Investigators from the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office have
subpoenaed Tar Heels defensive tackle Marvin Austin, a person familiar with the
situation said Friday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because
the investigation is ongoing. Austin is one of 13 players who did not travel
with the 18th-ranked Tar Heels to Atlanta for Saturday’s opener against No. 21
LSU because of an NCAA probe.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall’s office is reviewing whether North
Carolina’s sports agents laws have been broken in the wake of the NCAA
investigation into the school’s football program.

The NCAA probe initially focused on whether Austin and receiver Greg Little
got improper benefits from agents and has now expanded to possible academic
violations.

George Jeter, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, declined to
comment on the subpoena.

“All I can say is it’s an active, ongoing inquiry at this time,” he said.

Earlier Friday, the school said it had declared Austin, defensive ends
Robert Quinn and Michael McAdoo, cornerbacks Kendric Burney and cornerback
Charles Brown, and receiver Greg Little ineligible “for violating school and/or
NCAA rules.”

Another six players—top tailbacks Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston; safeties
Brian Gupton, Da’Norris Searcy and Jonathan Smith; and defensive end Linwan
Euwell—are being held out of the game during the investigation.

North Carolina also said three other players—linebackers Quan Sturdivant
and Bruce Carter, and safety Deunta Williams—didn’t travel with the team as
the school conferred with the NCAA on their status. Sturdivant and Carter were
later cleared and were traveling to Atlanta on Friday night. However, Williams
remains sidelined because the NCAA wanted more information before ruling on his
status.

The news means the Tar Heels will be without at least six starters from a
defense that ranked among the nation’s best last season, including their entire
secondary.

“We are disappointed the players’ choices have denied them the opportunity
to compete alongside their teammates and represent the University of North
Carolina,” coach Butch Davis said in a statement. “Our coaches and players
have a tremendous challenge this weekend, and despite these circumstances, our
team will be excited to face LSU.”

It’s unclear how many games Quinn, McAdoo, Burney, Brown, Little and Austin
will miss. The announcement is a massive blow for a program that entered Davis’
fourth season in position to contend for an Atlantic Coast Conference
championship.

The optimism had been building since January, when Austin, Little, Burney,
Sturdivant, Carter and Williams all announced they would return to school for
their senior seasons instead of entering the NFL draft.

Little is the team’s top receiver, while the rest of that group joined Quinn
— a junior widely considered to be a high first-round pick—on a defense that
returned nine starters from a unit that ranked among the nation’s best last
season.

Davis had suspended Austin indefinitely for violating team rules Wednesday.

“We are still working with the NCAA staff to resolve these eligibility
issues,” athletic director Dick Baddour said in a statement. “The NCAA is
focusing on each of their situations on a case-by-case basis. Together we are
working to determine their status in as thorough and fair a process as is
possible.”

There have been similar agent-related NCAA investigations at Alabama,
Georgia and South Carolina, with links to a South Beach party attended by
players from several schools earlier this year. The Gamecocks have suspended
tight end Weslye Saunders for violating unrelated team rules while Crimson Tide
defensive end Marcell Dareus has been declared ineligible for two games for
accepting nearly $2,000 in improper benefits during two Miami trips.

North Carolina is one of 42 states and the federal government that has laws
governing contact between sports agents and amateur college athletes. The state
requires agents to register and prohibits them from offering gifts before a
contract is signed. Violations can lead to criminal or civil penalties.

In July, Marshall’s office sent a letter to the more than 100 agents
registered with the state notifying them of the investigation and instructing
them not to destroy records. She said then that her office can’t punish
athletes, but planned to talk to them about their conduct and interaction with
agents.

NEW YORK (AP)—Ben Roethlisberger(notes) is getting time off for good behavior.

He’ll be back on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers two games earlier
than expected after convincing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell he is turning his
life around.

The star quarterback, accompanied by team president Art Rooney, met with
Goodell early Friday and was told he could return on Oct. 17 against Cleveland
after missing four games.

He was suspended in April for six games for violating the league’s personal
conduct policy, but Goodell said at the time he would review the player’s
behavior over the next few months. Goodell was satisfied that Roethlisberger has
followed the league’s guidelines and stayed out of trouble.

“You have told me and the Steelers that you are committed to making better
decisions,” Goodell said in a letter to the two-time Super Bowl winner. “Your
actions over the past several months have been consistent with that promise and
you must continue to honor that commitment.”

Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student
following a night of drinking in a Milledgeville, Ga., bar on March 5. He was
not charged by Georgia authorities.

The league said the “reinstatement is contingent on Roethlisberger
continuing to adhere to the program established by our advisors and avoiding any
further violations of the personal conduct policy.”

Roethlisberger is the first player suspended by Goodell under the NFL’s
personal conduct policy who was not arrested, charged with or convicted of a
crime. However, Goodell said in April the policy allows him to impose such a
penalty when the league’s integrity and reputation are at stake.

