Phillies Fall Again to Braves

Hunter Pence ran over third-base coach Juan Samuel on his way to scoring a run in the second inning of a 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

The five-time defending NL East champions are freefalling since Chase Utley returned to the lineup, losing nine of 10. They just got Ryan Howard back on Friday night and have lost two in a row, though the former NL MVP didn't play in this loss.

If there's a single play to sum up Philadelphia's season, it was this.

With two on and one out in the second, Juan Pierre ripped a double to right. Pence took a wide turn around third, barreled into Samuel and kept going. A three-time All-Star during his playing career, Samuel ended up flat on his back and his helmet flew off. Players in both dugouts laughed, though the affable Samuel didn't seem too happy with himself.

"I didn't have a good angle on the bag," Pence said. "I feel bad. That shouldn't happen. I owe him one."

Tommy Hanson pitched effectively into the eighth and Brian McCann homered for the Braves.

Hanson (10-5) allowed three runs and six hits, striking out six in seven-plus innings. Eric O'Flaherty worked the rest of the eighth and Craig Kimbrel finished for his 24th save in 25 tries.

In the seventh, All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon made his biggest save of the season. Papelbon leaped from his seat and stopped a fan from climbing into Philadelphia's bullpen.

Phillies starter Joe Blanton (7-8) allowed six runs — five earned — and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings.

The start was delayed 58 minutes because of dark skies, lightning and threat of a thunderstorm.

The Phillies would've been better off with a rainout.

"We don't do enough to win," manager Charlie Manuel said. "The more we lose, the older it gets."

McCann, who hit a grand slam in Friday's 5-0 win, crushed a 2-1 pitch way out to right to put the Braves up 1-0 in the second. It was the 20th homer allowed by Blanton, and that's most in the NL.

After the Phillies took a 3-1 lead in the second, Martin Prado's RBI double with two outs in the third cut it to 3-2. The Braves went ahead with two more runs in the fourth.

Freddie Freeman and Chipper Jones started with consecutive singles. McCann lined an RBI single to right to tie it at 3. A fielding error on Pence allowed Jones to advance to third on the hit. He scored the go-ahead run on Andrelton Simmons' sacrifice fly to right.

The Phillies scored three in the second, an offensive outburst for a team has 15 total runs in its last seven losses.

After Pierre's double, John Mayberry Jr. was intentionally walked to load the bases. Blanton lined an RBI single to right to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Another run scored on Jimmy Rollins' fielder's choice grounder.

But that was it.

"It's hard for us to win because we don't play good enough," Manuel said.

Notes: Roy Halladay threw his third bullpen session before the game and could start a rehab assignment after the All-Star break. The two-time Cy Young Award winner may rejoin Philadelphia's rotation by mid-July. He's been sidelined since May by a lat strain. ... Blanton has allowed a homer in 11 straight starts after giving up just one in his first seven starts. ... Bourn was added to the All-Star team to replace injured Nationals INF Ian Desmond. ... The Phillies had their 263rd straight sellout, including postseason. ... Jair Jurrjens (2-2, 5.19) pitches for the Braves against Vance Worley (4-5, 3.46) in Sunday's series finale.

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Nets’ Williams Was Swayed to Stay by Johnson Trade

In reality, though, Williams knew he was not picking from a pool of 30 N.B.A. teams. Dallas or Brooklyn? Hometown team or team moving to the bright lights? On Tuesday, through his Twitter account, Williams announced he was staying with the Nets.

On Friday, Williams was at the United States national team’s first practice leading up to the Olympics. And it was here, after a few days to reflect, that Williams described his thought process in deciding between the two teams.

The surprise, Williams said, was that there was little fun in being a free agent. He also admitted something else: for quite some time, he thought he was going to leave the Nets for the Mavericks.

“I just went where I was most comfortable,” he said. “I was really close to Dallas, and I thought that’s where I wanted to go.”

Before meeting with both teams, Williams expected to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki, who led the Mavericks to their first N.B.A. title 13 months ago. But Williams said that once he saw the plan that Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ flashy owner, had put together for the team’s future, he became unsure of his decision.

Jason Kidd, who is planning to leave the Mavericks to join the Knicks, told ESPN Radio on Friday, “I think when he saw the roster, I think he felt if Dirk went down, it would be a long season.”

Soon after his meeting with the Mavericks, Williams — along with Nets fans — noticed the bold move that Nets General Manager Billy King made by trading for Joe Johnson, the six-time All-Star from Atlanta.

