Auto Racing
A dose of Swift, title spice up U.S. Grand PrixAUSTIN, Texas – With the promise of blue skies and some sizzling pop from Taylor Swift, the U.S. Grand Prix is back after all those worries about its demise. There’s even a gripping title chase on the track, too.
The future of the race at the Circuit of the Americas was in question for months after the 2015 version was swamped by torrential rains that chased away crowds and nearly cost Formula One the entire weekend. The weather cleared just long enough for Lewis Hamilton to win in a wild finish and claim his third championship.
Within days, race promoters warned they had taken a devastating financial hit and there were fears that the lone F1 race in the U.S. would move elsewhere.
Yet here it is, and F1 is ready to ready to run in America for a fifth consecutive year, an important milestone for the series’ long-term survival in a nation where NASCAR remains king to motorsports fans.
NBA
LOS ANGELES – NBA star Derrick Rose and two friends were cleared Wednesday in a $21.5 million lawsuit that accused them of gang raping his ex-girlfriend when she was incapacitated from drugs or alcohol.
Jurors in Los Angeles federal court reached the verdict in less than four hours after concluding there was a lack of evidence to support the woman’s claims and dismissing her account as unbelievable.
Rose remained stoic as the verdict was read and later thanked jurors and posed for photos with them in the lobby, draping his left arm around each one who wanted a souvenir of the Knicks point guard as one of his lawyers snapped photos on their phones.
The case was X-rated at times with testimony from the men about poolside group sex at a mansion Rose rented in Beverly Hills in the summer of 2013 and multiple sexual encounters throughout the night and into the next morning.
NFL
HOUSTON – His eyes on Las Vegas, Raiders owner Mark Davis says he hasn’t shut the door on anything. Oakland, though, might have shut the door on itself as home for his team.
Nevada lawmakers approved a deal last week that increases hotel taxes in the Las Vegas area to raise $750 million for a stadium and more than $400 million to expand and upgrade the Las Vegas Convention Center. Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson is putting $650 million toward the project, while the Raiders and the NFL will kick in $500 million.
Several owners insisted it’s far too early to reach any conclusions in the Raiders’ relocation issue, and none of them wanted to touch the relationship an NFL team might have with a casino mogul.
But Commissioner Roger Goodell supported Davis’ assertion there has been no movement toward keeping the franchise in the Bay Area, saying “we have been working to see if there are alternatives and we don’t have one” in Oakland.
CINCINNATI – The Bengals defended linebacker Vontaze Burfict on Wednesday for his actions during a loss to New England, which drew a $75,000 fine from the league, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Burfict was fined for stepping on Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount after he scored a touchdown near the end of New England’s 35-17 win on Sunday, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because fines for this week have not yet been announced by the league.
The volatile linebacker has a history of violating player safety rules. The NFL suspended Burfict multiple times during his career.
Associated Press
