Jerry Sandusky declared Friday that people have turned against him, moments after the ex-Penn State football coordinator asked a judge for greater freedom while he awaits trial on child sex abuse charges. Sandusky was in a Centre County courtroom and asked a judge to let him see relatives, including supervised visits with his grandchildren, and friends.

A Ukrainian hockey coach was found dead of a suspected suicide while in custody in Philadelphia on child-molestation charges, a U.S. prison official said. Ivan Pravilov, 49, was found unresponsive in his cell at 3 a.m. Friday, according to spokesman Darrin Howard of the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia.

The British hip-hop artist M.I.A. has apologized to Madonna for making an obscene gesture during the Super Bowl halftime show, Madonna's spokeswoman said. Madonna said in radio interviews on Friday that she had no idea M.I.A. would extend her middle finger during the performance in front of 114 million people, according to Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg.

The mother of late boxer Arturo Gatti's daughter can't sue his widow for wrongful death in New Jersey, a judge ruled in dismissing the lawsuit Friday. Erika Rivera, a central New Jersey resident, filed the lawsuit last fall on behalf of then-5-year-old Sofia Bella Gatti.

Lance Armstrong is relieved the federal investigation into doping allegations against him has ended, and says he always stayed confident he would not be charged. Armstrong spoke by phone to The Associated Press on Thursday, his first interview since prosecutors closed their nearly two-year investigation last Friday.

Official: Ukrainian hockey coach Ivan Pravilov found dead in jail cell in suspected suicide ___ February 10, 2012 03:41 PM EST Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal officials say a Ukrainian hockey coach has died of a suspected suicide while in custody in Philadelphia on child-molestation charges. A prison spokesman says 48-year-old Ivan (ee-VAHN') Pravilov (PRAH'-vuh-lahv) was found unresponsive in his cell at 3 a.

A former University of Virginia lacrosse player said he got physical with his former girlfriend but did not kill her, sobbing and saying "she's not dead" when detectives told him she died, according to a videotape played Friday at his murder trial.

Pet lovers won't have to look away anymore when those heart-wrenching TV ads appear during the Westminster dog show — the ones with the pitiful little faces peering out from behind those rusted bars of a cage and wondering "how I ended up in here.

Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador returned to training for competition Friday, four days after receiving a two-year doping ban from sport's highest court. Contador tweeted a photo of himself on a bike along with the message: "Going back to work, sacrifice and hard training, this is our sole secret.

Ohio State University trustees have approved the creation of a new office responsible for monitoring compliance with rules and regulations in the wake of its football program's NCAA infractions scandal. The office is a response to the scandal, which led to the resignation of coach Jim Tressel, but its oversight would apply to numerous departments, including athletics.

Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger successfully defended their luge doubles title at the world championships on Friday, their third gold in the annual event. They clocked a combined time of one minute 23.444 seconds, setting a course record in the second run.

A women's World Cup giant slalom scheduled for Friday has been canceled because of high winds in the Pyrenees mountains of Andorra. Wind reaching 62 mph knocked down temporary structures at the base of the 1,300-foot Avet slope during the night.

Tom Boonen of Belgium won his fourth Tour of Qatar title on Friday, beating American Tyler Farrar. Boonen led the race since the opening stage last Sunday, and topped Farrar by 28 seconds overall. Boonen and his Omega-Pharms Quick Step were careful to protect his lead on the sixth and last stage, 75 miles from Sealine Beach Resort into Doha Corniche.

Hours after receiving a two-year ban for blood doping, 1997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich admitted on his website that he had "contact" with the Spanish doctor who ran the doping program he was accused of participating in. Ullrich did not directly acknowledge doping but said he would not contest Thursday's ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The New York Mets' owners want the Supreme Court to decide whether only those investors who lost money should get a share of proceeds recovered from Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Sterling Equities Associates, which owns the Mets, on Feb. 3 asked the high court to hear the case.

As far as Lance Armstrong is concerned, it's all over. The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when — after nearly two years — federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges.

Russian skiers appear more frequently on the World Cup ski circuit in Europe these days, their presence hard to miss at the upcoming Alpine test events for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. While a handful of Russians will compete in the men's downhill and super-combined this weekend, more than 10 women will race the following weekend in the same World Cup events.

Another day, another doping case, another Tour de France result amended. Cycling revisited its scandal-scarred recent history again Thursday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport found a Tour winner guilty of doping for the second time this week.

A commemorative license plate for the New York Giants was unveiled hours after their Super Bowl victory. Now, two New York lawmakers say a similar but delayed tribute to the real heroes of the 9/11 attacks is long overdue. They said first responders and victims shouldn't take a back seat to millionaire athletes who are honored after championships with license tags.

The first officer to arrive at the apartment of a slain University of Virginia lacrosse player says he thought he was responding to an alcohol overdose but quickly discovered the woman had been bruised and bloodied. Charlottesville Police Officer K.

Reigning Boston Marathon champions Geoffrey Mutai and Caroline Kilel lead the field of elite runners for the 116th edition of the event. The men's elite field announced by organizers Thursday includes last year's third-place finisher and 2010 New York City champion Gebre Gebremariam; 2010 Boston champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot; 2011 Amsterdam and Rotterdam winner Wilson Chebet; and 2011 Chicago second and third place finishers Wesley Korir and Bernard Kipyego.

Prosecutors will continue their case Thursday in the trial of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend. George Huguely V faces first-degree murder and five other charges in the May 2010 death of Yeardley Love.

A German runner has won an annual race up 86 flights of stairs at the Empire State Building for a record seventh straight time. Stuttgart resident Thomas Dold completed the Empire State Building Run-Up on Wednesday in 10 minutes and 28 seconds.

The Big East has acquired all the pieces needed to build a new coast-to-coast conference. Putting them all together, though, is going to take a while. The conference wanted to rebuild itself into a 12-team football league that can hold a championship game, and Memphis officially became that 12th member on Wednesday when it accepted an invite it has long coveted.