The move was persuasive enough to get Williams back in the Nets’ fold. He will sign a five-year, $100 million contract with the team once the N.B.A.’s moratorium on signings is lifted on Wednesday.

“Joe got me over the hump,” Williams said of the trade. “I never played with a guy like him who can get his own shot while getting me involved. I think we can be one of the top backcourts in the N.B.A.”

Williams added, “I just felt like that team over a longer time would be the better team.”

He said he did not know if he would have signed with the Nets if they had not acquired Johnson.

“I never told them to make the deal,” Williams said. “I think Billy felt like if they lost out on me, they were going to need someone regardless.”

Since the trade for Johnson, Williams has also appreciated the Nets’ other aggressive moves.

The team reached a deal to acquire Reggie Evans, who will provide rebounding and defense, and it will re-sign Gerald Wallace. Mirza Teletovic, one of the top scorers in Europe, will sign a three-year deal under the midlevel exception.

The Nets also plan to re-sign Brook Lopez, who Williams said was undervalued because of his injuries, and Kris Humphries.

All of the Nets’ secondary moves came after Williams’s six-word announcement on Twitter that he was remaining a Net. But while he smiled throughout Friday’s practice, Williams said it was painful to turn down the offer from the Mavericks, a team he watched growing up and one he dreamed of playing for.

“I felt I let the city down because they wanted me there so bad,” he said. “It was a really tough decision.”

Even if he disappointed Dallas, his decision lifted Brooklyn. Williams knows he will be the main attraction there, and the Nets have reportedly sold more than 500 season tickets since Tuesday. Williams’s picture will be displayed in many portions of the new Barclays Center.

“That’s one of the reasons why I stayed,” Williams said of being the Nets’ franchise player. “I feel the buzz in Brooklyn is big, and the arena is going to be amazing.”

He expressed confidence that the Nets were ready to play a major role — not just in Brooklyn, but in the Eastern Conference.

“It’s going to be an exciting time,” he said. “I think this will be a rejuvenation for all of us.”

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The One and Only: Botswana’s Amantle Montsho Seeks Glory in Punishing Race

They stretched and shook their limbs behind the starting blocks, the relaxing shimmy before the 50-second explosion. Among them: Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist; Novlene Williams-Mills of Jamaica, a top talent from a country that produces world-class runners the way Stanford produces computer programmers; and Amantle Montsho, the reigning world champion.

Montsho, 29, is from a rural village in Botswana, an African country not known for elite athletes. She trains in near isolation in Dakar, Senegal, working day after day to refine her technique in the name of winning races, most important the one this summer at the Olympics in London. She is the first female professional athlete in the country, which has not won an Olympic medal in any sport.

What, exactly, is it that makes a runner like Montsho excel at the 400?

Montsho and her peers come from starkly different backgrounds representing a variety of cultures, personal experiences and training regimens. But once the starting gun was fired at the Prefontaine Classic here in June, they remained in near lock step over 400 meters, separated at the finish line by fractions of a second.

The 400 is “the most unique race,” said Thomas Best, a professor of family medicine and a co-director of sports medicine at Ohio State University. “The reason is that you are activating all the energy systems and energy pathways known to man. Therein lies the real challenge.”

When a runner like Montsho settles into the starting blocks, she looks “like a quadrupedal animal,” said Stephen Simons, a director of sports medicine at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend, Ind., and the team physician for Notre Dame track and field.

“They’re leaned over, hands on the track, butt up in the air,” he said. “The shoulders are over the hands, the elbows aren’t locked. Body weight is evenly spread to feet and hands. The back is flat, and the lower leg is at a 45-degree angle.”

With the bang of the gun, the eight women were off, Montsho in Lane 3, Richards-Ross to her right in Lane 4.

“You’ll have that explosive reaction,” Simons said. “The starting posture with the gluteal muscles up high pulls the femur back, putting a premium on the gluteal muscles for the first quarter of the race, especially as they start out of the blocks.”

The start is considered a transition, with runners not yet reaching their full speeds until their torsos rise to become perpendicular with the track.

Montsho considers herself a slow starter and a strong finisher. That runs counter to many of her competitors, who may have more experience running the 100 and the 200 and struggle for the extra push toward the finish line of the 400.

For months at a training facility in Dakar, Montsho’s coach, Anthony Koffi, had her run starting drills, aimed at shortening her response time.

