Briefs | NFL: Mistrial declared in case of ex-Bengal Travis Henry

NFL

Judge declares mistrial in assault case of Henry: A judge has declared a mistrial in the assault case of former Cincinnati wide receiver Chris Henry.

An eight-person jury in Cincinnati told the judge they were unable to agree on a verdict. Hamilton County Municipal Judge Richard Bernat then dismissed the jury and set a hearing for July 8.

Patriots release Andrews: Willie Andrews was released by the Patriots, a day after he was arrested for the second time this offseason.

Andrews, a third-year defensive back, was arrested Monday and held without bail after being charged with illegal possession of a large capacity firearm and assault with a dangerous weapon. He allegedly pointed a handgun at his girlfriend's head during an argument about 1 a.m. at his apartment in Mansfield, Mass.

Upshaw says teams can stop paying too much for rookies: Gene Upshaw, head of the NFL Players Association, said he doesn't understand commissioner Roger Goodell's criticism of teams rewarding unproven rookies with multimillion dollar contracts.

"If the owners want to stop paying the rookies, all they have to do is stop," Upshaw said. "Nobody puts a gun to their head and forces them to pay what they pay."

Jurevicius undergoes knee surgery: Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius had his second knee surgery since January on Monday, a procedure that could prevent him from reporting to training camp on time.

Bears sign third-round pick Harrison: A note at the end of Marcus Harrison's text messages reads "Chasing billions like millions don't matter!"

The Bears can't fault the 6-foot-3-inch, 310-pound defensive tackle for thinking big.

They have equally lofty expectations for the rookie out of Arkansas, who signed a four-year deal. Harrison's signing bonus is just below $700,000 — a handful of dollars more than the $623,000 bonus third-round pick Garrett Wolfe received last season.

Bills sign Bell: Offensive lineman Demetrius Bell, the first of the Bills' three seventh-round picks and estranged son of former NBA star Karl Malone, signed with Buffalo.

NASCAR

Ganassi closes Franchitti's team: NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi shut down Dario Franchitti's race team Tuesday because of a lack of sponsorship, putting the former IndyCar Series champion's future in doubt.

Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion, has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge. He ranks 41st in the driver standings, failed to qualify for races in Texas and Sonoma, Calif., and missed five with a broken ankle he suffered in a Nationwide Series crash at Talladega.

Basketball

Howland gets seven-year deal: UCLA and coach Ben Howland agreed to a new seven-year contract that runs through the 2014-15 season. The contract keeps Howland among the top five highest-paid college basketball coaches.

He is guaranteed $1.97 million for next season. His salary escalates to $2.3 million in the final year of the deal, which also includes incentives that could reach up to $235,000.

Horse racing

Curlin works on turf: Jockey Robby Albarado admits he was a little nervous as he guided reigning Horse of the Year Curlin out to the turf course at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning for arguably the most important training session of the 4-year-old colt's career.

Zipping along crisply under Albarado, Curlin covered seven furlongs in 1:31.20 as he attempts to make the transition from dirt to turf.

Olympics

Ueberroth stays with USOC: In a move designed to keep familiar faces in front of the folks considering Chicago as a site for the 2016 Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee voted to keep Peter Ueberroth involved in the federation through the selection process.

Banned boxer skips three weeks of camp: Light flyweight Luis Yanez was kicked off the U.S. Olympic boxing team for skipping three weeks of residency training without getting permission or even telling USA Boxing where he was, coach Dan Campbell claims.

USA Boxing removed Yanez from the Beijing squad after the 106-pound fighter refused to return to the team's training program in Colorado Springs for most of June.

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