FOOTBALL
HARBAUGH BACKTRACKS ON RADIO COMMENTS: BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh has backtracked on radio comments he made earlier Tuesday.
Harbaugh told a local station that New England's championships "got asterisks now; it's been stained" while referring to the Spygate scandal of 2007.
The Ravens soon after sent out a statement from Harbaugh to clarify what he said, claiming there was "some distortion."
Harbaugh says in his statement that his "reference was to the perception out there that came as the result of the league's actions." He said he could have been clearer and that "I totally believe that the Patriot and Saint coaches and players earned those championships. Bill (Belichick) and Sean (Payton) both know that."
COLLEGES
WAC OFFICIALS VOW CONFERENCE WILL REMAIN VIABLE: SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Western Athletic Conference officials expressed confidence Tuesday that the league would remain viable despite rumored defections.
Utah State and San Jose State both acknowledged this week they are in discussions with the Mountain West Conference over realignment for 2013.
Conference USA already is set to bring aboard Texas-San Antonio just months before the school was to begin its first season in the WAC.
WAC interim commissioner Jeff Hurd subsequently issued a statement Tuesday saying he aware of the changing landscape in Division I athletics. He said the conference is evaluating membership options but would not speculate on what those might be.
Hurd further said he had confidence the WAC would maintain its more than 50-year history as a "preeminent Division I conference."
SOCCER
THIERRY HENRY OUT 3-4 WEEKS WITH HAMSTRING STRAIN: HARRISON, New Jersey (AP) — MLS leading scorer Thierry Henry is going to miss up to four weeks with a strained right hamstring.
The New York Red Bulls announced Tuesday that a scan taken on Monday showed the injury was not as bad as originally thought and the French star is expected to be out no more than a month.
Henry was injured in a 1-0 win over New England on Saturday. He scored his ninth goal in the win.
The Red Bulls also announced that midfielder Teemu Tainio (sprained right knee); defender Wilman Conde (strained groin); defender Roy Miller (fluid on his left knee), defender Stephen Keel (strained back) and forward Jose Angulo (sprained right knee) would miss Saturday's game against the Galaxy in Los Angeles.
COURTS
PETTITTE RECALLS CLEMENS CONVERSATION ABOUT HGH: WASHINGTON (AP) — Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens sat some 20 feet apart, Pettitte on the witness stand and Clemens at the defense table trying to avoid going to jail. The topic: a conversation Pettitte recalled having with his longtime teammate, mentor and workout partner about a dozen years ago.
"Roger had mentioned to me that he had taken HGH," Pettitte testified, referring to human growth hormone. "And that it could help with recovery, and that's really all I remember about the conversation."
It's a conversation that Clemens has famously claimed that Pettitte "misremembers."
The right-hander on trial who won 354 major league games and the lefty on the stand with 240 wins had an awkward reunion Tuesday, Day 8 in the retrial of charges that Clemens lied when he told Congress in 2008 that he had never used steroids or human growth hormone.
MOTORSPORTS
NASCAR PENALIZES 6 NATIONWIDE SERIES TEAMS: CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR has fined six Nationwide Series teams for failing inspection at Richmond International Raceway.
The penalties were levied against the three-car teams for Richard Childress Racing and Turner Motorsports. NASCAR said the front upper bumper covers for all six cars had been illegally modified.
Crew chiefs Luke Lambert, Danny Stockman, Trent Owens, Jimmy Elledge, Ernie Cope and Mike Shiplett were all fined $10,000 and placed on probation through Dec. 31.
Car chiefs Phil Gould, Robert Strmiska, Shannon Rursch, Ronald Hornaday III, Paul Balmer and Christopher Meyers also were placed on probation through Dec. 31.
NASCAR did not dock points from the teams, which included Nationwide Series leader Elliott Sadler, third-place Austin Dillon and seventh-place Justin Allgaier.