During one practice, Koffi had his runners line up behind the starting line. He held two pens behind his back. If he held up the yellow one, the runners were to start. If he held up a blue pen and they started, they had to do 20 push-ups.

He held up his hand — with no pens — and a few runners, but not Montsho, jolted forward. She laughed. He held up the yellow pen and she triggered forward.

Then he held up both pens at the same time. All the runners sprang forward. “No!” Koffi said. Just the yellow! They all laughed, then retreated to their starting positions. “You must concentrate!” he yelled.

“The games help us,” Montsho said.

Any shortcomings in her starts are certainly not a result of her body type.

In 2005, Peter Weyand, an associate professor of applied physiology and biomechanics at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, examined the height and weight ratios of elite sprinters. Using data over 15 years for the top 15 performers in the event, Weyand found that for female 400-meter runners, the average was 5 feet 8 inches and 127 pounds.

Montsho is about 5-9 and 134 pounds.

The Heart of the Race

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Cahill Helps Diamondbacks Edge Dodgers

Trevor Cahill pitched seven solid innings to help the Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Saturday night, and if Arizona (41-43) can win the finale of the four-game series with L.A. on Sunday at home, the Diamondbacks could find themselves four games out of first place heading into the All-Star break.

"I felt pretty good. I'm always trying to go at least seven innings," Cahill said. "Everybody in here knows where we want to be and how important these games are."

Cahill (7-7), traded from Oakland in the offseason, gave up three runs and six hits and improved to 17-1 in his past 22 starts when his team scores three or more runs.

"It was big for him to get through seven innings for us," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said of Cahill. "Just bullpen-wise, we don't want to use everybody. Seven innings just makes (Sunday's) game much better as well."

Trailing 2-0, Arizona scored three runs in the fifth inning. Gerardo Parra had a two-run double and then scored on Stephen Drew's sacrifice fly. The Diamondbacks added another run in the sixth on Paul Goldschmidt's sacrifice fly.

Parra, the Diamondbacks' fourth outfielder, got some appreciation for his big hit from Gibson.

"He wants to play. When he doesn't play, he's got great enthusiasm on the bench," Gibson said. "He's very consistent in his demeanor."

Chad Billingsley (4-9) lost his fifth straight start and hasn't won since June 10 at Seattle. He allowed four runs on six hits and struck out five in six innings.

"I try to go out there and win a game every day. Left the game and had a chance. Can't do anything about the outcome of the game," Billingsley said. "Just go out there and improve my strikeouts to walks and try not to give any free passes."

J.J. Putz pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 19 chances.

The Dodgers cut the lead to 4-3 in the seventh on A.J. Ellis' seventh home run of the season, but Jason Kubel's solo home run in the bottom of the eighth restored the two-run advantage.

"It would be big to win the series, a big momentum boost for the break," Kubel said.

Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead in the first on Jerry Hairston Jr.'s two-run homer. It was his fourth of the season.

"We had a good June, but we're trying to regain here," Gibson said. "These are big games for us."

Notes: Gibson said the first three starting pitchers after the All-Star break will be Ian Kennedy, Joe Saunders and Cahill. All-Star Wade Miley usually has his turn after Kennedy, but will be rested. ... 2B Aaron Hill was honored by the club before Saturday's game for hitting for the cycle twice in 11 days recently. He was given framed lineup cards from both games, and a bike for his daughter.. Dodgers OF Matt Kemp ended his four-game rehab stint with Class A Rancho Cucamonga Friday night and is scheduled for a pair of games with Triple-A Albuquerque over the weekend. ... Mattingly gave second baseman Mark Ellis a day off Saturday. Ellis had started the past two games only four days removed from returning from the disabled list, but is expected back in the lineup Sunday. ... INF Justin Sellers, on the DL with a back injury, is at the Dodgers' Camelback Ranch facility in nearby Glendale, Ariz., going through baseball activities as part of his rehabilitation. He isn't expected to rejoin the club immediately after the All-Star break. ... Billingsley recorded his 1,000th career strikeout when he fanned Cahill in the third inning, and became the 12th Los Angeles Dodger in history to achieve the feat.

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Vargas Wins for Seattle for First Time in Month

Kyle Seager hit a bases-loaded double to drive in three, Brendan Ryan added a two-RBI double in the second and Ichiro Suzuki singled up the middle in the fifth to snap a career-worst 0-for-23 hitless stretch as the Mariners scored their most runs since a 14-10 loss at Arizona on June 20.

