Romantic Relationship

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke publicly for the first time Monday about the breakup of his 20-year marriage, saying he was responsible for the split even as he refused to talk about what caused it. In a somber meeting with reporters at City Hall, Villaraigosa declined to answer questions about whether the break with his wife, Corina, was triggered by another romantic relationship.

Caroline Wozniacki knows well the perils of dating a famous athlete. She has been the girlfriend of golfer Rory McIlroy for more than a year and the spotlight of fame isn't always a plus. For example last week, when McIlroy quit in the middle of a golf tournament in Florida, and Wozniacki was upset in the first round of a tennis tournament in Malaysia, it was decided by some that it was romantic heartache that caused the corresponding events. "We've been in the media spotlight so long that I've gotten used to that part of it," Wozniacki said Wednesday.

Maxie Baughan, the former all-pro football player who last season led Cornell to its first Ivy League football title since the Ed Marinaro years, has stepped down as head coach amid reports that he was romantically involved with his top assistant's wife. Citing "personal tensions" in Cornell's football program, Baughan, 50, resigned Tuesday from the post he has held since 1983. His resignation comes six months after the Big Red tied Penn for the Ivy League championship. In a statement released by the university late Tuesday night, Baughan said the unspecified tensions and distractions "have engulfed the program" and were taking a toll on him and others associated with the team.

  Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the alleged perpetrator of the fake-girlfriend hoax that ensnared Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o, told Dr. Phil McGraw that he "fell deeply, romantically in love" with Te'o. McGraw related that bit of news on the "Today" show Wednesday. He was on the show to hype his interview with Tuiasosopo, which will air Thursday and Friday on his syndicated "Dr. Phil" show. "I asked him, straight up, was this a romantic relationship with you?" McGraw said.

Los Angeles television newscaster Mirthala Salinas, whose affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa prompted her transfer to Riverside, failed to show up for her first day of work Monday after a two-month suspension. A few hours later, Salinas' employer, the Spanish-language Telemundo network, announced that she would not be returning. Telemundo's KVEA-TV Channel 52 and Salinas "have mutually agreed to end our employment relationship," the network said in a statement.

Former 49ers and Raiders offensive tackle Kwame Harris, who was arrested at a restaurant in Menlo Park on Aug. 21 after allegedly assaulting his ex-boyfriend was charged with felony abuse Monday, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. Harris pleaded not guilty. Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Guidotti told the San Mateo Daily Journal that Harris and the alleged victim had been in a romantic relationship but were not involved at the time of the incident. Harris' attorney, Alin Cintean, told the newspaper the two "were previously involved.

An Illinois woman allegedly obsessed with Dennis Rodman faces extradition to Orange County on charges of stalking the Laker forward in pursuit of a romantic relationship with him. An arrest warrant was issued on Tuesday for Marie Boguszewski of Bradley, Ill., whom prosecutors charged this month with three counts of making terrorist threats and one count of electronic stalking.

* Barbra Streisand talks about the romantic relationship she cherishes and didn't expect, and her new outlook on her career: She has a new album and she may, or may not, tour. * Weekend offers its gift guide to the best in CDs, videos and games for plan-ahead holiday shoppers.

A move to ban any University of California faculty member from "engaging in a romantic or sexual relationship with a student under circumstances which compromise student-faculty relationships" failed to pass in the nine-campus Assembly of the UC Faculty Senate, after several professors argued that it would be impractical. "Romance is not equal to sexual harassment," said Ramon J. Rhine, a psychology professor at UC Riverside. "It's possible to have a romantic relationship without harassment."

A psychiatrist whose license was suspended in 1987 for having an affair with a patient has again been accused by state officials of gross negligence and incompetence for engaging in "a sexual and romantic relationship" with another client. The accusation, filed by the Medical Board of California last month in Sacramento, seeks to revoke 51-year-old Dr. Jeffrey Moran's medical license.

