College football

Penn State-heavy jury picked

for Sandusky trial

A jury dominated by people with Penn State loyalties was selected Wednesday in Bellefonte, Pa., to decide Jerry Sandusky's fate in the child sexual-abuse scandal that rocked the university and led to coach Joe Paterno's downfall.

The seven women and five men who will hear opening statements Monday include an engineering administrative assistant at Penn State, a dance teacher in the continuing education program and a professor who has been on the faculty for 24 years.

Also: a Penn State senior, a retired soil sciences professor with 37 years at the university, a man with bachelor's and master's degrees from the school and a woman who has been a season-ticket holder since the 1970s.

Sandusky, a 68-year-old former assistant coach, is charged with sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year span.

Picking the jury took less than two days, moving along more swiftly than some had expected. Eight of the 12 jurors and two of the four alternates have ties to Penn State.

Top recruit picks USC

Su'a Cravens, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound safety at Vista Murrieta High School in Temecula, Calif., the top prospect in California from the class of 2013, said he will attend USC.

Nothing is official until February, when he can sign scholarship papers. And Cravens left the door ajar, making it clear he'd be interested in taking official visits to his runner-up choices, Michigan and Ohio State.

NFL

Coughlin gets extension

Tom Coughlin, 65, signed a two-year contract extension through the 2014 season with the New York Giants. Coughlin, who led the team to its second Super Bowl title under him in February, has coached the Giants since 2004. His contract was in its final year and was believed to pay him $5.25 million a year. The new deal is likely to put him closer to the NFL's highest-paid coach, New England's Bill Belichick, who makes $7.5 million.

Coughlin became the oldest coach with a Super Bowl title this year, and also took the Giants to the 2007 title. New York beat New England in the Super Bowl both times.

Jags' Blackmon apologizes

Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Justin Blackmon apologized for his "poor judgment," vowed to learn and grow from his latest alcohol-related arrest and insisted he doesn't have a drinking problem. He also said he has given up alcohol, at least for now.

The first-round draft pick was arrested during a traffic stop in Stillwater, Okla., early Sunday after a breath test allegedly showed his blood alcohol content to be three times the legal limit. It was Blackmon's second alcohol-related incident in less than two years.

Ex-Bengal gets 12 years

Former Bengals linebacker Nate Webster, 34, was sentenced in Cincinnati to 12 years in prison for having sex with the underage teen daughter of a former assistant coach for the Bengals.

Softball

Alabama wins title

Jackie Traina threw a five-hitter and delivered a key run-scoring single, and Alabama became the first Southeastern Conference team to win an NCAA softball title, beating Oklahoma 5-4 in the final game of a best-of-three series in Oklahoma City.

Traina gave up three home runs — two to Lauren Chamberlain, including one in the seventh inning — but fanned her Oklahoma (54-10) counterpart, Keilani Ricketts, to end the game. Alabama finished 60-8.

Soccer

Timbers trade for Mwanga

The Portland Timbers acquired forward Danny Mwanga from the Philadelphia Union for forward Jorge Perlaza.

Mwanga, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 MLS Super Draft, is a local favorite, having played at Portland's Jefferson High School before going to Oregon State.

Mwanga has 12 goals and nine assists over three seasons and 63 appearances for the Union. Perlaza has six goals and two assists in 41 appearances.

Olympics

Flame crosses Irish border

The Olympic flame went on a cross-border peace mission to Dublin to celebrate Northern Ireland reconciliation and strong British-Irish ties. A convoy sped the symbol of the London Games to the Irish capital after a dawn ceremony at the border between the Republic of Ireland and the British territory of Northern Ireland.

Elsewhere

• Boston Celtics center Greg Stiemsma and Lance Thomas of the New Orleans Hornets were added to the select team of young players that will train against the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.

• Prosecutors in Stillwater, Okla., have charged former Oklahoma State running back Herschel Sims with two counts of second-degree forgery.

• Kansas State athletic director John Currie signed a contract extension to remain with the school through June 2018.

• Two-time U.S. figure skating champion Alissa Czisny is resting comfortably after successful hip surgery to repair a torn labrum.

• Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway led a sprint finish to win the third stage of the Criterium du Dauphine cycling race in La Clayette, France, while Bradley Wiggins of Britain retained the overall lead.

• Vladimir Krutov, a member of the Soviet Union hockey team's KLM Line in the 1980s, died after suffering a stomach hemorrhage, the International Ice Hockey Federation said. He was 52.

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