Cardinals linebacker arrested, accused of assault
PHOENIX — Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington was arrested Friday after being accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, who authorities said is the mother of his baby daughter.
Maricopa County prosecutors said Washington posted $4,200 bond and was released following his initial court appearance after he had been booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of aggravated assault.
Mavs assistant O’Brien retiring; Canales hired
DALLAS — Mavericks assistant Jim O’Brien is retiring after a 30-year career that included heading coaching stints in Boston, Philadelphia and Indiana.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Friday that O’Brien is being replaced by Kaleb Canales, who was the interim head coach in Portland last year.
The 61-year-old O’Brien spent one season with the Mavericks under Carlisle, who was replaced by O’Brien at Indiana in 2007. O’Brien was fired by the Pacers during the 2010-11 season after missing the playoffs three straight years.
Ravens hire Spagnuolo
as defensive assistant
BALTIMORE — Steve Spagnuolo is getting another chance to prove his defensive coaching skills.
The Baltimore Ravens hired the former Rams head coach and defensive coordinator of the Saints and Giants on Friday as a senior defensive assistant. Spagnuolo will have an opportunity at redemption following an unsettled 2012 season in which he oversaw a historically bad defense with scandal-plagued New Orleans.
Spagnuolo was fired in January by Saints coach Sean Payton following one season in New Orleans in which the Saints’ defense allowed a single-season NFL record 7,042 yards. However, his record as a defensive coach before 2012, when the Saints were floundering in the wake of their bounty scandal, was far better.
Pastrana captures first career Nationwide pole
TALLADEGA, Ala. — X Games star Travis Pastrana won his first career Nationwide Series pole Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 10-time X Games gold medalist-turned-NASCAR driver topped qualifying for Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 with a fast lap of 176.500 mph on the 2.66-mile tri-oval.
Pirates place 2B Walker
on DL, add RHP Contreras
PITTSBURGH — The Pirates placed second baseman Neil Walker on the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday night’s game against the Washington Nationals due to an injured right hand.
Pittsburgh also selected the contract of veteran right-hander Jose Contreras and recalled infielder Jordy Mercer from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned right-handed reliever Jared Hughes to the same club.
Cardinals Motte to have Tommy John surgery
MILWAUKEE — St. Louis right-hander Jason Motte will have season-ending Tommy John surgery next week.
The Cardinals reliever was placed on the disabled list on March 29 and eventually diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right elbow. He had been rehabbing and playing catch in an effort to avoid surgery.
Ferrer, Wawrinka, Seppi
into Portugal semifinals
OEIRAS, Portugal — David Ferrer led the top three seeded players into the Portugal Open semifinals on Friday, beating Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Second-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka knocked out local favorite Gastao Elias 6-4, 6-4, and No. 3 Andreas Seppi beat No. 8 Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-3. Pablo Carreno-Busta rallied past fourth-seeded Fabio Fognini 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to complete the final four.
In the women’s event, third-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No. 4 Carla Suarez Navarro will meet in the final today. Pavlyuchenkova recovered to beat Romina Oprandi 0-6, 6-3, 6-1. Navarro overcame Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-1.
Top-seeded Tipsarevic knocked out in Munich
MUNICH — Daniel Brands beat top-seeded Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Friday at the BMW Open to set up an all-German semifinal with defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Kohlschreiber defeated Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-3, 7-6 (3). He is bidding for his third Munich title after also winning in 2007.
Ivan Dodig of Croatia continued his upset streak by ousting fifth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final four.
The 56th-ranked Dodig will face third-seeded Tommy Haas, who defeated No. 6 Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1.
From wire sources
