Cable won’t face assault charges

From combined dispatches

Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable won’t face charges after being investigated over reports he assaulted one of his assistants, ending a two-month saga that was a cloud over the team’s season.

Napa County district attorney Gary Lieberstein said Thursday the investigation concluded no charges were warranted.

“Our duty is to do the right thing for the right reasons,” Lieberstein said. “Under the facts and circumstances of this case, it would be a miscarriage of justice to pursue criminal charges, and we will not ask our citizens to give up their valuable time for jury duty, nor will we allow our criminal justice system to be compromised.”

Cable has denied the charges from the beginning and said shortly before the district attorney’s announcement that he trusted in the legal system. Cable said he does not intend to speak to the media again until Friday.

“The Raider organization waited patiently for a comprehensive legal process to conclude, and now this matter has been resolved,” Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor said. “Our focus has been and remains on the New York Jets.”

COLTS: Receiver Anthony Gonzalez is nearly ready to return to action.

Gonzalez has been out since spraining ligaments in his right knee during a season-opening 14-12 victory over Jacksonville, and the starter opposite Reggie Wayne has not practiced since.

Gonzalez caught 57 passes for 664 yards last season, and he was primed to take over the No. 2 receiving spot after Marvin Harrison was released in the offseason. The noncontact injury derailed those plans, but coach Jim Caldwell said Gonzalez could practice this week.

LOS ANGELES: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he has signed a bill allowing the construction of a 75,000-seat stadium that developers hope will lure an NFL team back to the Los Angeles area.

Schwarzenegger said he signed the environmental exemption bill last week but saved the announcement for a news conference in Industry, where the stadium would be built about 15 miles east of Los Angeles.

The bill nullifies a lawsuit filed by residents in nearby Walnut over the project’s environmental impact.

Schwarzenegger called the lawsuit frivolous before a crowd of union members wearing hardhats. Across the street, a dozen protesters from Walnut and other nearby communities held signs saying “No Stadium.”

STEELERS: Safety Troy Polamalu didn’t practice for the second straight day while he heals from a left knee injury.

Polamalu is not believed to have had a setback in his rehabilitation, and he’s expected to play Sunday against Minnesota as long as he practices Friday.