May 15, 2007 5 min read

Running Bair misses sub-4 minute mile mark

Sam Bair’s attempt to join his dad and become the first American father-son duo to break four minutes in the mile came up short on Sunday.

The 22-year-old Bair finished the Kip Keino Mile in Ithaca, N.Y., with a time of 4:05.46, good enough for seventh place in a highly talented field of 15.

Bair’s father, Sam, who accompanied him to the event, ran a sub-four-minute mile in 1967. The elder Bair is a Southmoreland graduate.

Four-time Olympic medallist Kip Keino and his son Martin Keino of Kenya are the only father-son duo to pull off the feat.

The younger Bair, who is a junior at Pitt and a Shaler High School grad, has come close to the mark with previous times of 4:00.14 and 4:00.8.

Baseball

Vulcans in NCAA

California University of Pa. was rewarded for winning the PSAC West for the third-straight season with a berth into the 40th annual NCAA Division II Championship Tournament.

The Vulcans (36-15) are seeded third in the 2007 NCAA North Atlantic Regional Tournament to be hosted by Kutztown University beginning Thursday. California opens the double-elimination tournament against Slippery Rock, the No. 4 seed, on Thursday. The Vulcans played The Rock, a familiar PSAC West foe, six times this season with each team winning three times.

Top-seeded Kutztown (45-5) plays No. 6-seeded Shippensburg (27-22) and second-seeded West Virginia State, the WVIAC champion with a 36-15 record, faces No. 5-seeded West Chester (30-15) in Thursday’s other first-round games.

The winner of the four-day regional advances to the eight-team national championship on May 25-June 1 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala.

Auto racing

Roaring Knob winners

Seven winners emerged on Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Night at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex Saturday.

Robbie Black (Garry’s Auto Sales Late Models), Marty Spade Jr. (Fort Necessity Garage Chargers), Bob Nelson (GNH Trucking Street Stocks), Gary Dalton (Curt’s Family Restaurant Super Late Models), Dennis Perigo (Brooks Automotive Group Modifieds), John Over (Garry’s Auto Sales Late Models) and Shawn Smith (Fort Necessity Garage Chargers) took home wins on May 5.

Next week finds another five division show starting at 7 p.m. with the gates opening at 4 p.m.

Motor Speedway winners

Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway ran its third show of 2007 Saturday night.

Leo Stadelman picked up the win in the Brougher’s Speed Shop Crate Late Models, the first feature event on the card.

In the Hoosier’s Tire Mid-Atlantic Late Models, Steve Baker won his first feature of the season. Chuck Kennedy grabbed his first win since 2005 in the Miley Truck Rental E-Mods, and Joe Anthony claimed the Sunoco Race Fuels Pure Stocks.

Davy Lee picked up his second win of the season in the Old Allegheny Shoppe Amateur Stocks, and the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns saw Dusty Curry grab his second feature of the season.

Football

Pacman appeal delayed

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A decision on Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones’ appeal for leniency from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will be delayed while lawyers complete paperwork.

The commissioner then will review the briefs summing up the legal points and testimony from the appeal hearing before deciding whether to ease Jones’ season-long NFL suspension. The decision would come no sooner than May 21, two people close to the case told The Associated Press.

The two familiar with the new paperwork spoke on condition of anonymity because Goodell has asked those involved not to speak about the pending appeal.

Jones and his attorneys spent nearly four hours Friday arguing that the first defensive player taken in the 2005 draft deserved a lighter punishment than missing the 2007 season. They cited at least 280 other NFL players arrested or charged since January 2000 without being suspended for 16 games, and attorneys representing the NFLPA also argued for Jones at the hearing.

Goodell punished Jones and Cincinnati receiver Chris Henry last month for conduct detrimental to the league. The NFL announced the suspensions a week after hearings with the commissioner.

Henry was suspended for eight games, although Jones’ suspension included a review after the Titans’ 10th game. Jones has not been convicted of any charges but has been interviewed by police 10 times and been arrested five times since being drafted.

Attorney Manny Arora did not return messages left by the AP on Monday, but attorney Mark Trigg declined to comment.

“The commissioner asked that we not speak publicly about the hearing until he makes his decision, and we’re going to honor his request,” Trigg said.

Paperwork filed with the NFL on May 1 in Jones’ appeal reserved his right to sue the league if unhappy with the final decision from the same man who punished him last month. If Jones chooses to sue the league, he would be on his own with no support from the players’ union.

NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis said the procedure for appealing this kind of discipline by the commissioner is set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. He said that means the union cannot challenge legally what members agreed to as part of their labor agreement.