European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 12, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 52 stars and stripes thursday april 12 2007 charges dropped against Duke Lacrosse players the associated press Raleigh dropped All charges wednesday against the three Duke Lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party say ing the athletes were innocent Vic Tims of a tragic Rush to accuse by an overreaching District attorney there were Many Points in the Case where caution would have served Justice better than brava r do North Carolina attorney Gen eral Roy Cooper said in a Damn ing assessment of Durham county District Mike Nifong handling of the sensational Case Cooper who took Over the Case in january after Nifong was charged with ethics violations that could get him disbarred said his own investigation concluded not Only that the evidence against the Young men was insufficient but that no attack took place Reade Seligmann Collin Finnerty and David Evans were indicted last Spring on charges of rape kidnapping and sexual of sense after the woman told police she was assaulted in the Bath room at an of Campus House Dur ing a team party where she had been hired to perform but the attorney general said the eyewitness identification procedures were unreliable no Dan supported the woman Story no other witness corroborated it and the woman contradicted herself based on the significant inconsistencies Between the evidence and the various accounts Given by the accusing witness we believe these three individuals Are inno cent of these charges Cooper said he said the charges resulted from a tragic Rush to accuse and a failure to verify serious allegations Cooper called for the passage of a state Law that would allow the North Carolina supreme court to remove a prosecutor who needs to step away from a Case where j Justice demands this Case shows the enormous consequences of overreaching by a prosecutor he said from the earliest Days in the Case Nifong had driven the investigation into allegations that the 28yearold woman was gang raped and beaten by three White men at the March 132006 party thrown by Dukes highly ranked Lacrosse team he pressed ahead with the Case even As evidence increasingly supported the players insistent claims that the accusations were fantastic lies at the end it appeared the Case was based Only on the testimony of the accuser whom defense attorneys said had told wildly different versions of the alleged assault that shifting Story led Nifong to drop the rape charges in de Cember but the other charges had remained Aaron wont celebrate if Bonds Breaks record Atlanta Hank Aaron Doest plan to be at the Ballpark if and when Barry Bonds Breaks his Home run record huh no no in not going to be around Aaron was quoted As saying in tuesdays editions of the Atlanta Journa Constitution Bonds has 735 homers 20 Short of Aarons career record while Aaron has declined most inter View requests in recent months he spoke with  Tion columnist Terence Moore Aaron said he  attend if Bonds were within reach of the record when the san Francisco giants play at Atlanta from aug 1416 id probably Fly to West Palm Beach to play Golf Aaron was quoted As saying in Moores column again it has nothing to do with anybody other than i had enough of it i dont want to be around that sort of thing any More i just want to be at peace with myself i dont want to answer questions speaking before monday night s game in san Diego Bonds said he want bothered by Aarons stance he has every right to do what he wants to do i respect that Bonds said theres no reason for me to be disappointed heats Payton out 23 weeks Charlotte no Miami heat guard Gary Payton will miss about two weeks with a torn left calf muscle a team spokesman said tues Day that Payton was injured Early in practice the Day before he will not need surgery the 38yearold Payton is aver aging 53 Points and 29 assists per game Hes started 27 of the 67 games Hes played bobcats Morrison fined for obscene gesture Charlotte no Char Lotte bobcats Forward Adam mor Rison was fined by the Aba on tuesday for making an obscene gesture to a fan during a game in Miami Morrison made the gesture while sitting on the Bench late in overtime during Charlottes 111103 Victory Over the heat on sunday Morrison did not play in the game because of a sprained knee Morrison said he was being heckled throughout the game Ive got to learn to take it i guess but i think the Guy went Over the Edge a Little bit calling me White trash Over and Over again said Morrison who also sat out tuesdays game against Miami i reacted naturally and i made a mistake i Hurt the organization and the team in sorry about it and it will never happen again packers la Barnett agrees to Extension Green Bay wis the Green Bay packers signed Nick Barnett to a contract Extension tuesday assuring the Middle line Backer will not become a free agent after next season the Extension replaces the final year of Barnett s five year Rookie contract and runs through 2012 terms were not disclosed the 6foot2 232pound bar Nett has led Green Bay in tackles three of the past four years he finished with 105 tackles two sacks and two interceptions last season despite missing a game with a broken hand and playing the final month of the season wearing a Bulky cast Canada wins women world hockey title Winnipeg