“I have learned a lot over the past several months about myself as a
person,” Roethlisberger said in a statement. “I am committed to continuing on
this path of being the type of person my family raised me to be, and exceeding
what is expected of me as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

Rooney and Roethlisberger met with Goodell at an undisclosed location in New
Jersey. Rooney and his organization have kept in frequent contact with the
commissioner while Roethlisberger underwent extensive evaluations.

“Ben has done a good job this summer of growing as the person that he needs
to be, both on and off the field,” Rooney said. “I am confident that Ben is
committed to continuing in this positive direction. As a team, our focus is now
on preparing for the regular season and getting off to a good start on opening
weekend.”

Roethlisberger also is being sued in Nevada by a woman who says he sexually
assaulted her there in 2008. No charges were brought in that case, and it did
not figure in the NFL’s suspension.

While he is out, Roethlisberger can’t practice with the Steelers, nor can he
attend games or represent the team in any way, or have contact with any member
of the coaching staff or football operations personnel.

Considering the team’s dire situation at his position, the reduced
suspension was about the best news the Steelers could have received. Hours
earlier, Roethlisberger’s replacement, Byron Leftwich(notes), hurt his left knee in the
final preseason game.

Roethlisberger will be eligible to return to practice on Oct. 4 and play on
Oct. 17 after Pittsburgh’s bye week. Depending on the extent of Leftwich’s
injury, Pittsburgh could be down to Dennis Dixon(notes) and veteran Charlie Batch(notes), and
might need to add another quarterback.

Pittsburgh hosts Atlanta, plays at Tennessee and Tampa Bay and then hosts
division rival Baltimore before an Oct. 10 bye.

Roethlisberger and Goodell met last month at the team’s training camp in
Latrobe, Pa. At that time, Goodell said he was encouraged by the progress
Roethlisberger was making and promised to make his decision on the length of the
suspension before the regular season began.

He kept his word; the season begins on Thursday.

Roethlisberger plans to work with a California-based quarterbacks coach,
George Whitfield, and he’ll throw to some free-agent receivers who are looking
for work in the league.

AP Sports Writer Alan Robinson in Pittsburgh contributed to this story.

NEW YORK (AP)—Andy Murray cruised through his first match at the U.S. Open
while an angry Andy Roddick crashed out on Wednesday, fuming over a foot-fault
call.

The fourth-seeded Murray had a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Slovakia’s Lukas
Lacko, but other big-name players made early exits.

Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion went out in the second round with a
3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss to 44th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic, whose make-or-break
style paid off with 66 winners.

“He played very high-risk and executed for four sets,” said the
ninth-seeded Roddick, whose exit left Roger Federer as the only past champion in
the men’s field. “I kept telling myself, ‘You know, this has to have an
expiration date on it.’ Unfortunately, I needed another set for that.”

Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych didn’t make it past the first round, beaten
7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 by France’s Michael Llodra.

Former U.S. Open champions Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams and French Open
finalists Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur all progressed, but the main
talking point in the women’s draw was the dramatic collapse of 10th seeded
Victoria Azarenka.

Trailing Gisela Dulko 5-1 in the first set in stifling conditions, Azarenka
stopped suddenly while chasing a ball on the baseline, and crumpled to the
ground.

Azarenka was treated like a victim of heat exhaustion—covered by a towel,
sheltered by an umbrella, rolled off in a wheelchair, ice pack on her neck and a
doctor checking her pulse. Several hours later, she revealed that she had fallen
and hit her head during pre-match warmups. She was taken to the hospital and
diagnosed with a mild concussion.

“I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were
courtside for monitoring,” Azarenka said in a statement. “I felt worse as the
match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having
trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell.”

Though she said her injury wasn’t heat related, this was another day when
the weather was the hottest topic of conversation. Temperatures on the courts
touched 40 Celsius (into the 100s F), and for the second straight day,
tournament officials invoked their extreme-weather policy, giving women the
option of taking a 10-minute break if they split sets.

Roddick’s elimination had drama of a different sort.

Already trailing 5-2 in the third, Roddick wound up in an argument over a
foot-fault call on a first serve. He turned to the official and asked, “What
foot?”

When she told him it was his right foot, he replied, “That’s impossible.”
Roddick then turned to chair umpire Enric Molina and, pointing first to his
right foot, then his left, asked, “Has THIS foot gone in front of THAT foot
ever in my career?”

Molina replied: “Not in my matches.”

A TV replay showed Roddick did commit a foot fault—but with his left toes.
Asked later what might have happened if the lineswoman said the call was made
because his left foot was on the baseline, he replied: “There would have been
no discussion.”

But Roddick had berated the lineswoman—although without the threatening or
colorful language that Serena Williams used when she launched a tirade at a line
judge over a foot call at the end of her semifinal loss to Clijsters last year.

He missed his second serve for a double-fault, then continued to harangue
the official, at one point jokingly making a reference to “1-800-Rent-a-Ref.”

