Race car driver and "Dancing With the Stars" winner Helio Castroneves pleaded not guilty Friday to federal tax evasion charges and declared outside the courtroom that he would treat the case like a race against the Internal Revenue Service.
"I'm a race car driver," the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner said. "This is a very difficult situation. I'll be strong, and I'll win this race."
Castroneves, 33, spoke after his release on $10-million bail following a court appearance in which he was shackled in handcuffs and leg chains and was visibly weeping into a wad of white tissue.
Afterward, Castroneves hopped into a waiting car and headed for a flight to Atlanta to participate in this weekend's Petit Le Mans race. Terms of Castroneves' release allow him to travel for work in the United States but not abroad.
Former football star Lawrence Phillips was sentenced to 10 years in prison, two years after he was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
The sentencing was repeatedly delayed while Phillips fought to withdraw a guilty plea in a domestic abuse case that could have led to a stiffer sentence.
The 33-year-old former Nebraska and NFL running back has been jailed since August 2005, when he drove onto a field near the Los Angeles Coliseum and his car struck three boys, ages 14 and 15, and a 19-year-old man, who suffered cuts and bruises. The car narrowly missed three other people, prosecutor Todd Hicks said.
Lawyers for former quarterback Michael Vick asked a federal bankruptcy judge to appoint a mediator to help settle his debts to creditors, saying a third party might expedite a resolution in the case.
GOLF
Overton shoots 69 and leads by one shot
Jeff Overton shot a three-under-par 69 to take a one-shot lead over Tag Ridings (68) in the second round of the PGA's Turning Stone Resort Championship at Verona, N.Y.
Na Yeon Choi of South Korea shot a one-under 71, giving her a four-under 140 total and a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Samsung World Championship at Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Angela Stanford, who is tied for second with three other golfers, had a double eagle on the par-five, 481-yard fourth hole -- only the second one this year on the LPGA Tour and the 30th in tour history.
South Korea's Kim Wi-joong shot a four-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the Korea Open at Seoul. American Ryder Cup star Anthony Kim followed his opening 64 with a 73 to drop three shots back.
