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Sox-Yankees argument leads to murder charge

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) -- A woman accused of running down a man in her car after a Red Sox-Yankees argument in a bar never hit her brakes as she accelerated toward the small group he was in, a prosecutor said today.

"She never braked, and she accelerated at a high speed for about 200 feet. She went directly at this group of people," prosecutor Susan Morrell said of Ivonne Hernandez, who is charged with reckless second-degree murder in the death early Friday of Matthew Beaudoin, 29.

Authorities won't describe the argument beforehand in Slade's Food & Spirits, but witnesses said it heated up when Hernandez identified herself as a New York Yankees fan. Like the rest of New Hampshire, Nashua, 45 miles northwest of Boston, is Red Sox country.

Bartender Tanya Moran said the argument spilled outside, and at least one person in a group that included Beaudoin began chanting "Yankees suck!" when they saw a Yankees sticker on Hernandez's car.

Hernandez, 43, allegedly gunned her car and struck Beaudoin and his friend Maria Hughes, 21. Hughes had only minor injuries, which Beaudoin's sister Faith said was because her brother shielded his friend.

Hernandez, of Nashua, was arrested at the scene. She acknowledged she had been drinking and refused to take a breath-alcohol test, said Morrell, a senior assistant attorney general. Hernandez said she had been in an argument with the group.

"She indicated to police that she wanted to scare this group of people. She thought they would get out of the way," Morrell said.

Hernandez was ordered held without bail after being arraigned toay in Nashua District Court. The charges, including aggravated drunken driving, are felonies, so Hernandez could not enter a plea.

Her public defender, James Quay, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Beaudoin died of massive head trauma at a hospital, Morrell said.

Moran told The Telegraph of Nashua during the weekend that Beaudoin came to the bar regularly to socialize, sing karaoke and have fun.

"He came to hang out. He didn't really drink much," she said.

Chris Lovett, a disc jockey at Slade's, told the New Hampshire Union Leader that Beaudoin kept to himself and "wasn't an instigator."

Faith Beaudoin said her brother, who lived in Nashua, was a 1997 graduate of Nashua High School who worked dealing poker at Sharky's in Manchester and Nashua. She said his organs, including his heart, live and kidneys, were donated in hopes of saving other people's lives.

"He was always helping people when he was alive, and he's still saving lives," she said, choking back tears during the weekend.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:26 PM to Red Sox | Permalink | Comments 0

Patriots sign three after tryouts

By SHALISE MANZA YOUNG
Journal Sports Writer

The Patriots have announced the signing of three of the players in for a tryout during the rookie mini-camp held over the weekend, as well as the release of two players who had already signed undrafted rookie deals before the weekend began.

Signed were: rookie TE Tyson DeVree of Colorado (formerly of Western Michigan), rookie P Mike Dragosavich of North Dakota State, and second-year NT Steve Fifita.

OT Josh Coffman and DL Carlos Feliciano were waived.

DeVree is 6-foot-6, 245 pounds who had 37 receptions for 402 yards and eight touchdowns last year with the Buffaloes. The 6-foot-5, 190 pound Dragosavich averaged 45.4 yards per punt last season, with 11 of 27 landing inside the 20-yard line. Fifita played in 13 games with one start for the Dolphins last year; he was a rookie free agent out of Utah in 2006. He is listed at 6-feet, 312 pounds.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:19 PM to Patriots | Permalink | Comments 0

Roger Clemens apologizes for 'mistakes in my personal life'

By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Roger Clemens apologized Monday for unspecified mistakes in his personal life but denied having an affair with a 15-year-old.

The Daily News reported last week Clemens had a decade-long relationship with country star Mindy McCready that began when she was 15 and an aspiring singer. The newspaper also linked Clemens to former Manhattan bartender Angela Moyer and Paulette Dean Daly, a former wife of champion golfer John Daly.

"Even though these articles contain many false accusations and mistakes, I need to say that I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry," Clemens said in a statement issued by spokesman Patrick Dorton. "I have apologized to my family and apologize to my fans. Like everyone, I have flaws. I have sometimes made choices which have not been right."

Brian McNamee, Clemens' former trainer, accused him in December's Mitchell Report of using performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001, before players and owners agreed to ban them from baseball.

Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner and 354-game winner, has repeatedly denied using steroids and human growth hormone and filed a defamation suit against Brian McNamee.

"I believe my personal life has nothing to do with the accusations of steroid and HGH use," Clemens said. "I have already made clear that I did not use them. Now, I have been accused of having an improper relationship with a 15-year old girl. Nothing could be further from the truth. This relationship has been twisted and distorted far beyond reality. It is just one of many, many accusations that are utterly false.

"I realize that many people want me to simply confess and apologize for the conduct that I have been accused of, but I cannot confess to, nor apologize for, things I did not do. I have apologized to my family for my mistakes, and having offered this apology to the public, I would ask that you let me and my family deal with these matters in private."

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Friday he will talk with his client about whether to proceed with the defamation suit following a wave of unpleasant publicity.

"He's getting pummeled," attorney Rusty Hardin said then. "I've never seen somebody get beat up like this. In some ways, I think we're on uncharted ground."

The decision on whether to drop the suit rests with Clemens.

"That's always a decision the client has to make," Hardin said. "That's not the lawyer's decision."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Projo CeltsTalk with KMac: Hawks finished, finally

Click the play button below to hear Kevin McNamara discuss the Celtics, who finally disposed of the Atlanta Hawks and now face a series with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Do we feel better about this team because of its emphatic Game Seven victory? What edge does Cleveland take from its extra two days of rest? Did the officials help the Hawks out? And will Paul Pierce stop tossing his headband around and grow up?

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:01 AM to Celtics | Permalink | Comments 0

Moses Brown's Schmitz named HSGameTime player of the week

Moses Brown senior Chloe Schmitz scored five goals, including four in the second half, as the Quakers handed North Kingstown girls lacrosse team its first Interscholastic League loss of the season with a 12-9 victory over the Skippers on Friday night.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:41 AM to High School | Permalink | Comments 0

Full coverage of the Cox Providence Rhode Races

Carolyn Thornton did excellent work covering yesterday's Cox Providence Rhode Races. You can find all of her work -- including photos, feature stories and links to content on other sites -- on her Running Blog.

Here are a few things you should definitely check out:

-Andrew Dickerman's gallery of race photos.
-Carolyn's story about Joseph and Hannah Miller, a Warren couple who celebrated their 50th anniversary by running 26.2 miles.
-Carolyn's story about Kate Conklin, who will soon be featured in an ESPN documentary and who runs despite a painful disorder that makes it feel like acid is being poured over her body.

We also have complete results of the Cox Marathon, the Willow Tree Half Marathon and the New Balance 5K.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:03 AM to Running | Permalink | Comments 0

Download today's sports cover

On today's sports cover, Kevin McNamara and Bill Reynolds describe the Celtics' easy Game Seven victory over the Atlanta Hawks, Paul Kenyon writes about Jon Lester's work in beating the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway, and Jim Donaldson tells you what it all means to him.

Click here to download the file in pdf format.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments 0