Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 26, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE C4 C 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 2015 SPORTS winnipegfreepress. com 1143 PEMBINA HWY. . 204- 477- 1701 . www. wildwoodsports. com ONE DAY as well as ONLY refreshments, door prizes, parts & accessories specials! Featuring the all new PLUS: ALL NEW Multistrada DVT Monster 1200 S Diavel Panigale 1299 S Monster 821 DON'T MISS THIS YEAR'S 2015 DUCATI MODEL LINE- UP PREMIERE FRIDAY, JANUARY 30TH e AY, The Wire F ALL RIVER, Mass. - Aaron Hernandez once seemed to be a man with a bright future. At age 23 he had a Super Bowl appearance under his belt and a $ 40- million contract as a star tight end with the New England Patriots. He and his fianc�e had started a family, living in a mansion in the Boston suburbs with their eight- month- old daughter. This week, prosecutors will paint a different picture of Hernandez: They will portray him as a killer who orchestrated the shooting of semiprofessional football player Odin Lloyd. Hernandez was arrested days after Lloyd's bullet- riddled body was found in an industrial park near his North Attleborough mansion. He has pleaded not guilty and, after more than two weeks of jury selection, his trial is expected to kick off in earnest this week with opening statements. The case will be laid out in the courtroom just as Hernandez's old team prepares for Sunday's Super Bowl, the Patriots' first appearance since 2012, when Hernandez caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLVI. The Patriots cut him less than two hours after he was arrested. Hernandez, now 25, is also charged with killing two men in Boston in 2012 because he felt disrespected after one of them spilled a drink on him at a nightclub. He pleaded not guilty after being charged in those shootings in May, and the case has not yet gone to trial. Lloyd, 27, played for the Boston Bandits football team and was dating the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fianc�e. Prosecutors say he and Hernandez were friendly and had been at a nightclub together a couple of days before he was killed. Prosecutors have said Hernandez and two friends from his hometown of Bristol, Conn., picked up Lloyd at his home in Boston's Dorchester section around 2: 30 a. m. on June 17, 2013. Those men, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, have also pleaded not guilty to murder charges and will be tried separately. From Dorchester, prosecutors say the four men drove to North Attleborough in a rented Nissan Altima, stopping along the way to buy bubble gum at a gas station. An hour after he left his house, prosecutors say Lloyd was dead, shot multiple times by a .45- calibre Glock. They have not said who pulled the trigger, but say Hernandez orchestrated the killing. The murder weapon has not been found. Prosecutors have said toll booth, video surveillance, GPS and cellphone records clearly place Hernandez in the car with Lloyd at the time of his murder, and have said video from the security system inside Hernandez's own home shows him walking through his house with a gun minutes after the killing. Christopher Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, said while the Bristol County District Attorney's office has a lot of circumstantial evidence, its challenge is to offer a motive to jurors. Prosecutors have said a possible motive was Hernandez may have showed Lloyd the spot where the 2012 shooting took place. But Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh last month ruled they may not introduce anything having to do with the 2012 killing in the Lloyd murder trial. The lack of a clear motive is the biggest weakness in the prosecution's case, Dearborn said. " You need to give a jury a reason why, or they're going to have pause," Dearborn said. " I don't think they have a motive that they can present in concrete fashion with witnesses that can support a motive." Hernandez's legal team is likely to focus on the holes, Dearborn said. " We don't have a weapon. We don't have a confession. We don't have eyewitnesses," he said. Hernandez's team does not have to offer a defence or explanation, or even deliver an opening statement. But Dearborn said he expects to hear one. " They will absolutely have to have their own narrative," he said. " That narrative will probably suggest alternatives." - The Associated Press MATT SLOCUM / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was able to break a lot of tackles, but might not be able dodge a long prison term. Hernandez trial set to kick off Expert says prosecutors lack motive By Michelle R. Smith MOSCOW - The Kontinental Hockey League's president says he wants to slash its salary cap as clubs struggle financially in Russia's economic crisis. Dmitry Chernyshenko told Russian media Saturday he wants to cut the 1.1- billion ruble ($ 17- million) salary cap by 50 million rubles a year each season until 2017- 18. At current exchange rates, that would result in a cap a fifth of the NHL's current $ 69- million level. The plans likely spell an end to the KHL's plans to rival the NHL's popularity and attract big- name players from North America. Almost all of the KHL's 28 clubs rely heavily on Russian state- owned companies and regional governments for their revenue. With Russian government finances under pressure from low oil prices, several clubs are reportedly struggling to pay players. KHL not doing so well, wants to slash salaries AK BARS Kazan, one of the KHL teams struggling with the Russian recession. ASPEN, Colo. - Regina's Mark McMorris won the gold medal in the men's slopestyle snowboard event Sunday at the Winter X Games. McMorris was fourth after the first run, but landed a second run of 96 points to claim his second gold of the X Games. He also won the big air snowboard title earlier in the week. Stale Sandbech finished second with a first- run score of 95, while Sweden's Sven Thorgren was third with 92. In women's slopestyle, Norway's Silje Norendal was first with 93.66 points. Jamie Anderson of the United States was second with 91.33 and Christy Prior of New Zealand third with 89.33. Spencer O'Brien of Courtenay, B. C., was fourth with 87.33. - The Canadian Press Regina snowboarder claims X Games gold OBERSTDORF, Germany - Calgary's Taylor Henrich won Canada's first World Cup women's ski jumping medal Sunday, finishing third at an event in Germany. Henrich posted jumps of 93 and 95.5 metres to claim the bronze with 228.6 points. " It's actually been televised in Canada, so I'm pretty exited about that," Henrich said. " Being able to podium, it is just an awesome feeling. I've been training really hard and jumping really well in training, I just wanted to compete same way that I train." Austria's Daniela Iraschko- Stolz, the Olympic silver medallist took the gold medal. She posted 97.5 metres for the day's longest jump with her first effort and 89.5 with her next for a total of 234.3 points. Carina Vogt of Germany had jumps of 96.5 and 91, to finish just 0.6 points behind Iraschko- Stolz. Sara Takanashi of Japan could only finish fifth with jumps of 90 and 90.5, allowing Iraschko- Stolz - who claimed her season's first victory Saturday - to lead the standings with 442 points at the halfway stage. - The Canadian Press Canada's Henrich flies to World Cup bronze NATHAN DENETTE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES CHICAGO - Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks died after a heart attack, an attorney representing the Hall of Famer's family said Sunday. With Banks' widow standing nearby at a news conference at a downtown hotel, Mark Bogen said Banks had the heart attack Friday in Chicago and died later that day. He did not provide any other details. " I want you to know that he was very beloved and he is going to be dearly missed by family, friends and all his fans," Liz Banks said. The Cubs and Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office announced the statue of Banks that has stood outside Wrigley Field since 2008 will be placed in Chicago's Daley Plaza this week, remaining there from Wednesday morning through Saturday. The statue has long been a popular spot for fans to take photographs and after Banks's death many went to the ballpark to put flowers near it only to discover that the statue had been removed during the Wrigley field renovation project. - The Associated Press Taylor Henrich landed on the podium. Heart attack felled Banks: lawyer C_ 04_ Jan- 26- 15_ FP_ 01. indd C4 1/ 25/ 15 9: 26: 48 PM ;