Judge rules Blues player must stay jailed
EAST ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 21 (UPI) -- A judge in East St. Louis, Ill., Friday ordered St. Louis Blues hockey player Mike Danton to stay in jail pending his murder-for-hire trial.
Judge Michael Reagan deemed Danton a flight risk as well as a danger to others, KSDK-TV, St. Louis, Mo., reported.
The judge rendered his decision after prosecutors said further charges including obstruction of justice were being considered against Danton.
Danton, of Brentwood, Mo., and a suburban St. Louis teenager are accused of conspiring to have Danton's agent, David Frost, killed. Both have pleaded not guilty.
FBI agents have said was worried Frost was going to reveal information damaging to his career to the Blues organization.
In another bizarre twist to the case, prosecutors Friday revealed more than 79 phone calls between Danton and Frost since his arrest, and said the agent may also be facing obstruction charges.
Golden State hires Mike Montgomery
OAKLAND, Calif., May 21 (UPI) -- Longtime Stanford basketball Coach Mike Montgomery has been hired to coach the Golden State Warriors, the team announced Friday.
Montgomery replaces Eric Musselman, who was fired Thursday after two years with the club.
The 57-year-old Montgomery compiled a 393-167 record in 18 years at Stanford, and took his team to the NCAA Tournament 12 times.
The Cardinal was 30-2 last season, finishing the regular campaign as the top-ranked team in the country.
Montgomery has never been an NBA head coach. He will be Golden State's ninth coach in nine years.
Coaches mentioned as possible replacements for Montgomery at Stanford include Gonzaga's Mark Few and Ernie Kent of Oregon, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Couch files grievance against Browns
CLEVELAND, May 21 (UPI) -- Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch, whose football future is in limbo, has filed a grievance against the team.
The Plain Dealer said Friday Couch took the action because he is not being allowed to practice with the team at its quarterback school and has been prohibited from taking part in its off-season workout program.
"Tim would definitely be there practicing with the team if he were allowed to," his agent, Andrew Kessler, told the newspaper. "Even if he knew the Browns were going to cut him, he would still want to be there preparing to be the best quarterback he can be."
Couch, who likely will be a salary cap cut next month, has been given permission to negotiate with other teams and has talked with several of them.
The Browns this year signed signed free agent Jeff Garcia, former San Francisco quarterback, to a four-year contract.
NASCAR to bypass historic Rockingham
ROCKINGHAM, N.C., May 21 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Speedway, for decades one of the foremost stops on the NASCAR circuit, may be in its final season of major stock car racing.
NASCAR plans to abandon the historic Rockingham track, known simply as The Rock, in its push to build a national following, the New York Times reported Friday.
North Carolina Speedway, which has held NASCAR races since 1965, will no longer be host to a Nextel Cup event after this season. The date was transferred to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
So, the Rock -- and there really is a rock, an 8-foot-tall monument emblazoned with names of legends Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough -- will go the way of other events in North Carolina, once the cradle of the sport with 21 races every year.
Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, which hosts three races, is the only one in the state still on the NASCAR circuit.
