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Judge grants runner Oscar Pistorius bail

PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Runner Oscar Pistorius, charged in his girlfriend's death, got bail Friday, with a South African magistrate saying he didn't think the Paralympian would flee.

Besides saying he didn't believe Pistorius was a flight risk, Magistrate Desmond Nair said he didn't think the prosecution demonstrated that Pistorius had a tendency for violence, that the public would be outraged if he were released or that the state's case was so compelling that the man's only reaction would be to flee if released.

Pistorius, a 26-year-old double amputee who runs on below-knee prosthetic legs, is charged with premeditated murder in the Feb. 14 shooting death of his girlfriend, 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius said he thought an intruder was behind a closed bathroom door when he fired four shots.

Bail was set at 1 million rand (about $112,600).

Bears to talk to Manti Te'o

CHICAGO, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The Chicago Bears general manager said the team would meet with Notre Dame middle linebacker Manti Te'o, the much-publicized victim of a fake-girlfriend hoax.

Phil Emery said that starting Friday, teams were allowed to meet with linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine and the Bears would get together with Te'o, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Te'o, a Notre Dame senior, was the victim of an online hoax in which he was lured into believing a non-existent woman was his girlfriend.

"Every individual is unique," Emery said. "Believe me, there are unique stories across every college class. ... That is a situation and issue that has to be dealt with and worked through. Obviously, at some point, we will sit down and talk to the player about it and see where he's at on it ... .

"Everyone, each individual is going to be unique, and they're going to have their own unique situations with their family that they have had to deal with, off the field, on the field and situations that come up in life. It's about how they handle it. Can they still produce and be a productive member of your team?"

Errani, Kvitova make Dubai final

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Sara Errani and Petra Kvitova each won in straight sets Friday in advancing to the finals of the WTA's Dubai Duty Free Tennis championships.

Errani, the No. 5 seed, defeated Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-3 and Kvitova, the sixth-seed, followed with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 8-seeded Caroline Wozniacki.

Errani survived her semifinal despite dropping serve four times and winning less than half (27-of-55) of the points on serve. She countered that by piling up seven breaks while taking 58 percent of the points off Vinci's serve.

Kvitova won two-thirds of the points on serve and only lost her serve once. She made a first-game break stand up in winning the first set and immediately answered Wozniacki's break midway through the second with a break of her own and put the win away with a break in the final game.

Kvitova takes a 3-0 lifetime record versus Errani into Saturday's final. She won all three in straight sets last year.

Lewis still up by three at LPGA Thailand

CHONBURI, Thailand, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Stacy Lewis used a 3-under-par 69 Friday to retain her three-stroke lead halfway through the Honda LPGA Thailand golf tournament.

Lewis had five birdies and two bogeys in the second round for a 36-hole total of 12-under 132. Ariya Jutanugarn turned in the round of the day with a bogey-free 66 and pulled into second place at 9-under for the tournament.

Beatriz Recari and Ryu So-yeon each shot 4-under 68 and Catriona Matthew had a 69, leaving those three players tied for third at 8-under.

Jutanugarn was 2-under through 11 holes Friday. She jumped into second with three birdies over Nos. 12-15 and another at the 18th hole.

Lewis had birdies at the first and sixth holes but bogeyed the ninth. She followed that with back-to-back birdies to open the second nine in getting to 12-under for the tournament. Lewis had a bogey at 14 but returned to 12-under with a birdie at the next hole.