Vargas tossed his sixth career complete game and first since July 6 last year at Oakland. He struck out six and walked one in a 107-pitch gem that featured four double plays by his defense.

Casper Wells homered to help Vargas (8-7) end a five-start winless stretch in which he went 0-3 since a win at Anaheim on June 4.

Vargas allowed his majors-high 23rd home run to Josh Reddick in the first, but during one stretch late in the game retired 13 straight. Reddick became the first A's player since Nick Swisher in 2006 to hit 20 home runs before the All-Star break.

Reddick also ran from right field into center to make a diving catch and rob Suzuki of a hit leading off the third.

Seattle took a 1-0 lead in the first when John Jaso singled and center fielder Coco Crisp appeared to lose the ball in the sun for a two-base error, allowing Michael Saunders to score.

Reddick's homer in the bottom half gave the A's a longball in 17 straight games, their most since also doing so in 2002. They haven't gone more than 17 games in a row with a longball since a pair of 18-game stretches in 1999.

Seattle's offense bounced back against Oakland starter Jarrod Parker (5-4) a day after the A's won 4-1 in 11 innings Friday night on Chris Carter's game-ending three-run homer.

Parker was tagged for six hits and six runs — five earned — in 4 2-3 innings to have his three-game winning streak snapped. The right-hander, who beat the Mariners at Safeco Field on June 27 striking out a career-high nine, struck out six and walked two. Parker had allowed one or fewer runs in each of his previous four starts.

A's cleanup hitter Yoenis Cespedes went 0 for 3 with a walk and is just 1 for 19 on the homestand, though lately has looked fully healthy from a strained left hamstring that sidelined him for nine games in a 10-game stretch last month.

Suzuki, who'd been mired in a 0-for-23 funk since a seventh-inning single June 30 against Boston, also singled in the seventh after starting a game batting second for the first time in his career as manager Eric Wedge tried to get him going. After his single in the fifth, Suzuki stole his 12th base.

It was just the third time in his career he had a hitless streak of 20 games or longer and topped a 0-for-22 slump from July 30-Aug. 5, 2005.

Wedge plans to keep Dustin Ackley in the leadoff spot and Suzuki second again Sunday.

"I don't want to just cruise into the break not trying to do everything we can do," Wedge said. "It's one helluva frustrating process to sit down and put a lineup together right now because people aren't doing their job. After a while, you've got to get tired of getting your teeth kicked in."

There was a brief delay in the middle of the seventh when an advertising sign behind home plate got stuck on white.

Notes: Seattle CF Franklin Gutierrez, on the seven-day concussion list since June 29, isn't likely to return until after the All-Star break and is expected to play a couple of rehab games first. ... Suzuki was 2 for 4 lifetime batting in the No. 2 hole, both as a pinch-hitter when he then stayed in the game. He did so during his AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP 2001 season and again in 2002, both at Texas. ... Mariners C Jesus Montero, recovering from a mild concussion after taking a foul ball from Baltimore's Robert Andino off the facemask Wednesday, took part in baseball activities and still hoped to play Sunday's series finale. Wedge said he won't catch yet but could DH. ... The A's rotation for their three-game series at Minnesota after the All-Star break: A.J. Griffin, Tommy Milone, Parker. ... Oakland opening day starter Brandon McCarthy, on the DL for a second time with a strained throwing shoulder, has played catch for two straight days. "That's a good sign," manager Bob Melvin said. ... Sunday's game is "Turn Back the Clock" at the Oakland Coliseum, with the A's set to wear 1955 Oakland Oaks uniforms, while the Mariners will be the Seattle Rainiers.

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Special Report: Formula One: The Cradle of Modern Grand Prix Racing

“It’s quite simply the home of motorsport,” said Michael Schumacher, the multiple-world-champion driver at the Mercedes team.

Indeed, Silverstone was the site of the first Formula One Grand Prix championship race in May 1950, won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo, and it has held all but 17 of the British Grand Prix races since then. Aintree and Brands Hatch occasionally held the race until 1987, but Silverstone has since been the permanent home of the British Grand Prix.

More than that, though, the race is the home race for the largest number of Formula One teams, as most of the industry of the series — the team factories and home bases — is in England, within an hour or so drive of Silverstone.

