Richardson remarks draw suspension

Former NBA player Micheal Ray Richardson, who graduated from Manual High School, was suspended by the Continental Basketball Association on Wednesday for anti-Semitic comments the Albany Patroons coach made in a newspaper interview.

Richardson, a former community ambassador for the Nuggets, will miss the rest of the CBA's championship series after he told the Albany Times Union he had "big-time Jew lawyers" working for him.

"They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean? Which I think is great," Richardson told the Times Union. "I don't think there's nothing wrong with it. If you look in most professional sports, they're run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they're run by Jewish. It's not a knock, but they are some crafty people."

The newspaper also reported Richardson yelled at a heckler, using profanity and a gay slur, during a game Tuesday.

"It's terrible, and I don't think it's fair," Richardson said of the suspension. "But I want to make an apology if I offended anyone."

GUILTY PLEA Aaron Peterson, of Delray Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty to criminal diversion of prescription medication and agreed to help Albany, N.Y., prosecutors pursue a multistate investigation into the illegal sale of steroids and human growth hormone.

Under a plea agreement, Peterson will be sentenced May 16 to five years' probation and pay $320 for the single reduced felony charge.

Albany County district attorney David Soares has said he's targeting distributors supplying illicit drugs and physicians writing prescriptions for patients they've never seen, not customers.

NO BIFFLE PENALTY Greg Biffle will not be penalized for failing post-race inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway in NASCAR's debut of the Car of Tomorrow.

NASCAR also said it planned to inform teams it will relax the tolerances on a height and weight requirement for the COT as the sanctioning body adjusts to reactions in the new car.

ABUSE ALLEGATIONS Former world-class figure skating coach Bob Young, who was banned from national competitions after settling a sexual abuse lawsuit, faces new allegations of abusing skaters.

Young is best known for bringing Olympic champions Oksana Baiul, Viktor Petrenko and Ekaterina Gordeeva to train in Connecticut and is accused in federal and state lawsuits of abusing Emilie Nussear and Collete Appel.

OLYMPIC STADIUM DELAY The 100,000-seat architectural jewel of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest, will not be ready until early next year, officials said.

CRICKET HAT TRICK Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga took four wickets with successive balls against South Africa to become the fifth bowler to take a hat trick at cricket's World Cup.

INVESTIGATION ONGOING Jamaican police remain "pretty confident" Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was the victim of a homicide but will not rule out other possibilities until "every shred" of evidence is gathered.

NEBRASKA INJURIES Nebraska running back Kenny Wilson, already sitting out spring practice because of injury, broke his leg while moving a television and likely will be out for the season, coach Bill Callahan said.

Cornerback Zack Bowman, limited after missing the 2006 season with a left knee injury, injured his right knee in a collision.

FISK DIES Bill Fisk Sr., an end on Southern California's 1939 national championship team who later played seven seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 90.

MARADONA IN HOSPITAL Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona was taken to a health clinic in an ambulance, suffering from what the clinic described as an "imbalance."

U.S. TIES The U.S. soccer team's perfect run under interim coach Bob Bradley ended with a 0-0 tie against Guatemala in an exhibition in Frisco, Texas. The Americans won their first three matches under Bradley.