Sports briefs for May 25, 2004

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

Clarett loses another case in appeals court

Maurice Clarett lost yet another court decision in his attempt to play in the NFL next season.

An appeals court said that federal labor policy allows NFL teams to set rules for when players can enter the league. The decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was consistent with the appeals court's refusal last month to permit the former Ohio State running back into the NFL draft.

The draft was held on April 24-25, and Clarett was ineligible for it. This ruling means he will not be eligible for a supplemental draft and will have to wait for the 2005 draft.

Wie gets exemption

Michelle Wie accepted a special exemption to play in July's U.S. Women's Open, the first time an amateur has been given a free pass to the biggest tournament in women's golf.

USGA executive director David Fay said Wie's exemption was based purely on her performance. If she weren't an amateur, Wie would have earned enough to be 28th on the money list in the three LPGA events she has played; the top 35 players on the LPGA Tour money list are exempt to the U.S. Women's Open.

This will be the second straight Women's Open for Wie. She qualified in a playoff last year.

Fla. fires Dudley

Rick Dudley was fired as the Florida Panthers' general manager after holding the job for two years in which the team failed to make the playoffs.

The team said it offered him another job in the organization and scheduled a news conference for today to announce the hiring of a general manager and head coach.

Group lacks evidence

After seeing the evidence U.S. doping officials have against Marion Jones, her attorney is even more confident the star sprinter shouldn't be banned from the Olympics.

"I didn't see anything today that would provide a basis for them to go forward," attorney Joseph Burton said Monday after a three-hour meeting with officials from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "From my mind, what ought to come out of it is, she should be exonerated."