“We always try to put our best foot forward at Silverstone,” said Vijay Mallya, owner of the Force India team. “It’s where our factory is based and it’s our second home race of the season. It’s also one of the most atmospheric events on the calendar thanks to the passion of the British fans, who always show tremendous support. For our team, it’s definitely a highlight of the season.”

Although Formula One has expanded around the world, with more races run outside Europe than ever before, it remains primarily a British industry. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone has survived through many battles in recent years, pitting the owners of the circuit — the British Racing Drivers’ Club — against Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One promoter.

The battle usually has to do with fees charged for staging the race, although for many years it also had to do with Ecclestone’s request that the circuit invest in its facilities so that they would match the level of elegance and practicality of the lavish new circuits that have been constructed around the world, in countries that often have no auto-racing culture or tradition.

Major efforts have been made, and since last year Silverstone has had a new pit building and paddock on a par with — or better than — many of the new sites.

The Silverstone circuit was built on a plateau that had been the site of a World War II Royal Air Force bomber station. Despite several developments over the years, it still has much of its original high-speed layout.

At the track in 1985, Keke Rosberg set Formula One’s first 160-miles-per-hour, or 256-kilometers-per-hour, qualifying lap, in a Williams. Despite changes to the layout made in 2010, the middle section of the track remains one of the fastest in the world.

“Even after the track was amended, it didn’t lose its magic; for me as a driver, it is one of the best and interesting tracks of all,” said Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the defending world champion driver. “The track is demanding for a driver and provides everything a driver likes, including the unpredictable weather that is possible in July in Silverstone.”

The British Grand Prix has indeed produced some of Formula One’s most historic and memorable races.

Home drivers have often figured in the most exciting races. In 1977, James Hunt, who was the reigning world champion and driving for McLaren, started on pole, but dropped to fourth. He then passed two drivers, retook the lead after another car dropped out and won the race.

In 1985, the race was the scene of one of the early battles between two of the biggest rivals in racing history, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Senna was racing in a Lotus and Prost was in a McLaren. Prost passed Senna for the lead and the victory, seven laps from the end of the race.

In 1988, Senna was third and Prost fourth at the start. In strong rain, Senna took the victory, again proving his prowess on a wet track.

David Coulthard, a Scottish driver at McLaren, won the race in 1999 and also in 2000, when he did so after an exceptional passing move on Rubens Barrichello in a Ferrari.

But one of the most popular victories in recent years was that of Lewis Hamilton, in 2008, the year when the bright young British star went on to win the world championship.

“By far the best victory I’ve ever had,” Hamilton called it, after he started the wet race in fourth position, before passing his teammate at McLaren, Heikki Kovalainen, for the lead on Lap 5.

The track has never been good to Hamilton’s current teammate and compatriot at McLaren, Jenson Button. The world champion in 2009 at the Brawn team, Button has never finished higher than fourth at Silverstone, in 12 years running at the race. But he nonetheless maintains his love of his home event.

“It’s part of the fabric of F1, and still one of the world’s greatest motor-racing circuits,” Button said. “This has been an incredibly unpredictable season, but at least it’s a little easier to predict that Silverstone will once again be packed and that all the British drivers are going to get a lift from the energy the fans bring.

“I always enjoy racing at home because the atmosphere is unbeatable,” he added.

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Pakistan Announce Itinerary for Australia Series in UAE

Australia had expressed concern about playing 50-over games in the heat of the UAE and the matches would start late in the day, when the weather was cooler, the board said.

"The series has been decided and we will have late starts in the matches to deal with the hot weather," a PCB official said.

Pakistan have been forced to organise another "home" series in the UAE after Australia refused to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.

The PCB had initially planned the series in Sri Lanka but the Sri Lankans withdraw their offer due to their premier league tournament being held in August.

Since 2009, when militants attacked the Sri Lanka team in Lahore, test-playing nations have refused to tour Pakistan.

Itinerary:

1st one-dayer August 28 - Sharjah

2nd one-dayer August 31 - Abu Dhabi

3rd one-dayer September 3 - Sharjah

1st Twenty20 September 5 - Dubai

2nd Twenty20 September 7 - Dubai

3rd Twenty20 September 10 - Dubai

(Editing by Clare Fallon)

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After Landing Kidd, Knicks Can Move to Keeping Lin

And once they finish the deal that would bring Kidd to New York, they can move on to keeping Lin.

