Sportshorts for Monday, Oct. 15, 2012

Blair fares well
in Arizona

Rock Falls native Seth Blair pitched three innings on Thursday for the
Surprise Sanguaros of the Arizona Fall League in a 6-5 loss to Mesa. 

Blair had five strikeouts, allowing on one unearned run on one hit and two walks. Blair, who was the 46th overall draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010, pitched 19 2/3 innings this summer in the Golf Coast League and Florida State League after recovering from hand surgery. 

MLB

Rodriguez arrested for domestic violence

Former Angels star and current Milwaukee Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez was arrested in September on a domestic violence complaint that involved his girlfriend, a prosecuter said Saturday.

Rodriguez has not yet been charged, and any charges that might occur will be misdemanors, according to an email sent by Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Skydiver sets record with jump

ROSWELL, New Mexico – An Austrian daredevil leapt into the stratosphere from a balloon near the edge of space 24 miles above Earth on Sunday and safely landed, setting a record for the highest skydive and breaking the sound barrier in the
process.

Cheers broke out as Felix Baumgartner, 43, jumped from a skateboard-sized shelf outside the 11-by-8-foot fiberglass and acrylic capsule that was carried higher than 128,000 feet by an enormous balloon.

Baumgartner’s body pierced the atmosphere at 833.9 miles per hour, according to preliminary numbers released by Brian Utley, the certification official for the Federation Aeronautic International.

NFL

Steelers rookie
facing felony charges

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive lineman Alameda Ta’amu was arrested Sunday morning for allegedly trying to flee the police in a chase in which many vehicles were damaged.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, citing an emergency dispatch supervisor, reported that Ta’amu faces more than a dozen felony and misdemeanor charges.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wilsconsin’s Ball sets TD record

Heisman candidate Montee Ball ran all over the Purdue Boilermakers for 247 yards in a record-
breaking performance that saw him set the all-time Big Ten mark for total career touchdowns in
Wisconsin’s 38-14 win.

Ball scored three times in the win and established new conference and school records with his 72nd touchdown, besting former Badgers great Ron Dayne in the record books.