Burress drops ball on taxes
Former Steelers star Plaxico Burress has been indicted on charges he failed to pay taxes, New Jersey prosecutors announced Thursday.
The 37-year-old former wide receiver who also played for the New York Giants and New York Jets was charged last week with willful failure to pay a state tax and issuing a bad check or electronic funds transfer.
Burress is the first person in the state to be charged under a law adopted and signed last year that makes issuing a bad electronic funds transfer a criminal offense just like passing a bad check.
Each offense could carry up to a five-year prison term if he is convicted. Burress, who lives in Totowa, N.J., couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. It was also not clear if a lawyer is representing him.
More pro football
Contractors already have submitted roughly $800,000 in bills toward the development of a billion-dollar proposed stadium in St. Louis, according to a newspaper report. Two executives with the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority — which owns and operates the Edward Jones Dome, the Rams’ current home — have authorized the hiring of or payments to more than a dozen firms involved in crafting plans for a new open-air stadium along the Mississippi River, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
College football
California Golden Bears coach Sonny Dykes said he was disappointed and surprised when assistant coach Pierre Ingram was arrested for solicitation. Ingram was arrested April 16 during a prostitution sting in Oakland, Calif. He was immediately placed on administrative leave before the school fired him last week. Dykes called the arrest a “very serious matter” and said the school dealt with it as quickly as possible and moved forward. He said he quickly contacted players, recruits and their families to explain what happened.
College basketball
Duquesne women’s coach Dan Burt announced the signing of Juca Vojinovic, a guard from Serbia, and 6-foot-3 Judith Sole, a Robert Morris transfer who started 22 games there.
Tennis
Top-seeded Andy Murray began his claycourt season with a routine 6-2, 6-2 win against local qualifier Mischa Zverev to reach the BMW Open quarterfinals in Munich. … Secondseeded Grigor Dimitrov eased into the quarterfinals of the inaugural Istanbul Open by beating Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-2. … Guillermo GarciaLopez of Spain upset second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, in the second round of the Estoril Open in Portugal. … Timea Babos of Hungary secured a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 upset of third-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy to reach the Grand Prix SAR semifinals in Marrakech, Morocco.
• The ATP says world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week’s Madrid Open without elaborating, and will return to competition the following week in Rome.