“In hindsight, did I let it go too far?” Roddick said. “Probably.”

“It was the fact that I couldn’t get her to admit that it wasn’t the right
foot that just infuriated me,” Roddick said. “The lack of common sense
involved in that was unbelievable to me.”

Tipsarevic’s third-round opponent will be France’s Gael Monfils, who had a
6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Russia’s Igor Andreev.

Ivan Ljubicic, seeded 15th, was another notable loser on Wednesday, beaten
6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 by American Ryan Harrison. All the other seeded players
made it out of the first round, including Mikhail Youzhny, Nicolas Almagro, and
John Isner, who had a straight sets win unlike his three-day epic in the first
round at Wimbledon.

Reigning champion Clijsters steamrolled 19-year-old Australian qualifier
Sally Peers, 6-2, 6-1—though Peers was just thrilled to take on the woman
whose autographed photo hangs in her Melbourne home.

Venus Williams beat Canada’s Rebecca Marino 7-6, (3), 6-3; Stosur beat
Australian compatriot Anastasia Rodionova 6-1, 6-4 and Schiavone thrashed fellow
Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-2, 6-1.

Elena Dementieva, seeded an unusually low No.12, beat Austria’s Sybille
Bammer 6-3, 6-4. Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic found some of her lost form by
cruising past China’s Zheng Jie 6-3, 6-0 while No.13 Marion Bartoli was the
highest-ranked loser, beaten 7-5, 6-4 by French compatriot Virginie Razzano.

The Big Ten’s athletic directors got together on what was truly a conference
call on Wednesday. The first thing Ohio State’s Gene Smith did was open some
accompanying e-mails that listed proposed Buckeyes football schedules for 2011
and 2012.

“I went straight to the end,” Smith said, “and I was jacked.”

There, in its customary spot at the very bottom of Ohio State’s
regular-season schedule, was archrival Michigan.

After weeks of speculation and debate, the Big Ten announced on Wednesday
night the new divisions that take effect when Nebraska joins the party in the
new 12-team conference in 2011.

Fans had been up in arms about the possibility that one of sports’ biggest
rivalries—Michigan vs. Ohio State, blue vs. scarlet, Bo vs. Woody—might
somehow lose out to competitive balance in the conference’s new divisional
setup. But what is called “The Game” in the two states was among several
red-letter games that were preserved.

The divisions don’t have names yet—a design and marketing firm is working
on mock-ups (Black and Blue, anybody?). But most schools were able to preserve
the game with their chief adversary while also adding some new texture to the
new-look conference race. So there was a sigh of relief in several Big Ten
outposts.

Illinois, Indiana, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State make up one
division, with Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern and new
2011 member Nebraska, in the other.

There was innovation and yet permanence about the new setup, which pertains
only to football and no other sport.

“We want to see how it goes. We really want to see how the fans respond,”
commissioner Jim Delany said during the 90-minute show on the Big Ten Network
revealing the divisions and schedules. “We’re excited about it and we think it
does a pretty good job not only maintaining great old matchups, but also
creating some great new matchups.”

The Big Ten has long prided itself on its marquee matchups, none more
cherished that the annual neighboring-state brawl between Michigan and Ohio
State. While the ADs looked at divisional models and dithered over what
rivalries to keep and which ones to allow to fade into the background, there was
a groundswell of opinion from fans who did not want the annual final-game
showdown eliminated or even moved around on the schedule. The rivals have met in
the last game on the schedule every year since 1943, frequently with a Big Ten
title hanging in the balance.

Since they’re in opposite divisions, they’ll continue to play each other but
might just get to do it twice—the latter in the new Big Ten championship game
matching divisional winners a week after their schedule date.

“It provides us the opportunity to have that great cross rivalry we want to
have,” Michigan AD David Brandon said. “But it also gives us the opportunity,
when we both deserve it, to play for that chance to play in the Rose Bowl and
for the national title.”

“The Game” has decided the Big Ten champion 22 times.

Smith said the uproar provided by worried fans had an effect.

“I can’t imagine that it didn’t,” he said. “The conference office
received probably half of the e-mails that we got and they were copied in. I’ve
always said we have to listen to our customers and I’m sure the conference
office did that.”

Perhaps the only downside to the new divisional play is that a couple of
traditional rivalries—Iowa vs. Wisconsin for the Heartland Trophy, and Penn
State vs. Michigan State for the Land Grant Trophy—didn’t make the cut.

Also, perhaps because everyone was clamoring to have the newcomers on their
schedule, Nebraska’s Cornhuskers face a daunting start. They open Big Ten play
at Wisconsin and at home against Ohio State in early October 2011. Every bully
on the block plays the Cornhuskers—Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State
— right off the bat.

“I thought, ‘Whoa, what are we doing here?”’ former Nebraska coach and AD
Tom Osborne said when he saw the first two schedules.

