Jerry Sandusky seeks retrial

Jerry Sandusky emerged from prison to attend a hearing 200 miles away at which his lawyers argued Thursday he deserves a new trial on child molestation charges because they didn’t have enough time to prepare for the first one.

The 68-year-old former Penn State assistant coach played no active role in the proceedings but briefly greeted his wife and supporters beforehand.

At the hearing in Centre County court in Bellefonte, Pa., Sandusky’s lawyers cited flaws in the trial, including that they were swamped by about 12,000 pages of documents and other materials, that Judge John Cleland should have instructed jurors about the years it took for victims to report Sandusky had abused them, and that hearsay evidence was improperly allowed.

But prosecutors countered by showing most of the documents and records were not relevant to the trial.

ETC.

Langley (62) leads at Honolulu

Scott Langley made a rookie debut on the PGA Tour he won’t soon forget.

Russell Henley wasn’t too shabby either.

Langley thrived on a penetrating ball flight and a pure putting stroke for an eight-under-par 62, giving him a one-shot lead over Henley in the Sony Open at Honolulu.

Henley played in the same group as Langley, and they put on a remarkable show along the back nine at Waialae Country Club. Henley made five birdies on the back nine but couldn’t keep up at the end when he misplayed a chip on the par-five 18th.

Scott Piercy and Tim Clark were at 66.

Former UCLA head coach Bob Toledo, 66, was hired to be the offensive coordinator at San Diego State, Aztecs Coach Rocky Long announced.

Another daughter of drag-racing legend John Force is joining the sport’s big leagues this year. Brittany Force, 26, said she will begin racing in the National Hot Rod Assn.’s premier division, top-fuel dragsters, starting at the Winternationals in Pomona on Feb. 14-17.

John Force, 63, has won a record 15 championships in the sport’s other elite class, funny cars. His daughter Courtney, 24, also races funny cars as did her sister Ashley, 30, before she left in 2011 to have a baby.

—Jim Peltz

The annual “In the Spirit of the Game” gala, which raises money for baseball scouts who have retired or lost their jobs and need assistance, will be held Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

Increased focus on statistical analysis had resulted in the elimination of some scouting positions across baseball in recent years. “It absolutely cost scouts jobs,” said Dennis Gilbert, chairman of the Professional Scouts Foundation, which is hosting the event.

However, that trend may soon be reversed. Major League Baseball has imposed limits on how much teams can spend in the draft and on international players. Those restrictions have reduced the advantages previously enjoyed by wealthier clubs.

“The only advantage you’ll be able to get is in the quality of your people, the quality of your scouts,” Dodgers President Stan Kasten said.

Tickets and information: (818) 224-3906.

—Dylan Hernandez