Associated Press
IRVING, Texas ó A Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed during the collapse of the team’s tent-like practice structure in a severe storm.
The team announced Rich Behm was in stable condition at Parkland Hospital on Sunday after surgery to stabilize a fracture to the thoracic spine. The 33-year-old Behm was among a dozen people hurt in the accident Saturday and was one of three Cowboys staffers who remained hospitalized.
Joe DeCamillis, 43, the team’s new special teams coach, sustained a fracture of one of his cervical vertebrae without paralysis. He was in stable condition and scheduled for surgery today.
Assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither had surgery Saturday to repair a fracture to the tibia and fibula in his right leg.
* RIVER RIDGE, La. ó New Orleans Saints wide receiver Biren Ealy and tight end Kolomona Kapanui were charged with obscenity, disturbing the peace and lewd conduct for allegedly being drunk, urinating in public and exposing themselves.
* SAN DIEGO ó LaDainian Tomlinson participated in all three days of the Chargers’ minicamp after a groin injury kept him from the team’s final playoff game last season.
* DAVIE, Fla. ó Boston Red Sox executive Michael Dee has been hired as chief executive officer of the Miami Dolphins and Dolphin Stadium.
HORSE RACING
LOUISVILLE, Ky. ó Whether Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird moves on to run in the Preakness on May 16 will be decided in the next couple days, trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. said.
“The Preakness tends to be a little more speed-biased, and I don’t know that that’s going to fit our horse all that well,” he said.
If Mine That Bird skips the middle jewel of the Triple Crown, he’ll be pointed toward the Belmont Stakes in June.
The Derby winner hasn’t bypassed the Preakness since 1996, when Grindstone was injured between the two races and retired. The Derby winner has followed up by winning the Preakness seven times in the last 12 years.
* LOUISVILLE, Ky. ó I Want Revenge appeared to be OK a day after being scratched from the Kentucky Derby with an ankle injury.
Veterinarian Foster Northrop said he planned to do another scan of the 3-year-old’s left front ankle but said the joint responded well after the colt jogged on the asphalt Sunday.
GOLF
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. ó The sagging economy and its role in the shrinking LPGA Tour schedule prompted a mandatory meeting of players and officials.
“I think with what we’re going through with the economy and stuff like that, I think the players are scared,” tour president Michelle Ellis said. “I wanted to bring them together to know if we stick together, the cream always will rise to the top.”
The summit was the second the tour has held ó the first in 2002 addressed the five points of celebrity ó and this time focused on how the players can expand the game’s fan base by not only playing great golf but by engaging themselves in the community as well.
The tour has seen its schedule shrink by five events this year because of sponsor withdrawals, and a sixth event also remains questionable.
* GIRONA, Spain ó Thomas Levet won the Spanish Open to become the first Frenchman to win five PGA European Tour titles.
John Daly closed with a 69 to tie for 31st at 3 under.
TENNIS
ROME ó Rafael Nadal won his record fourth Rome Masters, beating defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (2), 6-2 for his third clay-court title in three weeks.
* STUTTGART, Germany ó Svetlana Kuznetsova upset top-ranked Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win the Porsche Grand Prix and capture her first WTA title since September 2007.
* SYDNEY ó Jelena Dokic says her father, Damir, physically abused her during their tumultuous relationship earlier in her career.
Dokic, 26, said in an interview with the Fairfax magazine Sport&Style: “I’ve been through a lot worse than anybody on the tour. I can say that with confidence.”
Dokic, who is estranged from her father, told how she fled from her family in 2002 to escape the abuse.
CYCLING
PINOS ALTOS, N.M. ó Levi Leipheimer won the Tour of the Gila, and Lance Armstrong moved up in the overall classification from fourth to second.