Even Osborne heard the pleas of desperate Ohio State and Michigan fans.

“I got an awful lot of mail here in Lincoln, Nebraska, about fans making
sure Michigan and Ohio State played at the end of the season, and some of them
were mad at me for (putting that in jeopardy),” Osborne said. “So I’m glad
they got that worked out.”

Delany believes the Big Ten got it right.

“We’re going to be in divisions for the next 50 years, probably, and
Nebraska is going to be with us for the next 50 or 100 years,” he said. “Just
like Penn State has been with us for the past 20 years.”

That all sounds permanent. But the Big Ten may not be done adding new
members.

“Some other conference could do something in the east and the next thing
you know, we’ve got to respond,” Smith said.

NEW YORK (AP)—This trick shot by Roger Federer was most definitely real.

He’s even hit it before.

The five-time U.S. Open champion was up at the net when his first-round
opponent, 96th-ranked Brian Dabul of Argentina, lofted a lob. Federer spun
around to sprint toward the baseline. A couple of steps before reaching the wall
behind the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and with his back to the net, Federer
swatted the ball between his legs. The shot landed in a corner beside Dabul, who
raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

“Only he can do that,” Dabul said.

It was part of a remarkable 46-4 edge in winners for Federer during his 6-1,
6-4, 6-2 victory Monday night. It also was the highlight at Flushing Meadows on
Day 1 of the tournament, when past U.S. Open champions Andy Roddick, Venus
Williams and Kim Clijsters all advanced, as did surprise 2009 quarterfinalist
Melanie Oudin, while 2001 champion Lleyton Hewitt lost in the first round at New
York for the first time.

The sublime bit of shotmaking was nearly identical to a back-to-the-court,
through-the-legs passing winner Federer hit against Novak Djokovic in the 2009
U.S. Open semifinals.

“This one was incredible again,” Federer said. “I turned around and
couldn’t believe the shot landed in the corner.”

More Grand Slam champions were slated to play first-round matches Tuesday,
including Djokovic, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova during the day, and
No. 1-seeded Rafael Nadal at night. The top-seeded woman, 2009 U.S. Open
runner-up Caroline Wozniacki, was to play 2010 NCAA singles champion Chelsey
Gullickson of the University of Georgia in Tuesday’s final match.

Asked if Monday’s shot was better than the one against Djokovic, Federer
said he’d need to go to the videotape to be sure.

“In terms of difficulty, maybe this one was harder, because I had the
feeling I had to run a longer distance and I was further back somehow,” he
said. “I had to really give the last big push at the end. I didn’t have time to
set it up.”

And with 23,000 or so witnesses, many of whom saluted the effort with a
standing ovation, there can be no argument about its authenticity—unlike the
trick shot that has drawn more than 6 million views since being posted on
YouTube two weeks ago. In that clip, shot in Zurich shortly after Wimbledon,
Federer is seen serving a ball and knocking a metal bottle off a man’s head—
twice in a row.

Federer has been coy about that video. Others have been skeptical, such as
two-time major finalist Andy Murray, who said this weekend: “There’s not a
chance it’s real.”

Told that other players have wondered aloud about that one, Federer replied:
“I can’t tell you if it’s real or not. That’s up for debate. … I’m not going
to answer that question.”

Could he hit a ball between his legs and knock a bottle off someone’s head?

“That’s kind of tough, the trajectory going up,” Federer said with a grin,
before acknowledging, “No, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

OK, so maybe the guy isn’t perfect. He is, however, 16-0 in U.S. Open night
matches, 11-0 in first-round matches at Flushing Meadows, and hoping to reach a
seventh consecutive final in New York.

“I always loved coming here,” Federer said. “Never had a bad U.S. Open.”

Williams hasn’t been too shabby at this tournament, either, with titles in
2000 and 2001, two runner-up finishes and nothing worse than a fourth-round
loss. She looked pretty impressive Monday, becoming only the fifth woman with
200 Grand Slam match wins by beating Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-1.

It was Williams’ first match since a June 29 loss at Wimbledon; she missed
time because of a sprained left kneecap, and landed awkwardly on that leg early
in the second set.

“Thankfully,” Williams said, “after that, she did most of the running.”

Williams did look absolutely fine a couple of games later when she pounded a
down-the-line forehand passing winner on a full sprint.

Vinci knew, of course, about Williams’ recent time off, and said afterward
with a sigh: “I hoped she would play worse.”

Instead, Vinci said, “She kept pushing.”

Roddick turned 28 on Monday, and after beating Stephane Robert of France
6-3, 6-2, 6-2, the ninth-seeded American was asked what significance he
attributes to his age. In typical Roddick fashion, he injected his reply with
some humor.

“Obviously, I know I’m probably closer to the finish than I am to the
start,” he said. “But … it’s a number. I’m barely older than I was
yesterday.”

