Baseball gets Clemente Award nominees
NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Major League Baseball is taking names for its annual Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing sportsmanship, community service and positive team contributions.
Each Major League team names one player named as a club recipient, and the 30 are nominees for the national award.
“It stands for what my father lived for and he represented over time,” his son, Luis, said on MLB.com. “I think the players that are doing a lot of good and get involved with different charities, to be recognized for that matter is very important, so we will always have players who don't forget the importance of representing baseball, and at the same time as a human being, giving back to society.”
Some of this season’s nominees are Chicago Cubs first baseman Derek Lee, Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, pitchers Tim Hudson (Atlanta) and Jamie Walker (Baltimore) and outfielder Torii Hunter (Minnesota).
The winner will be announced during Game 3 of the 2007 World Series.
Report: Bodden will play despite arrest
CLEVELAND, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Cleveland Browns cornerback Leigh Bodden will play in Sunday’s season opener despite his arrest this week on traffic-related charges.
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reported Bodden faces charges of resisting arrest, failure to comply and a traffic ticket. He allegedly argued with police at a traffic stop and resisted arrest in the arrivals area at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
Bodden had an attorney enter innocent pleas in Cleveland Municipal Court Thursday morning and was free on $1,000 bond after a five-hour jail stay Wednesday.
"It's unfortunate that this is a distraction before the Steelers game," he told the newspaper. "I apologize to my coaches and my teammates. That's all I've got to say."
Coach Romeo Crennel confirmed Bodden will play.
"It's my understanding he was picking up his family at the airport and there are two small kids involved and his wife," Crennel told the Plain-Dealer.
Beebe named Big 12 commissioner
IRVING, Texas, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Dan Beebe was named the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, the league announced Thursday.
He has been interim commissioner since Kevin Weiberg resigned July 15 to join the Big Ten Network.
Beebe, 50, was senior associate commissioner and chief executive officer of the conference since February 2003 and commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1989-2003.
"I am excited to spend the rest of my career here leading this conference," Beebe said after agreeing to a five-year contract. "I am grateful to the presidents and chancellors of the members of the Big 12 for giving me this opportunity to address the exciting issues facing collegiate athletics in the near future, such as developing new sources of revenues."
The Washington state native began his career in college athletics in 1982 as an NCAA enforcement representative. Following a one-year stint as assistant director of athletics at Wichita State, he returned to the NCAA in 1987 as director of enforcement.
Dredge leads at Crans Montana
CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Defending champion Bradley Dredge Thursday opened with a 5-under-par 66 to grab the first-round lead at the European Tour’s Omega Masters Golf Tournament.
The first round at the Crans-sur-Sierre course in Crans Montana, Switzerland was suspended after two-hour delay at the start due to frost. Eventually, the round had to be suspended because of darkness. Dredge leads a group of three -- Marcus Fraser, Mikko Ilonen and Eduardo Romero -- by two strokes.
That trio was 3-under 68.
Oliver Wilson was 3-under at No. 14.
“You always want to have a decent tournament as defending champion but it is not often you win back to back,” Dredge said. “But coming back to a course you have won on, you seem to know the course. Like Jean-Francois Remesy at the French Open, he seems to know that course and hopefully this is the same for me.”
Last year, he won by eight shots.
