Colleges
Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno began talks that resulted in a sweetened retirement contract in the same month that he testified before a grand jury in the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse case, and all members of the board of trustees weren’t informed of the new package before the scandal engulfed the university, according to a report by the New York Times. Paterno and the university reached agreement on the amended contract that eventually totaled $5.5 million in August, months before charges were filed against Sandusky, the Times reported Saturday. The amended contract included a $3 million career bonus if Paterno retired at the end of the 2011 season. The newspaper cited university records in saying Paterno first broached the idea of revisiting his contract in January 2011, the same month he made a brief appearance before the grand jury. The Times said the full board of trustees only learned about the lucrative contract when Sandusky was arrested in November and two university officials were charged. Paterno died in January at age 85 . . . Artist Michael Pilato removed a halo from a mural of Paterno. Pilato had put a halo over Paterno’s image after the beloved coach’s death, but said he felt he had to remove it Saturday after a report that Paterno, former university president Graham Spanier, and others buried allegations of child sex abuse against Sandusky . . . Frank Burns, 84, who played for Rutgers and went on to become the school’s all-time winningest football coach with a 78-43-1 record, has died.
Baseball
Orioles’ Hammel considering surgery
Orioles righthander Jason Hammel will miss his next scheduled start and is considering surgery on his ailing right knee, a procedure that could sideline him for six weeks. Hammel left Friday ’s game against Detroit in the fourth inning after hurting his knee while throwing a pitch. ‘‘Honestly, I just want my knee to feel normal again,’’ Hammel said. ‘‘So I’m kind of leaning toward surgery, but I haven’t made that decision yet.’’ . . . The Tigers placed rookie lefthander Drew Smyly on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his right side. In his last appearance, Smyly struck out a career-high 10 batters in a 4-2 win over Kansas City . . . The Braves recalled shortstop Tyler Pastornicky from Triple A Gwinnett. Pastornicky began the season as Atlanta’s starting shortstop, but poor fielding cost him the job when the Braves purchased the contract of Andrelton Simmons from Double A Mississippi May 31. Simmons was placed on the 15-day disabled list last week with a broken right pinkie. The Braves also acquired shortstop Paul Janish from the Reds for righthander Todd Redmond.
Tennis
Serena advances to Bank of West final
Serena Williams overpowered Sorana Cirstea, 6-1, 6-2, in the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif., to set up the first All-American WTA final on home soil in eight years. She will go for her second straight title against Coco Vandeweghe, who reached her first WTA Tour final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Yanina Wickmayer . . . Top-seeded David Ferrer advanced to the final of the Swedish Open after ousting Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. Ferrer will face Nicolas Almagro, who ousted Jan Hajek, 6-4, 6-3 . . . French Open runner-up Sara Errani beat Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the Italiacom Open final. British teenager Laura Robson’s run ended with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to eighth-seeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the other semifinal.
Miscellany
Raiders’ Branch gets 4-year contract
The Oakland Raiders agreed to a four-year contract with safety Tyvon Branch. CBS Sports reported the contract is worth $26.6 million with $17.1 million guaranteed . . . The boss of British security group G4S said he was sorry his company had bungled the security contract for the 2012 Olympic Games, a humbling apology televised by the BBC. ‘‘It’s a very complex process,’’ said Nick Buckles. “No one’s ever undertaken to recruit 10,000 fully trained security staff for such a lengthy period of time.’’ Buckles added he only became aware of the security shortage eight or nine days ago . . . Australian track athlete John Steffensen, who is of aboriginal descent, threatened to boycott the Olympics after alleging racism because he was not selected to run the 400 meters. The dual Commonwealth Games gold medalist was upset after an individual 400 berth was granted to teenager Steve Solomon, who also achieved an Olympic qualifying time. Steffensen was selected only as a member of Australia’s 4 x 400 relay team . . . In Major League Lacrosse, Matt Poskay scored five goals to lead the Cannons, but they lost to the Long Island Lizards, 14-11, in Hempstead, N.Y. . . . In Las Vegas, Danny Garcia stopped heavy favorite Amir Khan, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist for Britain, at 2:28 in the fourth round to stay undefeated and add the WBA super lightweight belt to his WBC one.