Well, that’s true. He also, however, is 7 years older than he was when he
won his lone Grand Slam title at the 2003 U.S. Open. There’s a reminder of that
accomplishment every time Roddick returns to Flushing Meadows: His spot in the
locker room bears a special plate with his name and the year he was the
champion, a bit of recognition he referred to as “the little deal on your
locker that says you’re special.”

Clijsters is “special,” too. The Belgian won the U.S. Open each of the
past two times she entered, in 2005 and 2009, and she stretched her winning
streak in New York to 15 matches Monday despite a brief blip.

The No. 2-seeded Clijsters began her title defense with a 6-0, 7-5 victory
over 104th-ranked Greta Arn of Hungary. It was an afternoon of mostly
straightforward results, although two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling
was stretched to five sets before edging 214th-ranked qualifier Andreas
Haider-Maurer, who finished with 34 aces.

The tournament started Monday morning in a mostly empty Arthur Ashe Stadium
with Oudin’s 6-3, 6-0 victory over 143rd-ranked qualifier Olga Savchuk of
Ukraine.

When Oudin—it’s pronounced oo-DAN—arrived at Flushing Meadows in 2009,
she was 17, ranked 70th, never had won a U.S. Open match and was relatively
anonymous. No one figured she’d go as far as she did; her hotel reservation in
New York wasn’t for long enough, so Oudin needed to switch places.

She upset four opponents in a row, including three-time major champion
Sharapova and 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, to become the
tournament’s youngest quarterfinalist since Serena Williams in 1999.

Along the way, Oudin’s on-court spirit and off-court personality earned her
plenty of adoration and attention—“a bit of a zoo,” is the way her coach,
Brian de Villiers, described it.

“Everyone has one Cinderella story, and mine was last year. Now it’s like
everyone just expects me to do that because I did it last year,” Oudin said.
“But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to happen.”

WASHINGTON (AP)—Roger Clemens put his right hand on the lectern, leaned down
toward the microphone and made what might be the most important pitch of his
life: “Not guilty, your honor.”

Those words, uttered Monday in a strong, confident voice by the seven-time
Cy Young Award winner sporting a black blazer and blond highlights in his hair,
marked the official beginning of a court case that could taint baseball even
further and land the “Rocket” in jail.

U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton presided over an arraignment hearing that
lasted less than 14 minutes in the ceremonial courtroom at the federal
courthouse, across the street from the Capitol.

Walton set April 5 as the start of jury selection—the Monday of the first
full week of the 2011 baseball season, and also around the time a case involving
Barry Bonds, the all-time home run king, could be wrapping up in San Francisco.

Pete Rose, Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden and Denny McLain are among
former baseball stars to have spent time in jail. Clemens and Bonds, who chased
history on the field throughout their careers, now could be chasing history off
it.

They are both in jeopardy of becoming the first baseball star jailed because
of a conviction related to the performance-enhancing-drug imbroglio that has
sullied their sport for much of the past 15 years.

If convicted of six counts—three of making false statements, two of
perjury and one of obstruction of Congress—Clemens could face up to 30 years
in prison and a $1.5 million fine, although 15 to 21 months is the more likely
sentence under federal guidelines.

As he has throughout the process, Clemens again fought any suggestion that
he cheated during a 23-season career that ended with 354 wins and 4,672
strikeouts. He won his first three Cy Young awards in 1986, ’87 and ’91, dipped
ever so slightly, then won four more in 1997, ’98, 2001 and 2004, at the age of
42.

On Monday, he was in Washington because of testimony he gave to Congress in
2008. He went before a House committee to clear his name after becoming a
prominent figure in the Mitchell Report, which came out the year before with an
unflinching account of baseball’s drug crisis.

Back then, Clemens testified: “Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids
or HGH.”

This time, his words were fewer but every bit as forceful. And his actions
spoke of a man who refused to let a court appearance ruin his day.

He arrived at the courthouse four hours early to go through fingerprinting
and paperwork that is often left for after the official work in court is
complete.

Clemens apparently was trying to get to North Carolina in time to play in
the first round of a weeklong amateur golf tournament. He arrived at The Pearl
golf course in Calabash, N.C., shortly after 5 p.m. and shot a 12-over 84,
matching wife Debbie’s first-day score.

Clemens declined to answer questions about his court appearance, but did
thank tournament organizers for allowing him to compete in the event under the
circumstances.

After going through processing early in the day, Clemens and his team of
lawyers—led by Rusty Hardin of Houston—ate in the main cafeteria.

In the lunchroom, Clemens offered no comment, other than a friendly “Hey,
how ya doing,” to an Associated Press reporter. Hardin also didn’t comment,
saying he didn’t want to violate the gag order Walton has imposed on those
involved in the trial.

Before the short hearing, Clemens could be seen striding between meeting
rooms on the sixth floor as Hardin and prosecuting attorneys Daniel Butler and
Steven Durham exchanged discovery documents.

