College athletics

Big East commissioner resigns

Big East commissioner John Marinatto resigned Monday after less than three years on the job, admitting he was drained by several high-profile defections from the conference and mounting pressure from university presidents upset with the departures.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse made plans to leave the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference in September, and West Virginia bolted for the Big 12 the next month. The Big East regrouped by adding Central Florida, Houston, Memphis, Southern Methodist and Temple for all sports and Boise State, San Diego State and Navy for football only.

Marinatto, who became commissioner July 1, 2009, said guiding the conference through realignment took a physical and mental toll on him.

"I've been running a marathon not only for the last eight months but for the last 2 ½ years," he said. "As fulfilling as it can be, it is equally draining."

Joseph Bailey III, former CEO of the NFL Miami Dolphins, will serve as interim commissioner.

College football

Leaf to appear in court Tuesday

Ryan Leaf, a former NFL quarterback and Washington State standout, is scheduled to appear in Cascade County (Mont.) District Court on Tuesday on charges he broke into two homes and stole prescription drugs.

Leaf is charged with two counts of burglary and two counts of criminal possession of a dangerous drug.

The Great Falls Tribune reported Leaf, 35, will be arraigned and has asked for a change-of-plea hearing.

Date of allegation changes

Pennsylvania prosecutors said they believe the alleged locker-room shower assault of a boy by Jerry Sandusky that ultimately led to Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's firing took place about a year earlier than they first claimed.

The attorney general's office said in a court filing investigators have concluded the alleged attack by Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant coach, took place around Feb. 9, 2001. Previously filed court documents, including a grand-jury report issued before Sandusky's arrest in November, dated it March 1, 2002.

Then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary has said he complained to Paterno of seeing the boy, described in court records as "Victim 2," in the shower naked with Sandusky.

Sandusky, 68, awaits a June trial on 52 criminal counts related to alleged sexual abuse of 10 boys over 15 years. Sandusky has denied the allegations against him.

Woodyard faces felony charge

Jamal Woodyard, who led Southern Mississippi in rushing last season, has been arrested and charged with felony second-degree robbery.

Woodyard, 21, entered jail Saturday and has been released on $15,000 bail.

Golf

Couples pulls out of The Players

Seattle native Fred Couples said he has withdrawn from The Players Championship, which starts Thursday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., because of an illness.

Couples, 52, won the event in 1984 and 1996.

Hall class includes Mickelson

Phil Mickelson, whose 42 tournament victories include four major titles, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla.

Joining him in the 2012 Hall class were Sandy Lyle, two-time major champion; Hollis Stacy, three-time U.S. Women's Open champion; Dan Jenkins, writer; and Peter Alliss, broadcaster.

Cycling

Farrar places 3rd in Giro stage

Australian Matthew Goss of the Orica-GreenEdge team won the third stage of the Giro d'Italia and Garmin-Barracuda rider Tyler Farrar of Wenatchee was third.

Goss completed the 118-mile stage that started and ended in Horsens, Denmark, in 4 hours, 20 minutes, 53 seconds.

Overall leader Taylor Phinney, an American who competes for the BMC team, and world champion Mark Cavendish of Team Sky were among riders involved in a crash near the finish.

Soccer

Yankee Stadium to host Chelsea

Chelsea of London will face Paris Saint-Germain in a July 22 exhibition that will be the first soccer match at new Yankee Stadium in New York since it opened in 2009.

Chelsea starts its four-match U.S. tour with an exhibition against Sounders FC on July 18 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Elsewhere

• Blackburn was relegated from the 20-team English Premier League in soccer, with visiting Wigan ensuring its survival in a 1-0 victory. Blackburn is 19th and will go down to next season's League Championship along with last-place Wolverhampton. The third and final team to be relegated will be determined Sunday.

• Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another arrived at Pimlico in Baltimore — site of the May 19 Preakness — after a flight from Louisville, Ky.

"He loves to fly. His ears were pricked," said Jack Sisterson, an assistant to trainer Doug O'Neill. "We were getting a police escort and there were people in the streets chanting, 'I'd love another.' He knows that's him."

• The slaying of a groom at Churchill Downs on Sunday remained a mystery, as police in Louisville, Ky., interviewed people they thought might know about the death but did not name any suspects.

The groom, Guatemalan immigrant Adan F. Perez, 48, was found dead in a barn several hours after the conclusion of Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Perez was employed by trainer Cecil Borel, brother of jockey Calvin Borel.

Seattle Times news services