a reclaimed the women world hockey championship with a 51 Victory Over the United states on tuesday night Canada winners of the olym Pic Gold medal last year lost the last world championship two years ago to the us in a shoot out Sweden beat Finland 10 earlier for the Bronze medal Groin injury forces s Williams to withdraw from family Circle Charleston so Serena Williams retired from her match at the family Circle cup against Chan Yungman on tuesday with a Groin pull Chan was up 53 in the first set when Williams withdrew apologizing to the crowd before she left stadium court Williams the third seed said she strained the muscle in Mon Days practice and a Trainer said it didst seem like it would affect her play in future tournaments but it could potentially get worse if i dont take care of it Williams added dodgers put of Kemp on do los Angeles the Dodg ers placed outfielder Matt Kemp on the 15day disabled list tues Day because of an injured right shoulder and recalled reliever Chinhui Tsao from triple Las vegas Kemp was injured in the fourth inning of a 63 loss to the Colo Rado Rockies on monday when he banged into the auxiliary score Board in right Field trying to catch Jeff Bakers rib triple its a Grade one separation manager Grady Little said tues Day night before the game against the Rockies its going to be be tween seven Days and two weeks its the right thing for us to do right now a lot can be told the Day after something like that Hap pens Kurt bus chs Crew chief on leave Mooresville no Kurt bus chs Crew chief has taken a leave of absence to be with his wife As she Battles cancer Troy Raker was named interim Crew chief tuesday for Busch at Penske racing hell take Over for Roy Mccausey while he cares for his wife Amy who was diag nosed with leukaemia in february Ross d nil commissioner Roger Goodel will hold teams accountable for the actions of their employees including players conduct crackdown has unions support conduct from Back Page while we regret the Circum stances that called for it if s Good for both Chris and the bengals to have the matter resolved Lewis said our team will move for Ward and now it is up to Chris to acquire a More mature under standing of his responsibilities As a player for the bengals and a representative of the nil Goodell and Gene Upshaw executive director of the nil play ers association met with a group of players in february and again last week and agreed the league needed a stronger disciplinary policy the nil players association and the player advisory Council believe that these Are Steps that the commissioner needs to take and we support the policy up Shaw said it is important that players in violation of the policy will have the Opportunity and the support to change their conduct and earn their Way Back that includes Jones the sixth Overall pick in the 2005 draft has had nothing but trouble off the Field during two seasons with the titans he could be reinstated before seasons end if he adheres to conditions set by the nil that in clude no further involvement with Law enforcement counsel ing education and treatment under league and court ordered programs follows restrictions on his activities agreed to with the titans and a Community service program submitted to the league for review and approval we respect this decision and Are confident this is in the Best in Terest of the league and the team titans owner Bud Adams said we Are hopeful that it will achieve the goals of disciplining the player and eventually enabling him to return to the Field of play but Jones still has those cases in Las vegas and Georgia with which to contend As Well As a Tough commissioner it is a privilege to represent the nil not a right Goodell said these players and All Mem Bers of our league have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis pats Colts in week 9 among highlights of nil schedule the associated press new York the new England patriots and Indianapolis Colts who have developed one of the fiercest rivalries in the nil will meet in Indianapolis on nov 4 in what should be one of the highlights of the 2007 nil sea son that game will be a rematch of january acc title game won by the Colts 3834 after they Feu be Hind 203 Indianapolis and Pey ton Manning who went on to beat Chicago in the super bowl now have beaten Tom Brady and the patriots three straight times including the title game and a Victory in Foxborough during the 2006 season the highlights of the first week of the season were announced last month including what now has become the traditional opener on thursday sept 6 when the Colts play Host to new Orleans the new York giants will be at Dallas in the sunday night game that week and there will be two monday night contests Baltic More at Cincinnati starting at 7 pm Edt and Arizona at san Francisco starting at i the full nil schedule was re leased wednesday another highlight occurs dec 30 the last sunday of the year when new Orleans is at Chicago in a rematch of last seasons pfc title game the Colts Are at san Diego on nov 11 in a sunday night meeting of the super bowl champs and the team that had the Nils Best regular season record at 142 this will be the second season of flexible scheduling which Al lows the league to schedule Sun Day night games 12 Days ahead in weeks 11 to 17 this season the league tentatively has scheduled games in that spot