Pro basketball
LAB MISTAKES REVIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT JORDAN MURDER: The man convicted of killing Michael Jordan's father went to prison in part thanks to testimony that he pointed a gun through a car window and fired the fatal shot from just inches away.
Given the gruesome portrayal, Daniel Andre Green's defense attorneys repeatedly questioned why so little - if any - blood was actually found in that vehicle, and one of the lawyers once laughed in court when downplaying the physical evidence. Their arguments could be bolstered by an independent report this week that concluded the state's crime lab mishandled his case and nearly 200 others over a 16-year period ending in 2003.
"It looks like it's going to be something pretty significant," Green's current attorney, Scott Holmes, said of the report released Wednesday.
The outside inquest has led state prosecutors to request a more detailed review of all the investigations, and even lawyers in cases unrelated to the audit hope the lab's mistakes could help them win new trials.
Pro football
VIKINGS' HARVIN HAS MIGRAINE ATTACK: Percy Harvin experienced the scariest episode yet in a career plagued by migraine headaches when he collapsed at Minnesota Vikings' practice Thursday and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Coach Brad Childress left team headquarters after practice and spent the rest of the afternoon at the hospital with Harvin, who also got visits from other coaches and teammates.
"Percy appreciates everyone's concern," the coach said in a statement posted on the team website Thursday evening. "He is alert and resting comfortably, but will remain in the hospital overnight."
JETS' RYAN SPEAKS WITH DUNGY: Rex Ryan smoothed things over with Tony Dungy.
The New York Jets coach spoke with Dungy about his criticism of him during HBO's "Hard Knocks" series. The former NFL coach said that Ryan used too much profanity.
"I wanted him to know how I felt," Ryan said Thursday. "We talked man-to-man. He told me his position and I definitely told him my position. So, it was good."
SUSPENSION UPHELD FOR TEXANS' CUSHING: Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing had his four-game suspension for taking a performance-enhancing drug upheld by the NFL on Thursday, which means he won't be eligible to play until October.
The reigning Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year was suspended in May for testing positive for HCG, a fertility drug that is on the NFL's banned substances list. Cushing claims that he has a unique medical condition that triggered the positive test.
Auto racing
IMS TO HOST FOOD DRIVE: The Illiana Motor Speedway will host the eighth annual Canine and Feline food drive Saturday night. Fans and competitors are encouraged to bring a non-perishable pet food item to the speedway ticket office where they will receive tickets for a chance to win prizes and free race credentials to a future event at the speedway. The donations will be distributed to area shelters to help offset the cost of caring for less fortunate abandoned animals.
Local baseball
15U TEAM HOLDING TRYOUTS: The North Judson Raiders 15-and-under travel baseball team will hold tryouts from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Boone Grove High School. For details, call Rick Sanchez at (574) 806-2214 or Brian Barnes at (219) 201-4616.
Local golf
JOE FLETCHER MEMORIAL OUTING SATURDAY: The Lansing Country Club, 18600 Wentworth Ave., will hold the Joe Fletcher Memorial Golf Outing and Cookout on Saturday. Fletcher was a 1981 Hammond High graduate who went on to become a professional baseball pitcher and a longtime coach and instructor before he passed away in 2009 at the age of 45. Shotgun start will be at noon. The cookout will be at 5 p.m. Cost is $50 for golf and cookout, $20 for cookout only. Proceeds will go to the Jace Fletcher Scholarship Fund. For details, call Steve Sevald at (219) 519-3668.
Prep sports
HIGHLAND BOWLERS TO HOST CAR WASH: The Highland High School boys and girls bowling teams will host a car wash from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Top Drive-In on Indianapolis Boulevard in Highland. Tickets from the June 27 car wash that was rained out will be honored. Donation is $5 and proceeds will be used to for the high school bowling program. For details, call Joe Puchek at (219) 789-1755.
Around the horn
Times sports medicine columnist John Doherty discusses training during hot, humid weather conditions on "Purdue Calumet Sports Insight" from 5:30-6 p.m. today on WJOB-AM (1230). ...The Mount Carmel boys bowling team will hold a car wash fundraiser at Blue Top in Highland from 1 to 7 p.m. Sept. 5. A donation of $5 is required. For details, call Steve at 331-5600.