Former 49ers and Raiders offensive tackle Kwame Harris, who was arrested at a restaurant in Menlo Park on Aug. 21 after allegedly assaulting his ex-boyfriend was charged with felony abuse Monday, according to San Mateo County prosecutors. Harris pleaded not guilty. Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Guidotti told the San Mateo Daily Journal that Harris and the alleged victim had been in a romantic relationship but were not involved at the time of the incident. Harris' attorney, Alin Cintean, told the newspaper the two "were previously involved.

Sarah Jones, a former Cincinnati Bengals cheerleader, pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old former student while she was a teacher at a northern Kentucky high school. "I began a romantic relationship while he was a student and I was in a position of authority," Jones, 27, said Monday, her voice cracking during a hearing in Kenton County Circuit Court in Covington, Ky. Jones pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and custodial interference as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Sexual contact between a prison guard and an inmate should be presumed to be coercive, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a claim by an Idaho prison inmate who said a female guard groped him sexually after he tried to break off a romantic, but nonsexual, relationship with her. A district court had ruled that two incidents in which the guard allegedly touched the prisoner's...

I feel as if I have slept with Phil Jackson . As you know, we've already become much closer, but now I can visualize what it must be like to roll around unable to sleep after a Lakers loss. And there are those crazy nights when Phil steals the pillow right out from under your head because he thinks it's the ball. I love reporters who are on top of the job and telling us things we don't know, which is why I'm so disappointed in our Lakers scribes. They have only one job in life: to tell us everything about the Lakers.

When Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Marketa Irglova fell in love on the big screen in the 2007 hit "Once," audiences swooned over the passionate and fragile acoustic music the couple made together in the film, which mirrored, reflected and fictionalized their lives. "To this day, people get confused as to where the lines are," Irglova said. The soundtrack to "Once" sold 750,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and one of its tunes, "Falling Slowly," went on to win an Academy Award for original song.

"The Edge of Love" has, as they say, all the tools, all the elements that usually make for success. It ought to be coaxing superlatives from all and sundry, but instead it leaves a bitter, unsatisfying aftertaste that lingers in the mind. Certainly the stars seemed aligned for "Edge" to turn into a quality British production. Its quartet of actors -- Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys -- are gifted and almost criminally attractive.

While I'm the first to hope that the sparkling reviews on the Angels' play of late is genuine and that their performance on the field is sustainable, history tells a different story. Many seasons in the past, the Angels have sunk soon after the all-star break, or even worse, much later into the season. Their record this season against the Mariners and the A's, their division rivals, is dismal. The performance of Troy Percival, the team's closer with eight blown saves, has created uncertainty about his role on the team, and their inability to win in tight games leaves in doubt their tenacity.

A sex-crimes prosecutor in California has pleaded not guilty to tying up and raping a colleague while threatening her with an ice pick and a handgun. Michael Gressett, 51, faces 12 felony charges and adamantly denies the allegations. His lawyer says Gressett and his accuser had a romantic relationship. Authorities say the Contra Costa County prosecutor attacked a fellow deputy district attorney at his home in May. He was arrested last month, and state prosecutors took over the case because of the potential conflict of interest.

A sex-crimes prosecutor in California has pleaded not guilty to tying up and raping a colleague while threatening her with an ice pick and a handgun. Michael Gressett, 51, faces 12 felony charges and adamantly denies the allegations. His lawyer says Gressett and his accuser had a romantic relationship. Authorities say the Contra Costa County prosecutor attacked a fellow deputy district attorney at his home in May. He was arrested last month, and state prosecutors took over the case because of the potential conflict of interest.

Los Angeles television newscaster Mirthala Salinas, whose affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa prompted her transfer to Riverside, failed to show up for her first day of work Monday after a two-month suspension. A few hours later, Salinas' employer, the Spanish-language Telemundo network, announced that she would not be returning. Telemundo's KVEA-TV Channel 52 and Salinas "have mutually agreed to end our employment relationship," the network said in a statement.