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Show Prosecutor apologizes to Duke lacrosse players DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — The local prosecutor who charged three Duke lacrosse players with raping a stripper apologized to the athletes Thursday and said the North Carolina attorney general's decision to drop the case was right. "To the extent that I made judgments that ultimately proved to be incorrect, I apologize to the three students that were wrongly accused," Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong said. On Wednesday, Attorney General Roy Cooper not only dropped all remaining charges against the players Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty and David Evans, but pronounced them innocent and said they were the victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse." Cooper branded Nifong a "rogue" prosecutor who was guilty of "overreaching." "I have ever}' confidence that the decision to dismiss all the charges was the correct decision based on that evidence," Nifong said. In what appeared 'to be a plea to the athletes not to take any further action, such as a lawsuit, he said: "It is my sincere desire that the actions of Attorney General Cooper will serve to remedy any remaining injury that has resulted from these cases." Nifong refused to answer any questions after handing the statement to an Associated Press reporter outside his office in Durham. Seligmanns attorney, Jim Cooney, responded bitterly to the apology. "You can accept an apology from someone who knows all the facts and simply makes an error," Cooney said. "If a person refuses to know all the facts and then makes a judgment, that's far worse _ particularly when that judgment destroys lives." Nifong stressed that it was his own decision to remove himself from the case that gave Cooper's office the opportunity to review the evidence against the athletes. "If I did not want to subject... my own performance to such scrutiny _ if, in other words, I had anything to hide _ I could have simply dismissed the cases myself," he said. "The fact that I instead chose to seek that review should, in and of itself, call into question the characterizations of this prosecution as 'rogue' and 'unchecked.'" Finnerty s father, Kevin Finnerty, said Nifong's "attempt at an apology" was "disingenuous and insincere." "It falls well short of whatever it might take to even remotely repair the damage he has inflicted on so many people," Finnerty said. When asked if he accepted the apology, Finnerty said: "I do not. Too little, too late." AP photo > MATT DANOWSKI of the Duke Lacrosse team speaks, with teammate Ed Douglas at right, at a news conference on the Duke University campus, Wednesda in Durham, N.C. Danowskl spoke to the teams reaction following prosecutors dropping all remaining charges against three Duke players. Evans' attorney, Joseph Cheshire, accused Nifong of engaging in "revisionist history" with his statement. "It's not an apology. It's an excuse. It's an attempt at an excuse," Cheshire said. "It's not an acceptance of responsibility. It's a self-serving attempt to excuse bad behavior." Also Thursday, Cooper said in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that will air this weekend that the accuser continued changing her story during his office's review of the case. "We started out knowing we *j had a problem ... and the way it turned out, it was much worse than we thought," A Cooper said in excerpts released by CBS. He also saidhe was offended by Nifong's conduct. Sabres take out Islanders in first AP photo NEW YORK ISLANDERS' MIKE SILUNGER (18) takes a shot under pressure from Buffalo Sabres' Brian Campbell (51) during the second period of the NHL hockey playoff game at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y., Thursday. BUFFALO, N.Y. CAP) - Second season, familiar result. The Buffalo Sabres can still score and still win. Chris Drury and Brian Campbell each scored two goals, helping the top-seeded Sabres open the playoffs with an efficient 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders in their Eastern Conference series Thursday night. As they did in finishing the season with a league-leading 53 wins and 308 goals, the Sabres showed off their balanced offense. Campbell's game-opening goal was set up by fourth-line center Tim Connolly, and Buffalo converted two of six power-play chances. Better still, Buffalo was sound on defense, limiting the Islanders to 21 shots, including just one in the first period. Arron Asham scored for New York, which clinched the East's eighth and final playoff berth by winning its last four games of the regular season. Minor league goaltender Wade Dubielewicz wasn't to blame in making his career playoff debut filling in for starter Rick DiPietro, who's out after sustaining two con- j cussions last month. Dubieiewicz kept the Isles in by stopping 20 ''" of the first 22 shots, and finished with 31 saves. t Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is at Buffalo on Saturday. ^ The Sabres never trailed, with Drury scoring the go-ahead goal on a power-play in the second period. Driving into the slot, he flipped in a loose puck after Campbell's shot was blocked in front. Drury then made it 3-1 when he J< one-timed Dainius Zubrus' crossice feed just as a Sabres power-play chance ended a minute into the :' third period, while Campbell later added a power-play goal. Zubrus , had three assists. The win was the first step for . a Sabres team whose lone objective since the start of the season has been winning the Stanley Cup. Buffalo is focused after returning . the same core of players that got within one win of last year's finals • HOCKEY see page 7 7 Chicago a good site for 2016 Olympic Games, candidate Romney say CHICAGO (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who headed up the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, says Chicago would be a "wonderful" place to host the Olympics. Romney was careful not to take sides as Chicago and Los Angeles wait to learn Saturday which city the U.S. Olympic Committee will pick to be the American bidder for the 2016 Summer Games. "I'm not going to be partisan in that battle," he told reporters during a campaign visit. Romney pledged to help whichever American bid city is chosen get the nod from the International Olympic Committee. The IOC won't pick a host city until 2009. Other bidders are expected to include Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Rome; and Tokyo. "This is a great city. It'd be a wonderful place to host the Games," he said. "We're lucky to have two great cities in this final stage of the process." On political matters, Romney said he supports President Bush's policy in Iraq, but he acknowledged a "number of errors" over the last three years. He said the U.S. was "under prepared" for what happened after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government, had "under planned" for what occurred and had not effectively managed the war. "We have helped contribute to the difficult position in which we find ourself," he said. If the United States were to "withdraw precipitously" from Iraq, he said, it would be even riskier for the U.S. because a regional conflict could cause troops to have to return to a worse situation. Romney criticized attempts by Congress to set a withdrawal date for troops in Iraq. "I don't believe that Congress should be trying to ' manage the war," he said. vast improvement this year, moving up to the number one singles spot a few matches ago. At the number two singles position, Hannes Schenk won in a see-saw battle, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2. Jonas Tyden (6-1, 6-4) and Mike Banks (6-2, 6-2) each won their matches in the fourth and sixth singles positions. The four singles matches and the doubles point helped lift the Aggies to the 5-2 victory. The win helped to remedy the loss they suffered earlier in the year against the southern rivals. The Aggies will look to build on the progress they have made this Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Boise to play Fresno State d and Boise State. Hopefully > . they will be able to maintain the consistent play that 11 has helped them find success in recent matches. -wwm(5icc.usu.edu 11 • MEN'S TENNIS From page 9 the Aggies won four of the six matches. Freshman Oscar Ericsson won his match, 6-3, 6-4, and improved to 8-4 for the season. Ericsson has shown We Fit Your Needs All engagement rings O N SALE! 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