UMaine’s Brown wins Gold Helmet
Pushaun Brown of the University of Maine was presented with the Gold Helmet Award by the New England Football Writers/Gridiron Club of Greater Boston for his efforts in Saturday’s 28-13 football victory over Bryant University.
The senior tailback carried 26 times for 146 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and scored two touchdowns. It was his fourth straight 100-yard rushing effort dating back to last season.
Olympic champ Paul Hamm accused of assault in Ohio
UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio — Olympic gymnastics champion Paul Hamm has been charged with assault and two other misdemeanors after police say he hit and kicked an Ohio taxi driver, damaged a cab window and refused to pay a $23 fare.
Court records show 28-year-old Hamm was charged Saturday in suburban Columbus and is free on bond awaiting a Sept. 15 arraignment.
WBNS-TV in Columbus reports that an Upper Arlington police video shows Hamm telling an officer he’d had about eight drinks. As officers struggle to control him, Hamm says, “You guys have no idea. I’m going to kill you guys.”
The native of Waukesha (WAH’-keh-shaw), Wis., is the 2004 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion. He now works as an assistant coach at Ohio State in Columbus.
His agent, Sheryl Shade, declined comment Wednesday night.
Condit replaces AWOL Diaz, faces GSP at UFC 137
LAS VEGAS — Carlos Condit will face UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 137 after contender Nick Diaz failed to show up for promotional duties this week.
UFC President Dana White announced the change Wednesday, dropping Diaz from the fight Oct. 29 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
St. Pierre’s meeting with Diaz, the Strikeforce welterweight champion, has been anticipated by mixed martial arts fans since the UFC bought the Strikeforce promotion earlier this year.
White said Diaz gave no explanation for not attending a UFC news conference Tuesday in St. Pierre’s native Canada, and he didn’t show up at another event Wednesday in Las Vegas.
St. Pierre is among the most dominant champions in UFC history with nine straight victories.
Condit is a former WEC welterweight champion getting his first UFC title shot.
Royals RF Francoeur throws out runner at 1st base
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jeff Francoeur already was known for his strong arm. He has more assists than any other outfielder in the majors since he broke in six years ago.
This one was special, though.
The Kansas City right fielder threw out A’s rookie Michael Taylor at first base and took away a hit, a memorable play in an otherwise dismal afternoon for the Royals in their 7-0 loss to Oakland on Wednesday.
“This was my first position player ever,” Francoeur said. “I wasn’t even thinking about it. The ball was just laced at me, with the perfect hop and I just let it go. You kind of feel bad because you do it to a guy whose playing his fourth game in the big leagues, but that was really fun.”
The 9-3 putout was just the fifth in the AL since 1974.
Texas A&M accuses Big 12 of backtracking
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M sees no future in the Big 12. For now, the Aggies aren’t going anywhere.
“We are being held hostage right now,” Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin told The Associated Press. “Essentially, we’re being told that you must stay here against your will and we think that really flies in the face of what makes us Americans for example and makes us free people.”
The angry statement came Wednesday in a whirlwind day. The Southeastern Conference kicked things off by saying it would be willing to make the Aggies the league’s 13th member, but only if legal issues could be cleared up.
What followed was a lot of finger-pointing.
Texas A&M accused Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe of going back on his word and suggested that one of its fellow league schools was deliberately slowing its departure to the SEC.
Loftin said he believes Beebe’s turnaround is a “destabilizing factor” in the Big 12 and it put the future of the 15-year-old conference in more jeopardy than A&M’s leaving.
“By keeping us in in this limbo, they really are inhibited from bringing in other members to take our place,” Loftin said. “So they’re creating more instability by taking this particular direction. We were trying to clean this up for ourselves very quickly … so they could get about their business of replacing us in a prompt way and go forward and hopefully become a better conference. How can that happen right now when they’re insisting that we simply stay in this holding pattern indefinitely while they try to figure out what’s wrong?”
The Big 12, meanwhile, accused Texas A&M of making an extraordinary request that will put some members at risk of losing millions of dollars in revenue, presumably from the 13-year, $1 billion television deal reached with Fox Sports in April.
The Big 12’s future has been the subject of intense speculation for more than a year. Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pac-12) left in July, while Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are rumored to be the subjects of courting by the Pac-12 with an eye toward building a superconference.
Former pitcher Loewen returns to majors as hitter
TORONTO — Three years after his pitching career was ended by stress fractures in his elbow, Adam Loewen is back in the major leagues. Only this time, he’s playing the field and swinging a bat.
Loewen made his debut as a position player Wednesday, starting in right field for the Blue Jays against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
Baltimore’s first-round draft pick in 2003, Loewen went 8-8 with a 5.38 ERA in 35 career games for the Orioles. His final appearance on the mound was a one-inning relief stint against Texas on July 6, 2008.
The left-handed Loewen was forced out of the game after experiencing pain in his surgically repaired elbow and never pitched again.
Instead, he signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays to play first base and the outfield, starting his comeback with Class A Dunedin in 2009.
Loewen joined the Blue Jays as a September call-up after finishing the season with Triple-A Las Vegas with a .306 average, 17 homers and 86 RBIs.
His story is similar to that of Washington’s Rick Ankiel, whose career as a pitcher was cut short by control issues. Ankiel became an outfielder and made it back to the majors, hitting 25 home runs for St. Louis in 2008.
Loewen said he has not spoken with Ankiel but models his game on the Nationals outfielder.
Loewen’s return comes one day after Blue Jays right-hander Dustin McGowan completed a three-year comeback after undergoing two shoulder surgeries. McGowan pitched four innings Tuesday, his first major league game since July 8, 2008.