Then, Clemens walked into the 300-seat chamber, adorned with statues
depicting ancient arbiters of justice and portraits of former federal judges. He
adjusted his cuffs and collar a few times, said a word or two to Hardin, sat
down, then stood when Walton entered.

Hardin waived his client’s right to have the charges read, then Walton asked
for Clemens’ plea.

“Not guilty, your honor,” he said, before going back to the defense table
where he sat still while the lawyers and judge parsed over hearing dates and
discovery issues.

Clemens was released with no bail and no real restrictions. His only
discernible reaction came when Durham asked that the court hold his passport,
and Clemens turned to one of his attorneys and shook his head.

“I think he’s well-known enough that if he were to depart the country,
someone would know who he is,” Walton said.

The case has been portrayed, probably simplistically, as one of Clemens’
word against those who gave unfriendly testimony against him in Congress. The
key figures there are his former trainer Brian McNamee, who said the pitcher did
use steroids and HGH. Former teammate Andy Pettitte(notes) also told congressional
investigators that Clemens told him he had used HGH—a conversation Clemens
said Pettitte “misremembers.”

But in asking to push the start of the trial to next year—with the
agreement of the prosecutors—Hardin said there is much scientific evidence to
comb through, as well, including presumably the syringes McNamee says he used to
inject Clemens with drugs.

On Monday, Hardin was given access to the grand jury testimony and FBI
interviews that were used to indict Clemens, along with a 34-page master index
and 12 computer discs of evidence. Durham called the evidence “voluminous.”

“There’s a good deal of scientific evidence that needs to be tested,”
Hardin told the judge. “We’re at the mercy of the experts.”

While the crux of the case is whether Clemens used steroids or HGH, any
conviction would have to come on evidence that he lied to Congress about it.
It’s a sort of backdoor way that authorities have used to ensnare some of
America’s most high-profile athletes who have been accused of using PEDs.

Sprinter Marion Jones went to jail when, threatened with years in prison
because of an illegal check-writing scheme, she finally admitted to lying about
drugs, too.

The Bonds case is also a perjury case, set to start March 21. He has pleaded
not guilty to charges that he lied to a grand jury in December 2003 when he
testified that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.

As Clemens hustled out of the courtroom, he was followed by at least 50
reporters, then met by 100 more cameramen. Two security guards trying to help
him out of the building and into his waiting Escalade nearly tackled the pitcher
as they tried to keep onlookers at bay.

One fan yelled “I love you!” but Clemens likely didn’t hear. He already
had his iPod on.

Associated Press Writer Pete Iacobelli in Calabash, N.C., contributed to
this report.

CHICAGO (AP)—CC Sabathia(notes) has picked up the Yankees several times this season
with dominant performances on the mound.

This time, New York’s bruising lineup did most of the work.

Sabathia became the majors’ first 18-game winner, Marcus Thames(notes) hit two of
New York’s four homers and the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9 on
Saturday night.

Eduardo Nunez(notes) hit his first career homer and drove in four runs for New
York, which remained tied with Tampa Bay for the AL East lead. Nick Swisher(notes)
connected for a two-run drive and Robinson Cano(notes) had three hits.

Nunez was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when Lance Berkman(notes)
went on the disabled list Aug. 19. He has made five starts at third base in
place of ailing Alex Rodriguez(notes) and is batting .333.

“He was the star of the night, going 3 for 4, pretty much saving us,”
Sabathia said.

Sabathia (18-5) struck out nine, but allowed five runs and nine hits. The
big left-hander has won five consecutive starts and is 14-2 with a 2.55 ERA in
his last 17 outings.

Sabathia had to navigate the White Sox lineup with an ineffective changeup.

“I just tried throwing fastball in a little more,” he said. “I still have
to throw my changeup, it’s one of the pitches I use a lot. I just try to throw
in and get them off the plate a little bit.”

It was a much-needed victory for New York, which was coming off an ugly 9-4
loss in the series opener and had dropped three of four overall.

“This was a big game. This has been a trip where we had some tough
losses,” manager Joe Girardi said. “CC did a nice job, he gave up a couple of
home runs on changeups then he settled down nicely and got us through the
seventh.”

But the Yankees also lost Mark Teixeira(notes) after two innings to a bruised right
thumb. The Gold Glove first baseman fielded Gordon Beckham’s(notes) routine grounder
and slowly stepped on first for the final out of the second, then was taken down
for a pinch hitter in the third.

Teixeira said he injured his thumb on Friday while making a diving stop.

“I tried to take BP today and I thought maybe adrenaline would kick in and
I would be all right for the game, but I had nothing, I swung with one hand,”
he said. “I’m going to get here early tomorrow and get some treatment and see
it how feels.”

Paul Konerko(notes) hit his 32nd homer and finished with four RBIs for the White
Sox, who had won three of four. Chicago fell 4 1/2 games back of AL Central-leading
Minnesota, which beat Seattle 1-0.

