Steelers’ Hines Ward charged with DUI

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was arrested early Saturday outside Atlanta on a drunk driving charge, sheriff’s officials said.

The Super Bowl most valuable player and reigning “Dancing With the Stars” champion was booked into the DeKalb County jail in Decatur at 3:41 a.m. and charged with driving under the influence. A jail official said Ward was released on $1,300 bond, though the sheriff’s office website said his bond was set at $1,000. The discrepancy couldn’t be immediately resolved Saturday.

The sheriff’s office said it had turned over paperwork to the courts and could not release any further information about the player’s arrest. DeKalb County police did not return repeated emails and phone calls seeking details of the arrest.

Atlanta lawyer Andrew Ree issued a statement saying that Ward, 35, cooperated fully with police and truthfully answered their questions.

“From our preliminary investigation we can tell you that we are confident that the facts will show that Hines was NOT impaired by alcohol while driving,” Ree wrote. “However, Hines is deeply saddened by this incident and apologizes to his fans and the Steelers organization for this distraction.”

A Steelers spokesman did not immediately respond to a message.

ETC.

Bryans keep U.S. alive in Davis Cup

Brothers Bob and Mike Bryan earned the United States its first point in a Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain, keeping the Americans alive with a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Marcel Granollers and Fernando Verdasco at Austin, Texas.

Granollers and Verdasco were playing their first doubles match together. Granollers was a substitute for Feliciano Lopez, who won a four-hour singles match against Mardy Fish on Friday.

Spain leads the Americans, 2-1, heading into Sunday’s reverse singles pitting David Ferrer against Fish and Lopez against Andy Roddick.

Top-seeded John Isner will play Olivier Rochus in the final of the Hall of Fame Championship at Newport, R.I.

Isner advanced with a 7-5, 7-6 (4) victory over Tobais Tobias Kamke of Germany. Rochus made it to the championship match by beating American qualifier Michael Yani, 6-2, 6-4.

Isner is 6 feet 9 — the second-tallest player on the ATP tour — and Rochus is the smallest at 5-6.

Cesar Eduardo Gonzalez scored in the second half to help Venezuela defeat Ecuador, 1-0, in the Copa America at Salta, Argentina, and reach first place in the tough Group B.

Gonzalez struck a powerful right-footer from the top of the area in the 61st minute, giving the Venezuelans the lead in a group that also has Paraguay and South American powerhouse Brazil.

Venezuela has four points and is in good position to advance to the second round. Brazil and Paraguay, which tied, 2-2, earlier Saturday, have two points each, while Ecuador remains with one point ahead of the final round of group play.

A draw against Paraguay would be enough to send Venezuela to the next round, and Ecuador will have to beat Brazil to have any chance of advancing.

Yao Ming’s American agent would not confirm reports that the All-Star center is retiring from basketball. But Yao has scheduled a July 20 news conference in Shanghai to reveal his plans.

John Huizinga, Yao’s agent, said Saturday night that he was “not in a position to confirm” multiple reports that Yao had informed the NBA that he planned to retire.

A talent scout whose relationship with Oregon’s football program is under investigation by the NCAA also had ties to California and Louisiana State.

The Oregonian newspaper reported Saturday that Willie Lyles, a Houston-based talent scout who was paid $25,000 by Oregon for his scouting packages, billed Cal $5,000 and LSU $6,000 for similar packages that included game and highlight videos of high school and junior college players from 22 states.