Texas Wranglers release Terrell Owens
ALLEN, Texas, May 31 (UPI) -- Allen (Texas) Wranglers co-owner and wide receiver Terrell Owens has been released by the Indoor Football League Team, the team announced.
Owens, a former NFL player, had joined the team in February and reportedly had a six-figure salary, CBSDFW.com reported.
"It's disappointing and unfortunate, but [Owens] could no longer be tolerated by the Wrangler organization," Wranglers owner John Frankel said.
Tommy Benizio, team president and co-owner, said on the team's Web site Owens did not show up for a scheduled appearance at a children's hospital with other Wranglers players and coaches and that his not showing was "the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for Mr. Owens. … It is not the desire of the Allen Wranglers' organization to disappoint fans by having our most notable player miss a scheduled appearance."
CBSDFW.com said Owens' ownership stake also was terminated because he violated his contract
Owens had played for the San Francisco 49′ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
He caught 35 passes for 420 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games for the Wranglers in 2012. Owens was not required to play in all the Wranglers' road games.
Mathieu wins record-long 5th set in Paris
PARIS, May 31 (UPI) -- Paul-Henri Mathieu edged 10th-seeded John Isner in a record-setting, five-set match Thursday in second-round play of the French Open.
Mathieu topped Isner 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 18-16. The match took 5 hours, 41 minutes to complete with the final set lasting nearly 2 1/2 hours. It was the most games in a French Open fifth set.
Mathieu had some success against Isner's serve and finished off four of his 24 break chances, including the final point of the match. He had a respectable 40 unforced errors in a 250-point match while Isner countered 98 unforced errors with 107 winners.
Isner managed just four break opportunities against Mathieu, getting one break each in the first and fourth sets. Mathieu won 76 percent of the points on serve.
No. 2-seeded and two-time defending champion Rafael Nadal roared through a 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 win in his match Thursday against Denis Istomin. Nadal took 56 percent of the points off Istomin's serve.
Fourth-seeded Andy Murray battled through back problems for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 win over Jarkko Nieminen. He had 42 unforced errors but just 10 total in the last two sets.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 5-seed, finished off a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in a match that was suspended because of rain Wednesday while sixth-seeded David Ferrer handled Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 and No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic defeated Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 7-5.
Li advances again at French Open
PARIS, May 31 (UPI) -- Defending champion Li Na sailed through her second-round match Thursday at the French Open.
Li, the No. 7 seed, won two-thirds of the points in a 6-0, 6-2 romp over Stephanie Foretz Gacon in a 52-minute match. One of the games she lost came on the only break point she saw Thursday but she cashed in six of her seven break chances.
No. 4-seeded Petra Kvitova had 27 unforced errors but still claimed a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Urszula Radwanska. She won half the points off Radwanska's serve and didn't lose her serve.
A scheduled match for second-seeded Maria Sharapova against Ayumi Morita on Court Philippe Chatrier was postponed due the length of a men's match in which Paul-Henri Mathieu edged American John Isner 18-16 in the fifth set after more than 5 1/2 hours.
Earlier ninth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki defeated Jarmila Gajdosova 6-1, 6-4; Angelique Kerber, the No. 10 seed, beat Olga Govortsova 6-3, 6-2; and 14th-seeded Francesca Schiavone rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision over Tsvetana Pironkova in matches involving other highly seeded players.
Klara Zakopalova ousted 16th-seeed Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 by getting three breaks in the third set of their 3-hour match. Varvara Lepchenko eliminated 19th-seeded Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 in another 3-hour marathon.
Also moving out of the second round were No. 22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 23rd-seeded Kaia Kanepi and 25th-seeded Julia Goerges.
Jacksonville mends fences with Jaguars
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 31 (UPI) -- Jacksonville, Fla., officials say a letter to the Jacksonville Jaguars owner accusing him of defaulting on his contract was the result of a "misunderstanding."
The city withdrew its letter Wednesday, after Shad Khan responded by saying he was "perplexed" and "at a loss" on the city's charge, The Florida Times-Union reported. Khan said he was "committed" to the city's economic growth and to the football team.
"Please advise us of the method of your implementation of the default and termination, if that is your intention," Khan said. "We are on the cusp of training camp to begin the NFL season and will need to act quickly."
Cindy Laquidara, the city's general counsel, said in her response that when she sent the default letter last week she did not realize the Jaguars' agreement with the city had been amended. The original contract said the team and the city would jointly decide on a management company for the football stadium and other entertainment venues owned by Jacksonville, while the amendment said each would make its own choice and then hold discussions if they differed.