They have a chance for a tantalizing tandem at point guard, the 39-year-old veteran who is one of the most accomplished ever at the position and the undrafted Ivy Leaguer who took the NBA by storm last season.

"If we can get Jeremy back, I would love that," forward Carmelo Anthony said. "Overall just to have him back him and Jason Kidd, him learning under Jason Kidd, for however long Jason Kidd is there, I accept that, we accept that, and that's a great opportunity for us."

Step one is nearing its completion. The Knicks and Kidd were still working Friday on terms of the deal that will get him from Dallas to New York, according to a person familiar with the details. Kidd would be able to make a higher salary if the teams are able to work out a sign-and-trade arrangement, rather than him signing in New York as a free agent.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because deals can't be signed until July 11. Coach Mike Woodson, in Las Vegas to watch Anthony and Tyson Chandler practice with the U.S. Olympic team, declined comment on the Knicks' moves until then.

That's when Lin will be able to sign the offer sheet he agreed to Thursday with the Houston Rockets. It would pay him a little more than $5 million in each of the first two years and $9.3 million in each of the last two years, according to a person with knowledge of the salaries. The fourth season is a team option.

The Knicks will have three days to match the offer for the restricted free agent, and they have repeatedly said they plan to keep Lin, who became a breakout star when he took over the starting point guard role in February.

His season was cut short after 35 games, including 25 starts, because of torn knee cartilage that required surgery. But the Knicks had already seen enough on the court — and at the box office and souvenir stands — to know they don't want Lin to get away.

But as good as he was in his brief stint, questions remain whether he is the player to best complement the Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. Perhaps that would be Kidd, who has played with both on USA Basketball teams and teamed with Chandler on the Mavericks' 2011 NBA championship team.

Chandler said he was talking to Kidd throughout the summer about him coming to New York, but thought it was a long shot.

"People say things about his age, but with a guy like Jason Kidd you can throw his age out of the window because not only is he capable of doing great things still on the basketball court, but he's invaluable off," Chandler said. "Locker room, huddles, film, I mean he's going to be invaluable to our team."

The Knicks have other decisions to make at guard. Landry Fields, the starting shooting guard most of the last two years and Lin's best friend on the team, has agreed to an offer sheet with Toronto that would pay him about $20 million over three years. New York has to decide whether to accept that and also is trying to keep free-agent JR Smith, who declined the second-year option on his contract but could return.

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N.F.L. Commissioner Showed Bias in Bounty Scandal, Union Asserts

It all prompted one of the suspended players, New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma, to send a Twitter message that simply said, “and we’re off ...”

The union filed the lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita, claiming Goodell was “incurably and evidently biased” when it came to ruling on appeals of the suspensions. Before ruling on the appeals, Goodell had imposed the original penalties and defended his decision to suspend the players.

In its filing, the union asks if the collective bargaining agreement “granted the commissioner, when serving as an arbitrator, the authority to disregard the essence of the parties’ agreement, to conduct proceedings that are fundamentally unfair, and to act with evident bias and without jurisdiction.” The filing continues, “The answer, under governing case law, is clearly ‘no.’ ”

The lawsuit asserts Goodell violated the collective bargaining agreement by presiding over the appeal hearings and by denying the players access to “critical documents or witnesses.” The N.F.L. has asserted — and two arbitrators have previously ruled — that the C.B.A. allows Goodell to hear appeals on discipline matters that are concerned with conduct detrimental to the league.

“There is no basis for asking a federal court to put its judgment in place of the procedures agreed upon with the N.F.L.P.A. in collective bargaining,” the N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.

Vilma has been suspended for the 2012 season, while Hargrove will miss eight games, Smith four and Fujita three for their reported roles in a scheme in which Saints players were promised money in exchange for injuring opposing players.

Saints Coach Sean Payton and the former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams were also suspended, along with other Saints officials.

“On some level, the case may turn on that: Did the N.F.L.P.A. concede absolute dictatorial power to the commissioner to do anything?” said Lee Adler, a professor at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, who has no connection to the bounty case but has been involved with labor litigation for more than 35 years.

If the N.F.L.’s interpretation of Goodell’s authority is correct, Adler said, the lawsuit will be “very vulnerable.”

Also Thursday, Goodell filed a motion to dismiss Vilma’s defamation lawsuit against him and instead have the case heard by an arbitrator.

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Jason Kidd Chooses Knicks Over Mavericks

That moment, and the point guard, at last arrived Thursday afternoon.

