Roger Clemens must face retrial, judge rules

A federal judge in Washington ruled Friday that Roger Clemens must face another trial on charges of lying about drug use, although the judge criticized prosecutors’ mishandling of evidence during a July mistrial and questioned the fairness of making the former star pitcher pay to defend himself twice.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton set a new trial for April 17. Clemens attorney Rusty Hardin said he may appeal Walton’s decision. Walton said if Clemens wants to do that, he must request an expedited review by the appeals court to avoid more delays in the case.

Clemens listened intently while both sides argued passionately over his fate, but spoke only briefly to tell Walton he would waive his right to a speedy trial because a member of his defense team has another trial scheduled this fall requiring the long delay in his case.

Walton said although he’s concerned about the prosecution’s violation of his orders by showing jurors inadmissible evidence, current law does not allow him to throw out the indictment. He said the Supreme Court has set a high bar — Clemens needed to convince him that prosecutors intentionally goaded the ex-pitcher into requesting a mistrial. Walton said his review of case law found no defendant who has been able to meet that requirement.

Prosecutors argued they made an inadvertent mistake that caused the trial’s quick end on its second day of testimony. They said that throwing out the indictment would violate society’s interest in seeing violations of law dealt with at trial. Clemens’ lawyer had argued that prosecutors shouldn’t be rewarded with another chance. “This case should end,” said Attanasio, who contended prosecutors deliberately flouted Walton’s ruling.

Walton stopped the first trial on July 14 after prosecutors played a videotape of Clemens’ 2008 testimony to a House committee in which he denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens is charged with lying under oath when he made those denials.

GOLF

Matteson leads Deutsche Bank Championship

Troy Matteson shot a six-under 65 at the TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

World No. 1 Luke Donald was one stroke back, along with former PGA champion Y.E. Yang, and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

Matteson, facing elimination from the FedEx Cup playoffs, overcame a bogey on the first hole for his 65.

At the tournament, Phil Mickelson became the latest to try a belly putter, and though he missed his share of putts in a round of 70, he sounded as though he was willing to stick with it, at least for the rest of the week.

Rory McIlroy shot a two-under 69 to move into a four-way tie for the lead in the European Masters second round at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

The U.S. Open winner, who had an eagle two and a double-bogey seven, is 8 under with Englishmen Gary Boyd and Simon Dyson, and Jamie Donaldson of Wales.

McIlroy rued missing a four-foot putt for birdie at the 18th.

Morning leader Nick Dougherty of England ended his 21-tournament streak of failing to make the cut, shooting 72 after his 63 on Thursday to be seven under.

Joining him one stroke behind the leaders were Martin Kaymer of Germany, Jaco van Zyl of South Africa, Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay and Danny Willett of England.

BASKETBALL

France defeats Germany at European Championships

Tony Parker outplayed Dirk Nowitzki and the German team, scoring 32 points to give France a 76-65 victory at the European Championship Friday at Siauliai, Lithuania.

Lakers center Pau Gasol scored 21 points and defending champion Spain cruised past Britain, 86-69, to also remain perfect with three wins.

Serbia, which lost the final to Spain two years ago, also won its third straight, using a big fourth quarter to rally past winless Israel 89-80.

Host Lithuania used a 10-1 run to close out a 75-68 win over Turkey and go 3-0 as well.

Andrea Bargnani, the Toronto Raptors center, scored 36 points — more than half of Italy’s total — in a 71-62 win over Latvia.

Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Rudy Fernandez had 11 points for Spain.

Former NBA player and Michigan State star Jay Vincent was sentenced to more than five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $110,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for his part in a fraud case involving thousands of people who paid to become certified home inspectors.

Prosecutors say Vincent and an associate defrauded 20,000 people out of more than $1 million by charging them to become inspectors through a business called Foreclosure Bank Inspection. No inspectors were hired, and the business had no contracts with banks, according to the government.

Vincent, 52, pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges nearly a year ago.

WNBA attendance rose again this year and TV viewership is at its highest level since 2005, the league reported.

The WNBA reported attendance has increased by about 2% through last week compared to a corresponding point last season, marking the fifth straight year of improvement.

ETC.

Hornaday wins NASCAR Truck Series race in Atlanta

Ron Hornaday Jr. raced to his record 49th NASCAR Truck Series victory, pulling it out on pit strategy after Clint Bowyer led much of the race Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.

Sprint Cup regulars Bowyer and Kyle Busch were the only drivers to lead the Atlanta 200 until the last round of stops brought the leaders onto pit road for fuel and tires.

The 53-year-old Hornaday stayed out, knowing he had enough fuel to make it and hoping his worn-out tires would hold out. Hornaday won by 1.596 seconds over Bowyer. Busch was third.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Lee Roy Selmon was being hospitalized Friday in Tampa, Fla. He may have had a stroke and his condition was described as critical.

The University of South Florida, where Selmon, 56, once served as athletic director, confirmed the Hall of Famer’s hospitalization.

Selmon was drafted by the Buccaneers in 1976. He went to six straight Pro Bowls and was the NFL defensive player of the year in 1979. He left the team after the 1984 season because of a back injury.

Selmon played college ball at Oklahoma, winning the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy in 1975.