Tuesday’s Sports in Brief
By The Associated Press
WORLD CUP
- PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Lionel Messi and Argentina finally came alive at the World Cup.
Messi scored an exquisite 14th-minute goal to give the two-time champions the lead Tuesday, but it wasn’t until Marcos Rojo’s 86th-minute strike that Argentina was assured of a place in the round of 16.
Victor Moses scored a penalty in the 51st minute for Nigeria, putting Argentina in danger of being eliminated without winning a match in Russia.
It took an unlikely goal by Rojo to save Argentina and give it second place in Group D.
Digeo Maradona, in the stands at the St. Petersburg Stadium, celebrated both goals wildly.
Argentina will play France in the last 16 in Kazan on Saturday.
PRO FOOTBALL
FAIR LAWN, N.J. (AP) — A body has been found at a New Jersey home where New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins lives.
The Bergen County prosecutor’s office says it is investigating a death at the house in Fair Lawn, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of MetLife Stadium. Property records show Jenkins has lived at the house the last two years.
Authorities have identified the dead man as 25-year-old Roosevelt Rene, a family friend of Jenkins. The prosecutor’s office didn’t say where Jenkins was when the death occurred.
A spokesman for the Giants says the team is monitoring the situation but didn’t comment further.
Jenkins played at Florida from 2008-10 before finishing his college career at North Alabama. He was drafted in the second round by the St. Louis Rams in 2012. He played four seasons with the Rams and the last two seasons with the Giants.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson is taking a leave of absence because his cancer has returned, and he does not expect to return to the job.
With the team in a massive tailspin, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and the 70-year-old Alderson made the announcement before a game against Pittsburgh.
“With respect to the future, I would say two things: One is, notwithstanding the good prognosis, my health is an uncertainty going forward,” said Alderson, who agreed to a contract extension in December. “And secondly, if I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted.”
Asked whether he would like Alderson to resume his GM duties if his health eventually allowed that, Wilpon avoided expressing an opinion and answered the same way twice: “I think his health and his family are first and foremost.”
Assistant general manager John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya will run the team’s baseball operations in Alderson’s absence. Minaya preceded Alderson as Mets general manager, and Ricciardi was GM of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2001-09.
ATLANTA (AP) — The body of a third-party contractor has been found inside a beer cooler at SunTrust Park.
The body was found by a worker from the same company. Cobb County police spokeswoman Sarah O’Hara tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she could not say if foul play is suspected because the investigation is ongoing.
Cobb County police say in a statement that officers responded to a “call of a deceased person located at SunTrust Park” before the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Cincinnati Reds.
The Braves declined comment, referring reporters to the statement from Cobb County police.
O’Hara tells the newspaper the identity of the person would not be released until the family is notified. She says the Braves are assisting in the investigation.
BOXING
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s father has been acquitted in Las Vegas of a misdemeanor battery charge after a trial before a judge.
Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s lawyer, Nicholas Wooldridge, said testimony took several hours before Justice of the Peace Harmony Letizia reached the not guilty verdict on Tuesday.
Wooldridge called allegations that the 65-year-old Mayweather Sr. pulled a woman from his vehicle, punched her in the leg and left her after a boxing event last September in an attempt to get money from his client.
Prosecutors didn’t immediately respond to messages.
Police had said the woman was treated at a hospital for bruises she said she received from Mayweather Sr. after arguing with him while he drove her and her husband home after a Sept. 16 boxing match at T-Mobile Arena.
HOCKEY
The Hockey Hall of Fame has added NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, pioneering black player Willie O’Ree and all-time winningest goaltender Martin Brodeur to its latest class.
Since taking the job in 1993, Bettman has overseen the growth of the league to 31 teams and an enterprise with some $5 billion in revenue.
O’Ree was the first black player in the NHL and will be the third black player in the Hall of Fame, joining Edmonton Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr and Canadian women’s national team captain Angela James. Playing for Boston, he had four goals and 10 assists in 45 NHL games during the 1957-58 and 1960-61 seasons despite being 95 percent blind in his right eye.
Now 82, O’Ree works for the NHL as diversity ambassador.
The 46-year-old Brodeur was a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the New Jersey Devils who was elected in his first year of eligibility. He is the goalie with the most wins, shutouts and games played in NHL history.
