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Female jockey alleges sexual advances

BENSALEM, Pa., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A female jockey alleged in a lawsuit a male jockey made sexual advances toward her while she was undressing and showering at a suburban Philadelphia racetrack.

In the suit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages, Kristina McManigell alleges Eriluis Vaz made advances toward her three times -- twice while she was naked -- when she was in the female jockeys' room at Parx in Bensalem on Dec. 7, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

McManigell, 23, feared rape and screamed for help, the suit said.

McManigell's attorney, Adam S. Barrist, said in a statement she had come to Philadelphia from the rural south as a young woman "seeking to break into the male-dominated sport of thoroughbred horse racing."

"Just as she was beginning to make significant headway in her career, this happens to her," the statement said.

Alan Pincus, the attorney for Vaz, 28, said he could not comment because he had not seen the suit.

Two years ago, Vaz got into a fight with another jockey during a race at Parx, then called Philadelphia Park, and was suspended for 200 days.

Boyd: Pitched under influence of cocaine

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd said he often was under the influence of cocaine while pitching.

"Oh yeah, at every ballpark. There wasn't one ballpark that I probably didn't stay up all night, until 4 or 5 in the morning, and the same thing is still in your system," Boyd told WBZ-Radio, Boston.

WBZ-TV, Boston, said Boyd, who played eight of his 10 major league seasons with the Red Sox, told the radio station: "Some of the best games I've ever, ever pitched in the major leagues I stayed up all night; I'd say two-thirds of them. If I had went to bed, I would have won 150 ballgames in the time span that I played. I feel like my career was cut short for a lot of reasons, but I wasn't doing anything that hundreds of ball players weren't doing at the time because that's how I learned it."

Boyd -- who went 78-77 with 799 career strikeouts with the Red Sox, Expos and Rangers -- said he was never asked to take a drug test during his playing days.

Boyd's autobiography, "They Call Me Oil Can," is scheduled for publication in June, and in May he will be filming his role as Satchel Paige in a movie about Jackie Robinson.

Big names dot first-round Davis Cup play

FRIBOURG, Switzerland, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Davis Cup first-round series are set for this weekend with some unusually high-profile names taking part.

With Olympic Games eligibility mandating participation on national teams in competitions such as the women's Fed Cup and the men's Davis Cup, the international team events are grabbing more attention in 2012.

Among the eight first-round series this week is the United States at Switzerland, with world No. 3 Roger Federer, who isn't a regular on the Swiss team, on hand in Fribourg.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic helped Serbia to the Davis Cup title in 2010 and also played last year. No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal is a consistent presence for Spain, which has won three of the last four Davis Cups.

Having already proved their team bone fides, they won't be on hand as the Davis Cup World Group opens 2012 play. But Federer and Top 20 players Mardy Fish and John Isner for the United States, Nicolas Almagro for Spain, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils for France, Tomas Berdych for the Czech Republic, Janko Tipsarevic for Serbia and Kei Nishikori for Japan are all in hand for this weekend's play.

The schedule calls for defending champion Spain to play host to Kazakhstan while Russia travels to Austria, France plays at Canada and the United States is at Switzerland. The other series have Italy at the Czech Republic, Sweden going to Serbia, Croatia facing Japan and 2011 runner-up Argentina at Germany.

The best-of-five series features two singles matches Friday, a doubles match Saturday and two more singles matches Sunday.

This weekend's winners advance to the Davis Cup quarterfinals April 6-8. The semifinals are Sept. 14-16 with the 2012 title to be decided Nov. 16-18.

Cabrera-Bello fires 63 for lead in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Rafael Cabrera-Bello fired a 9-under-par 63 Thursday and leads the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

Cabrera-Bello had nine birdies in his first 11 holes in taking the first-round lead. Scott Jamieson and Marcel Siem are tied for second at 7-under 65. Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer are among seven players tied for fourth at 6-under.

Siem was in position to challenge Cabrera-Bello's lead but had his second shot at the par-5, 564-yard 18th land in a lake and he ended up with a bogey. Jamieson's round included five birdies -- three on par 3s -- and an eagle at the 550-yard, par-5 13th.

Cabrera-Bello opened play on the second nine of the Emirates Golf Club with back-to-back birdies. He had a par at the 12th hole but birdied 13 and 14 before a par at 15.

He then ran off five consecutive birdies, getting to 9-under after 11 holes. He had seven pars the rest of the way.

"Just for a second after the birdie on No. 2 (his 11th hole) I tried to do the maths on what I needed for 59," Cabrera-Bello said. "Then I told myself to stop being foolish and don't be too greedy.

"Nothing wrong happened -- there were some tough holes to come and I didn't drop a stroke."