Orioles' Ponson suspected of assault
By Times Wire
Published December 27, 2004
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson was detained on suspicion of assaulting a local judge at a beach on Christmas, police said Sunday.
Ponson, who was born in Aruba, has not been formally charged but is expected to be arraigned today on assault and battery charges, police spokesman Edwin Comenencia said.
On Saturday at a beach in Boca Catalina several people confronted Ponson, accusing him of harassing them with his personal watercraft and operating it recklessly, police said. The 28-year-old right-hander struck one of the men in the group several times, police said. The man later was identified as a local judge, Comenencia said.
The judge was hospitalized but his condition was unknown, authorities said. Ponson fled but police detained him late Saturday. He is being held at a jail in the community of San Nicolas.
Ponson went 11-15 with a 5.30 ERA in 33 starts last season. He has a 69-80 career record in seven seasons with a 4.67 ERA and 802 strikeouts. In 1998, Ponson became the third Aruban to play in the major leagues.
INDIANS: Free-agent right-hander Kevin Millwood is working toward agreement on a one-year contract, the Associated Press reported. Millwood is scheduled to arrive in Cleveland today for a physical, but there are other details to work through before a contract can be finalized. The sides are negotiating the eventual structure of the contract, which is believed to be around $7-million. To this point, a starting pitcher has eluded the Indians in their offseason search to upgrade their rotation. The club has offered multiyear deals to starters Jon Lieber and Matt Clement as well as a one-year contract to David Wells . But in each case, the Indians were outbid. The 30-year-old Millwood, who spent the past two seasons with Philadelphia, went 9-6 with a 4.86 ERA in 25 starts last season. He made only two starts in September after spraining a ligament and tendon in his pitching elbow. The injury appears to be the main reason teams have not pursued the eight-year veteran more aggressively this winter. In six seasons with Atlanta, Millwood went 75-46. He was coming off an 18-8 year when the Braves traded him to Philadelphia on Dec.20, 2002, for catcher Johnny Estrada .
OBITUARY: The Toronto Sun reported that former Blue Jay Doug Ault was found dead in his home Wednesday in Tarpon Springs. He was 54 years old. Ault hit the first home run in Blue Jays history in the team's 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on April7, 1977. He played in 256 games in the majors, batting .236 with 17 home runs and 86 RBIs.
HORSES
Kicking King triumphs over St. Nick and fence
Kicking King won the $384,000 King George VI Chase in Kempton, England, by 21/2 lengths despite slicing through the top half of the final fence and contending with a fan who ran on the course dressed as Santa Claus. Jockey Barry Geraghty was nearly unseated when his feet almost came out of the stirrups as he lurched forward and sideways. "I was hanging on to his ears at one stage, but he was good," Geraghty said. "I gave him a smack and he went again, but then I nearly knocked down Santa Claus." The 3-1 shot was cruising with a 6-length lead before mistiming the last jump. The 6-year-old gelding lost momentum but held on for the victory. Kingscliff was second in the top midwinter race for hurdlers, followed by Azertyuiop , winner of last year's Queen Mother Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. The field of 13 was weakened by the late withdrawal of three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate , who will run instead on Tuesday at Leopardstown in Ireland.
TAMPA BAY DOWNS: Trainer Don Rice got his first two wins of the meet. He won with 22-1 shot Off The Chain and 17-1 shot Dry Ice . Rice won four consecutive training titles at Tampa (1999-2003); he has seven total.
Compiled from Times wires.