DALLAS — A college football coach in Texas is backing players accused of removing every copy of a student newspaper from racks around campus because of a front-page article about teammates being arrested on drug charges, according to a police report.
The incident happened at Division II Texas A&M-Commerce. The coach is Guy Morriss, who also coached at Kentucky and Baylor and played 15 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m proud of my players for doing that,” Morriss said, according to an incident report. “This was the best team-building exercise we have ever done.”
No one has been arrested over the removal of 2,000 copies of The East Texan on Feb. 25. Editor James Bright estimated the loss at about $1,100.
Campus police are investigating, school spokesman Randy Jolly said. Morriss has been disciplined, but Jolly declined to discuss details.
Also disciplined are the “football players involved in the East Texan thefts,” school officials said.
Bulls’ Noah to miss three weeks
DEERFIELD, Ill. — Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will miss three weeks because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot that has been bothering him since mid-January.
Noah is averaging 10.7 points and 11.4 rebounds. He has missed 10 games in all because of the condition and will likely miss at least 10 more, with no guarantee the time off will cure him.
• Pistons center Ben Wallace missed a game for the first time this season, sitting out Detroit’s game against the New York Knicks with a sore right knee.
Netherlands wins friendly
AMSTERDAM — The U.S. soccer team fell flat in Europe once again, losing to the third-ranked Netherlands 2-1 in the Americans’ last match before coach Bob Bradley picks his World Cup roster.
To make matters worse, U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden limped off with a bruised shin suffered from a hard challenge by Nigel de Jong. Holden was taken for X-rays.
The 18th-ranked U.S. has lost its last five matches in Europe and is 4-19-3 on soccer’s most powerful continent since April 1998, with three victories over Poland and one over Switzerland. The Dutch are 4-0 against the Americans, outscoring them 7-1.
• The U.S. beat Germany 3-2 to capture the women’s Algarve Cup in Faro, Portugal, for the seventh time. Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer fumbled the ball in the 70th minute and Lauren Cheney tapped it in for the winner.
Footnotes.
Steve Williams, the caddie for Tiger Woods, said he knew nothing about the golfer’s extramarital affairs and was angry with him over the scandal that created “the most difficult time of my life, no two ways about it.”
• Robert Hunter of Garmin- Transitions won the 103-mile first stage of the Tour of Murcia, while Lance Armstrong finished 46th in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.
• Former super middleweight and cruiserweight champion James Toney is taking a crack at mixed martial arts, signing a multifight deal with UFC.
The Associated Press
