardinals pay buyout to Mulder

The St. Louis Cardinals intend to cut ties with often-injured left-hander Mark Mulder, paying a $1.5-million buyout rather than exercising an $11-million option on his contract. . . . Defending champion Manchester United, Arsenal and Bayern Munich took big strides toward the next round of the Champions League with easy victories. Dimitar Berbatov had two goals and Wayne Rooney scored for the ninth time in seven games as United outplayed Scottish champion Celtic, 3-0. Arsenal won at Fenerbahce, 5-2, and Bayern shrugged off its poor play in the Bundesliga with a 3-0 victory over Fiorentina. . . . Formula One’s racing teams and ruling body, bracing for the fallout of the global financial crisis, agreed to “significant” cost savings for next season. . . . Steve Maneri caught a five-yard touchdown from quarterback Adam DiMichele with 1:51 remaining and Temple (3-5, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) rallied for 14 points in the fourth quarter in a 14-10 victory over Ohio (2-6, 1-3) at Philadelphia.