Konerko hit an RBI single off David Robertson(notes) in the ninth to cut it to
12-9, but Mariano Rivera(notes) closed it out for his 26th save in 28 opportunities.

“They score 12 runs and we come back and make those guys bring in the best
closer in the game,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

After Carlos Quentin(notes) grounded into a double play, Rivera yielded a single to
Ramon Castro(notes) and walked Andruw Jones(notes) before Mark Teahen(notes) lined out to second to
end the game.

The Yankees got off to a fast start against John Danks(notes) (12-9), belting
two-run homers in each of the first three innings to build a 6-1 lead. Swisher
hit his 24th in the first, connecting for the second straight day against his
former team. Nunez got his first one in the second and Thames went deep in the
third.

“You score five runs off of CC Sabathia, you have to find a way to win that
game,” Danks said. “I have to take full responsibility for this one.”

Konerko and Jones each hit a two-run shot to get Chicago within one, but the
Yankees responded with four runs in the fifth. Posada hit a two-run double off
Tony Pena(notes) and Nunez singled in a pair to make it 10-5.

Alexei Ramirez(notes) also homered for Chicago, which finished with 16 hits. Jones
went 3 for 3 and scored twice.

Thames also connected in the ninth, helping Sabathia improve to 16-4 in his
career against the White Sox.

NOTES: LHP Andy Pettitte(notes) (strained left groin) will throw another bullpen
session on Sunday. Rodriguez (strained left calf) may take swings on Monday,
according to Girardi. Berkman (right ankle sprain) is going to try to run Sunday
and if all goes well he may begin a rehab assignment Monday. … The White Sox
placed reliever Erick Threets(notes) on the 15-day disabled list with a torn ligament
in his left elbow. Threets will miss the remainder of the season. RHP Carlos
Torres(notes) was promoted from Triple-A Charlotte and allowed two runs and six hits
over 3 1-3 innings against New York.

ISTANBUL (AP)—For weeks, U.S. players have been hearing about what they
aren’t.

Not big enough. Not old enough. And maybe even not good enough.

On Saturday, they finally got to show what they believe they can be: the
team that ends a 16-year world championship drought.

Kevin Durant(notes) scored 14 points and got the United States started on a
dominant second-quarter stretch in a 106-78 victory over Croatia in its opening
game of the tournament.

“People aren’t expecting us to come out here and win, so we just wanted to
make a statement and I think tonight we did,” Durant said.

Eric Gordon(notes) made four 3-pointers and had 16 points to lead the Americans,
who turned a close game into a blowout by limiting the Croatians to six points
in the second quarter. Chauncey Billups(notes) finished with 12 points.

It was an impressive start for a U.S. team that came to Turkey without any
players who helped them win the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. Instead of
those superstars, the Americans are left with a young, undersized team that
features Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, as its centerpiece.

He scored five straight points to kick off the decisive burst early in the
second quarter and added eight rebounds in just 21 minutes.

All 12 players scored for the Americans, as coach Mike Krzyzewski was able
to give his starters plenty of rest with the U.S. playing its three toughest
Group B games in the first three days of the tournament.

Though USA Basketball officials hoped to have a LeBron James(notes) or Kobe Bryant(notes)
— whose picture hangs in a large poster just inside the entrance—they couldn’t
have asked for much more than what they saw from the replacements Saturday.

And it’s this group, which has been called the U.S. “B” team that can earn
an automatic berth into the 2012 Olympics by winning the worlds—which has
rarely been easy for the United States.

As the Americans took the court for warmups, the overhead scoreboard was
playing clips of recent U.S. failures at the worlds from 2002 and 2006. They
have won the event just three times, none since 1994.

But even without its biggest names, this U.S. team might be good enough if
it plays the way it did in the second quarter.

“We like that type of adversity,” Gordon said. “People think we’re too
young or too small, but I think we’re playing well as a team and we play much
faster when we’re smaller, and we’re just an overall good team.”

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and Marko Popovic added 16 for Croatia,
which once was among the world’s best teams but hadn’t played in the world
championship since winning a bronze medal in 1994.

The Croatians hung tough for a quarter but couldn’t overcome their awful
perimeter shooting in the second period.

The Americans scored the first seven points of the game, but Croatia settled
down and executed its offense well in the halfcourt to get open looks under the
basket. The Croatians grabbed a 19-18 lead on Marko Banic’s follow shot with
1:42 left in the first quarter and trailed just 22-20 heading to the second.

But the U.S. quickly blew it open in the second. Durant’s three-point play
started a 12-0 run that pushed the lead to 14, and consecutive 3-pointers by
Gordon and another by Rudy Gay(notes) extended it to 47-26 with 1:48 to go in the half.

Croatia was just 3 of 17 from the field in the period and missed 12 of its
13 3-point attempts in the half.

“We were good in the first period but then we didn’t fight,” Croatia coach
Josip Vrankovic said. “We had some problems about free throws and 3-point field
goals. We will be more careful the next day.”

