LaberFred » affiliate Binghamton

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy was found guilty Tuesday night of assaulting a female and communicating threats. Mecklenburg County Judge Rebecca Thorn-Tin sentenced Hardy to 18 months probation. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended. Hardys attorney Chris Fialko said hell appeal and Hardy has asked for a jury trial in superior court. In North Carolina that means the terms of Hardys probation are on hold until the trial -- so hes free to travel with the team to training camp and compete in games. A date for the jury trial hasnt been set. The Panthers released a statement Tuesday night saying, "We have just learned of the verdict and are respectful of the process. We do not have a comment at this time." Hardy and his agent Drew Rosenhaus refused to comment as they left the courtroom together. The judge didnt buy Hardys testimony that he was the one abused by the accuser and that he had asked her to leave his downtown apartment during a domestic dispute on May 13. After nearly 11 hours of hearing testimony, Thorn-Tin told a sombre Hardy that "the court is entirely convinced Hardy is guilty of assault on a female and communicating threats." Earlier in the morning the accuser testified that she was assaulted by Hardy at his apartment after a night of drinking. She also said Hardy threatened to kill her and put his hands around her neck. "He looked me in my eyes and he told me he was going to kill me," said the accuser, a 24-year-old cocktail waitress in downtown Charlotte. "I was so scared I wanted to die. When he loosened his grip slightly, I said just, Do it. Kill me." The accuser said she had used cocaine on the night of the incident and had been drinking. She described Hardy as jealous and controlling, mentioning several times that Hardy didnt allow her do some things because he often paid her rent. She said she didnt immediately give police a statement out of fear of retribution. "He had told me in past if I took food out of his familys mouth he was going to kill me," the accuser said. Hardy and his business manager Sammy Curtis both testified that Hardy never hit nor threw the accuser, and didnt communicate threats. Hardy said the accuser became angry when he wouldnt have sex with her and left the room to sleep in the living room. He said the accuser then became angry and began slamming doors. Hardy said the accuser then asked him, "Do you want to see crazy? Ill show you crazy." Hardy said she threw herself into the bathtub, causing the bruises she had on her body. Hardy said she also threatened to kill herself if she left his building. However, Thorn-Tin seemed more inclined to believe the testimony of the accuser and the prosecutions top witness, Christina Lawrence, another woman who was in Hardys apartment at the time of the incident. Lawrence said she was sleeping in the other room with a friend of Hardys when she heard scuffling and fighting and what sounded like a woman being slammed into the wall and dragged across the floor. She said she also heard the accuser say, "What are you going to do, break my arm?" Hardy and his accuser began dating last September, but had broken up at the Pro Bowl in February. Hardy said they had had sexual relations "five or six times" since. Hardys play on the field has been dynamic. Hes been a key member of Carolinas second-ranked defence, finishing last season with 15 sacks. The Panthers led the league last season with 50 sacks. In four seasons with the Panthers, Hardy has 33 sacks, 26 in the last two seasons. He signed a $13.1 million, one-year contract in March as the teams franchise player. Its unclear at this point how the verdict will affect Hardys long-term future with the Panthers. The team is particularly sensitive to domestic violence issues, particularly in light of their history with wide receiver Rae Carruth. Carruth was found guilty of conspiring to murder his girlfriend, Cherica Adams, who was carrying his child. He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison and remains in jail. MLB Jerseys 2020 . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. Soccer Jerseys 2020 . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. Most notably, Arizonas Bill Bidwill, who saw his Cardinals go 10-6 and not get in, while Green Bay (8-7-1) qualified by winning the NFC North. https://www.cheapmlbjerseysjustwholesale...row-jersey.html. It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Nike Baseball Jerseys . -- Marty Havlat scored three goals for the first time in nearly nine years, and the San Jose Sharks prevented Colorado from clinching the Central Division title with a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Friday night. Nike NFL Jerseys 2020 . Mark Teahen scored the go-ahead run in the home seventh on an error by Scott Sizemore, who had knotted the game with a solo homer in the previous half- inning. Paul Konerko then hit an RBI single which proved to be the winning run.TAMPA, Fla. - The struggling Ottawa Senators needed a boost Monday night, and their first-year captain provided it. Jason Spezza scored in regulation and had the only goal in a shootout, lifting the Senators to a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Defenceman Erik Karlsson had a goal and two assists, and goalie Robin Lehner made 35 saves to help the Senators halt a six-game losing streak. "Its been a frustrating stretch of games here and difficult emotionally for us to lose that many hockey games in a row at this time of year," Spezza said. "Hopefully we can string a few together and feel good about ourselves again and just move forward," Karlsson said. "I think weve improved our game a lot, even though it hasnt been enough lately." Karlsson, the top-scoring defenceman in the NHL with 68 points, opened the scoring 3:57 into the game with his career-high 20th goal. Seventy seconds later, Nikita Kucherov snapped a shot past Lehner to tie it at 1. Ottawa took a 3-1 lead midway through the second period, when Spezza and Kyle Turris scored 44 seconds apart against former Senators goalie Ben Bishop. "Hes one of the best players in the world," Bishop said of Spezza. "I had him last time, he got me this time. I think were even now." The Lightning rallied from a two-goal deficit with power-play goals by Victor Hedman at 13:26 of the second period and Steven Stamkos at 5:44 of the third.dddddddddddd Bishop finished with 29 stops for Tampa Bay, which has earned a point in nine consecutive games (5-0-4) for the first time since its 2003-04 championship season. The loss, however, dropped the Lightning into a third-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Montreal Canadiens, who won a shootout at Boston. "We need to get every point that we can," Hedman said. "We want to be as high up in the standings as we can and get home ice." The Senators, meanwhile, are determined to finish strong. "We are fighting to the end and its nice for the guys to get this one," said Lehner, who won only once in his first seven career shootout appearances. Notes: Stamkos played in his 400th NHL game. ... Ottawa RW Bobby Ryan (lower body) sat out for the first time this season. He was replaced by Mark Stone, who was recalled from AHL affiliate Binghamton. ... Lightning C Valtteri Filppula has four goals and nine assists during a nine-game points streak. ... Tampa Bay has scored on the power play five games in a row. ... The Lightning have scored three or more goals in nine consecutive games. The Senators have allowed that many in 10 straight. ... The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds were in attendance. ' ' '