Jason Kidd, who was set to rejoin the Dallas Mavericks, made a late and stunning reversal and agreed to join the Knicks instead. Negotiations were continuing Thursday night, and it was not yet clear whether the Knicks would sign Kidd outright or acquire him in a sign-and-trade deal.

Just as Kidd committed, the Knicks learned that Jeremy Lin, their promising 23-year-old point guard, had agreed to an offer sheet with the Houston Rockets, complicating the picture further.

The Rockets’ offer could be worth as much as $28.8 million over four years, with backloaded payments in the final two seasons, according to a person who was briefed on the details. The fourth year is a team option. Because Lin is a restricted free agent, the Knicks have the right to match the deal.

The offer sheet cannot be signed until the N.B.A. moratorium ends next Wednesday, at which time the Knicks will have three days to either match it or let Lin walk. The Knicks are determined to keep Lin, even if the contract costs them millions more in luxury-tax payments.

Under the Rockets’ offer, Lin would earn $5 million next season, $5.2 million in the second year and balloon payments of $9.3 million in the third and fourth seasons — a structure that is designed to dissuade the Knicks from matching the offer.

Houston is in desperate need of a point guard, having agreed to trade their starter, Kyle Lowry, to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The Rockets will receive a first-round pick that, under the terms of the trade, is guaranteed to be in the lottery in one of the next four drafts.

Houston also lost its highly regarded backup point guard, Goran Dragic, who agreed to terms with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

In trading Lowry, the Rockets appeared to be going all in for Lin. It will be another week before they know if they have him.

Kidd, a 10-time All-Star, would be an ideal mentor for Lin, as well as a proven playmaker who can organize the Knicks’ disjointed offense and make sense of the clunky Carmelo Anthony-Amar’e Stoudemire tandem. Even at age 39, Kidd has the skills and the credibility to make a difference.

Landing Kidd takes some of the sting out of losing Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers a day earlier. It also gives the publicity-minded Knicks a modest boost after they watched the Nets celebrate Deron Williams’s decision to stay with the team when it moves to Brooklyn.

Signing Kidd — who led the Nets to consecutive N.B.A. finals in 2002 and 2003 when they were in New Jersey — adds yet another layer to the budding rivalry.

Kidd helped lead the Mavericks to the championship only 13 months ago and is a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame. But he is about to enter his 19th season. His days as an elite point guard are over. The Knicks simply hope he can provide quality minutes every night, whether as Lin’s backup or as the starter.

The most the Knicks can offer Kidd is $9.7 million over three years, by using the so-called mini-midlevel exception. They could pay him more through a sign-and-trade arrangement with Dallas, an option that was being explored Thursday, according to a person involved in the talks.

Kidd had all but committed to the Mavericks and was closing in on a three-year, $9 million deal. But at 4:45 p.m., ESPN.com reported that Kidd had changed his mind and was heading to Madison Square Garden, where he will join a crowded marquee of stars.

Even as reports circulated early in the day that Kidd was heading back to Dallas, a person familiar with his mind-set said that Kidd “so much wanted to get to New York” and was clearly conflicted about his decision.

The Knicks snared Kidd just one day after losing Nash — another elite-but-aging point guard — to the Lakers. The Knicks had been negotiating with Phoenix on a sign-and-trade deal for Nash, but Nash instead pushed for a trade to Los Angeles, to compete for championships alongside Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

Before landing Kidd, the Knicks were considering an array of second-tier options, including Raymond Felton, who played a half-season for them in 2010-11 before being traded to Denver in the Anthony deal. Felton could still be an option if the Knicks let Lin leave.

Derek Fisher had also been in talks with the Knicks, but he is now expected to look elsewhere.

The Nets are now among the front-runners to sign Fisher, along with the Mavericks, the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Fisher, who won five titles with the Lakers, joined the Thunder in February and was a key part of the rotation for Oklahoma City, which lost to the Miami Heat in the finals.

Five days into free agency, this is already shaping up as the Summer of the Point Guard. It began with Williams and Nash, two of the most prominent on the market. It continued with Kidd, Lowry, Dragic and Lin.

On Thursday, Chauncey Billups agreed to a new deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, while Jameer Nelson reached terms to return to the Orlando Magic. Two others have deals to stay put: Andre Miller with Denver and George Hill with Indiana.

A handful of solid point guards remain on the market, including Felton, Aaron Brooks, Ramon Sessions and Kirk Hinrich.

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