Former Canadian Football League player charged with murder

A former CFL football player accused of killing his girlfriend to prevent her from testifying in a child abuse case pleaded not guilty to murder charges in Chowchilla, Calif., on Wednesday.
Police said James Curry, 49, called authorities Friday to report the attempted suicide of girlfriend Jennifer Flores, 30.
But officials later ruled her death a murder.
Police Chief Jay Varney said Flores was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head in the couple's home.
Authorities believe Curry, a former standout with the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders, killed Flores because she was a witness in an unrelated case charging him with corporal punishment of a child.
He has pleaded not guilty in that case.


Curry's sister, Norma Serrano, insisted he is innocent and was devoted to Flores, with whom he owned a local pizzeria.
"James loved Jennifer, he loved his kids, she loved him," Serrano said. "He did everything for them, everything."
Curry, whose bail was set at $1 million US, told the Madera County judge Wednesday he didn't know if he could afford a lawyer, so the judge said he would assign him a public defender.

Canadian Football League QB leaves the field for the booth

TSN announced today 3-time Grey Cup championDanny McManus is joining the CFL on TSN broadcast team as a game analyst. The17-year CFL quarterback announced his retirement from the League earliertoday. McManus will make his broadcasting debut on June 28 during TSN's coverageof the CFL season-opening doubleheader. McManus will work 28 games this season, the majority of which will bealongside play-by-play announcer Rod Black in the broadcast booth. TSN willuse a three-man team on several occasions this season with McManus joiningChris Cuthbert and Glen Suitor in the booth. For select games, McManus willprovide analysis and insight from field level. "I've been playing football for more than 25 years. I've loved everyminute of my time in the CFL. Football is in my blood and I look forward tothe next phase of my career as an analyst on TSN," said McManus. "It'll benice to reunite with Matt Dunigan. It's been a while since we were teammates." McManus joins the popular CFL on TSN broadcast team of Cuthbert, Suitor,Black, on-site host Brian Williams, studio host Dave Randorf, and studioanalysts (and former CFLers) Chris Schultz, Hall-of-Famer Matt Dunigan andJock Climie. McManus and Dunigan were teammates in 1992 with Winnipeg. "We were blown away by Danny's audition. He's articulate, entertaining,and sure knows his football," said Jim Marshall, Executive Producer of Events,TSN. "With Suitor, Dunigan, Schultz, Climie and now McManus, TSN almost hasenough key players to start our own CFL team." All 50 of TSN's CFL telecasts this season will air live on TSN and TSNBroadband, with a minimum of 35 broadcasts airing in High Definition on TSNHD. The majority of HD telecasts will air Friday nights during the 11th seasonof the weekly staple Wendy's Friday Night Football. As one of the CFL's most successful quarterbacks, McManus sits second onthe CFL's career passing list with 53,255 yards and 3,640 completions. In2004, he became just the third player in CFL history to pass for over 50,000yards. Throughout his storied 17-year career, McManus made six Grey Cupappearances, winning three championships (1990 with Blue Bombers, 1994 withLions, 1999 with Tiger-Cats). In 1999, McManus was named the CFL's MostOutstanding Player and Grey Cup MVP in Hamilton's victory over Calgary.McManus played for 5 teams throughout his CFL career: Winnipeg, B.C.,Edmonton, Hamilton and Calgary. McManus fills the analyst role previously held by Leif Pettersen, whosenew full-time job does not provide him the time needed to fit TSN's extensivecoverage into his busy schedule. TSN has been televising CFL games for 21 years (since 1986) and recentlyannounced a new five-year broadcast partnership beginning in 2008 thatprovides TSN with broadcast and digital rights for the CFL's entire 77-gamepackage annually, including all regular season games, divisional playoffmatches and the Grey Cup. TSN, a division of CTVglobemedia, is Canada's Sports Leader. Setting theCanadian sports broadcasting standard, TSN's flagship news program,SportsCentre, was voted the number-one source for sports news by sports fansfrom across the country.(*) TSN's comprehensive broadcast schedule also featuresthe NHL and first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs; Toronto MapleLeafs hockey; International Hockey including the IIHF World JuniorChampionship; the Olympic Games through 2012; CFL including Friday NightFootball; NFL including Sunday and Monday Night Football; PGA TOUR and allfour golf Majors; Season of Champions Curling; NASCAR including the Daytona500; Formula One including the Canadian Grand Prix; IRL including the Indy500; Blue Jays baseball; Raptors basketball and the NBA Finals; Tennis and allfour Grand Slam events; EURO 2008 and UEFA Champions League Soccer; HBO WorldChampionship boxing; and Figure Skating including the national championships.TSN HD offers more sports coverage, more hours and more events in HighDefinition than any other network in Canada, reinforcing TSN's position asCanada's Sports Leader in High Definition. TSN is available in 8.8 millionhouseholds. TSN's programming and news content is also available online atTSN.ca.