College Football

Notre Dame-Air Force won't be shown on a major network

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame fans will see how the rest of the college football world lives this weekend as they scramble to find where they can watch the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish play at Air Force.

For the first time since 1992, a Notre Dame football game will not be shown by either NBC, ABC, CBS or ESPN -- a streak of 169 straight games. The game will be shown on CBS Corp.'s CSTV, a college sports network normally seen in about 15 million homes.

CSTV is offering its programming to cable operators for free this weekend, but not all operators are accepting. Brian Bedol, president and chief executive for CSTV, estimates that the game will be available to about 30 million to 40 million homes through cable television, DirecTV or the Dish Network.

For people who live where the game is not available on cable, such as the South Bend area, they can watch the game on their computers on a pay-per-view basis. It costs $14.95 for people who sign up for the game before Saturday and $19.95 for people who sign up on Saturday.

Bedol said making the game available by computer is nothing new for CSTV, which will show more than 10,000 college events this year on CSTV.com. He said the events are viewed by a wide variety of people.

"Broadband has become ubiquitous and sports fans are taking advantage of broadband connections more than any other demographic category. So we find that those who tend to watch the games are alumni, but a much broader age range than we initially anticipated," he said.

John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director, said he has heard from some upset Irish fans who believe the school has some say in where the game is shown.

"You get a few people who don't understand how it works and they think we dictate it all," he said. "Some fans just assume we're the ones who make all these arrangements for every one of our games."

But he said most people understand that the home team controls where the games are broadcast. CSTV has the rights to the game through its contract with the Mountain West Conference. Air Force is a conference member.

Paterno plans to coach after surgery: At State College, Pa., Joe Paterno wants to coach this weekend, but don't look for him to pace the sidelines in his blue Penn State jacket and rolled-up khakis.

The feisty 79-year-old coach was listed in good condition Monday at Mount Nittany Medical Center following an 80-minute operation a day earlier on his fractured shin bone and two torn knee ligaments. The injuries stemmed from a sideline collision during last week's loss to Wisconsin.

He was expected to be remain in the hospital through today, assistant athletic director Jeff Nelson said.

Paterno plans to coach Saturday against Temple, though it's unclear if that means from the Beaver Stadium sidelines or a coach's box.

"He woke up today and asked for the second phase of the game plan and scouting reports on Temple," school spokesman Guido D'Elia said. "He's been on the phone all day. He's still in charge."

Team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli anticipates a full recovery after several screws were inserted into the injured leg, which was also fitted with a temporary brace. Paterno might be able to put weight back on the leg in about six weeks.

Just in time for a New Year's Day bowl game, which the Nittany Lions would likely wrap up if they can win their last two games of the season.

Wounded punter shaken up as accused assailant appears in court: At Greeley, Colo., Northern Colorado punter Rafael Mendoza steeled himself for this day, saying it would be difficult to see his alleged attacker for the first time since being knifed in a nighttime ambush nearly two months ago.

Mendoza left a courtroom visibly shaken Monday after his former backup appeared before a judge on charges of trying to kill Mendoza by stabbing him in his kicking leg. Mendoza declined comment as he walked to his truck with his fiance minutes after Mitch Cozad made his first court appearance. He did not respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press.

"It will bring back a lot of flashbacks and memories from the night it happened," Mendoza told The AP during an interview last week. "It will be hard to look at him. It's even hard just looking at pictures of him."

Cozad, of Wheatland, Wyo., is charged with attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault in the Sept. 11 attack on Mendoza. Police say they believe Cozad attacked Mendoza to capture his starting job.

The judge on Monday scheduled two more hearings but declined to rule on motions by Cozad's attorney to close a Jan. 19 preliminary hearing, limit pretrial publicity and keep the arrest warrant affidavit sealed.

Police say Tennessee players fought each other before arrest: At Knoxville, Tenn., two Tennessee players arrested early Sunday during a disturbance at a nightclub were fighting each other, and a third was arrested for shoving another man, police said Monday.

About 70 people, including other Tennessee football players, were gathered around Good Fellas nightclub when police were called at about 3 a.m.

Starting tailback Arian Foster, safety Antonio Wardlow and fullback David Holbert, all 20 years old, were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption of alcohol. Wardlow also was charged with public intoxication.

The incident happened several hours after Tennessee lost 28-24 to LSU, clinching the SEC East division title for Florida. The loss also dropped Tennessee from eighth to 13th in the latest Associated Press poll.

Badgers win final game of regular season: At Phoenix, Ariz., the Snow Badgers came from behind to beat Phoenix 26-14 on Saturday and claim their first WSFL title in 10 years.

The Badgers opened the game by fumbling their first possession, which lead to a Bears touchdown at a 7-0 Phoenix lead. Snow answered with a field goal to trail 7-3. The Badgers added a touchdown to lead 10-3, but Phoenix scored again for a 14-10 lead.

What a difference a half makes. The defense allowed no points in the second half and under 70 yards of total offense. The offense scored 16 second-half points on two touchdowns and a Zac Manning field goal to get the win.

Matt Asiata rushed for more than 165 and a touchdown. Cade Cooper connected 23-of-32 passes for 230 yards passing and one TD pass. He also rushed for a score.

The Badgers, ranked third nationally, have finished regular-season play and now wait for bowl bids to come out.

Western Oregon tops Dixie State: Redshirt freshman running back Ben Kuenzi rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns to pace Western Oregon to a 44-7 non-conference win over Dixie State Saturday.

Western Oregon had 385 yards of total offense and limited the Rebels to 175 yards, 53 of that on the ground. Western Oregon recorded seven quarterback sacks, recovered three fumbles and had one interception.

Quarterback Lance Patonai completed 12-of-22 passes for 122 yards. Ke'Andre Magee, Singa Iloa and Leighton Kanohoi paced the DSC defense with six total tackles apiece. Steven Cook had a 60-yard interception return.

Baseball

Clemens, Pettitte file for free agency

NEW YORK -- Houston teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte filed for free agency Monday, still unsure whether they want to pitch next year.

Clemens said he planned to retire after the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons, but came back each time to sign with his hometown Houston Astros. Pettitte, Clemens' close friend and Texas neighbor, had left the New York Yankees after the 2003 season to sign with the Astros.

Minnesota pitcher Brad Radke, who is expected to retire, also filed Monday along with Texas pitcher Kip Wells, Pittsburgh outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and Philadelphia shortstop Alex S. Gonzalez, who was reinstated from the voluntary retired list.

A total of 169 players have filed for free agency since the World Series, and about 20 more potentially are eligible to file by Saturday's deadline. Free agents can talk money with all teams starting Sunday.

Thanksgiving baseball camp: Rocky Mountain School of Baseball will be holding a baseball camp in Mesquite, Nev,m on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 24-25 (Thanksgiving weekend). The deadline to register is Nov. 17. For more information, or to register online visit www.rmsb.com .

Horse Racing

Classic runner-up Bernardini retired

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Bernardini has run his last race.

Two days after finishing second in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, the 3-year-old colt was retired Monday and will stand at stud at Sheik Mohammed's Darley farm.

Bernardini was the leading Horse of the year contender entering the Classic at Churchill Downs off six straight victories, including the Preakness, the Travers and the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Sent off as the even-money favorite in the Classic, Bernardini made a bold move around the turn to take the lead but was overtaken in the stretch by Invasor, who won by a length.

Bernardini is owned by Sheik Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C2.