The Americans will need to sustain this level of play through four more
games in pool play, then four more once the knockout stage begins.

“I think that’s what we’re learning to do,” Gay said. “Every day is a
process and we’re getting better at it. We’ve only been playing together for
what, five games? So we’re still learning to play with each other.”

Gay and Russell Westbrook(notes) both scored 10 points for the Americans, who shot
55 percent from the field and were only outrebounded 41-39 despite using a small
lineup with 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom(notes) as the starting center. Reserve Kevin Love(notes)
grabbed 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes.

The U.S. faces Slovenia on Sunday followed by a game against Brazil on
Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP)—The Washington Nationals aren’t planning on any playoff
celebrations this year, so they’ll make do with moments like Thursday night’s
thrilling victory.

If the St. Louis Cardinals don’t start beating last-place clubs, they won’t
have any postseason joy, either.

Ian Desmond(notes) singled home Nyjer Morgan(notes) in the bottom of the 13th inning and
Washington overcame Albert Pujols’(notes) 400th home run in an 11-10 roller-coaster win
over the Cardinals.

“I don’t really know what big league playoff baseball feels like—I’m sure
the atmosphere is a little bit more hectic—but that was a great-played game by
both sides,” said Desmond, who finished with four hits and three RBIs.

Morgan was hit by a pitch from Blake Hawksworth(notes) (4-8) while squaring to bunt
leading off the 13th, then advanced to third on Alberto Gonzalez’s(notes) one-out
single. With the infield in, Desmond bounced a grounder up the middle to end the
Nationals’ four-game losing streak.

The Nationals used eight pitchers, the Cardinals seven, and Washington went
through every position player available. There was at least one run scored in
every inning from the second through the ninth. The Cardinals scored four in the
top of the ninth to take a 10-8 lead, but Roger Bernadina’s(notes) two-run homer to
right-center off Ryan Franklin(notes) sent the game to extra innings. At one point, the
clock and scoreboard were in sync: It was 10-10 at 10:10.

“That game had all the elements: comebacks from both clubs, timely hitting,
good baserunning, good defense,” Washington manager Jim Riggleman said. “It
had a little bit of everything.”

Doug Slaten(notes) (4-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the Nationals, who broke
out of their offensive doldrums with 16 hits. Washington had been shut out three
times in the past week.

It all capped what had already been a busy day at Nationals Park, with
Washington introducing this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Bryce Harper, and
having an MRI performed on last year’s No. 1 overall selection, Stephen
Strasburg(notes). His test results are to be released Friday.

Pujols hit his milestone homer leading off the fourth, but it couldn’t stop
a St. Louis slide that has come at an inopportune time in the playoff race. The
Cardinals have lost three straight and eight of 11—including a demoralizing
two in a row to last-place Pittsburgh before arriving to play last-place
Washington.

“We’ve got to win ballgames, that’s what it comes down to,” starting
pitcher Chris Carpenter(notes) said. “It doesn’t matter how we do it, whether it’s
15-14 or 1-0, we’ve got to win ballgames, and unfortunately I didn’t pitch well
enough tonight to give my team a chance.”

Pujols sent an 0-1 fastball from Jordan Zimmermann(notes) into the right-center
seats to become the 47th major league player to reach 400 homers, and the
third-youngest to do so. Pujols stood and admired the shot, then was mobbed by
teammates when he returned to the dugout.

“It’s a special milestone,” Pujols said, “but I don’t play for numbers.”

The slugger also hurt his right ankle in the bottom of the 10th when he
tried to plant his foot on the tarp to reach for a foul ball near the first base
dugout. He stayed in the game but was uncertain he would be able to play Friday.

“It’s pretty sore right now,” Pujols said. “It was pretty scary.”

Looking to shake things up, Riggleman canceled regular batting practice and
had his players hit in the indoor cage instead. He also shuffled the lineup,
putting Adam Kennedy(notes) at leadoff for the first time this season, moving Morgan to
second and Desmond to fifth.

It seemed to pay off. Every player in the starting lineup except the pitcher
had at least one hit.

Zimmermann made his first major league start after having elbow ligament
replacement surgery 12 months ago. A premier prospect before he got hurt, he
allowed five runs and seven hits over four innings.

Carpenter, another pitcher who came back from Tommy John surgery, allowed 10
hits over six innings. He gave up six runs, but only three were earned because
of shortstop Felipe Lopez’s(notes) throwing error in the third.

NOTES: Alex Rodriguez(notes) is the youngest player to get to 400 homers, having
done so at 29 years, 316 days. Ken Griffey Jr.(notes) reached the benchmark at 30
years, 141 days. Pujols reached it at 30 years, 222 days. … The Nationals said
OF Josh Willingham(notes) should be recovered in four to six weeks from surgery on his
left knee. Willingham had the operation Wednesday and will not play again this
season. … 3B Pedro Feliz(notes) has hit safely in all seven games since he was traded
to the Cardinals from Houston.