Mark Sanchez's trial date set for Dec. 11 over fight with driver - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis judge on Wednesday confirmed Dec. 11 as the trial date for Fox Sports analyst and former NFL player Mark Sanchez, who is charged with attacking and seriously injuring a truck driver outside a hotel in what prosecutors say was a dispute over a parking place.

The pretrial conference lasted only about 2½ minutes. Sanchez, who was more seriously hurt in the confrontation, was not required to be present and did not enter a plea.

«Thank you for allowing our client to be excused from today's hearing,» defense attorney Tim DeLaney told the judge, who also set another hearing for Nov. 20 and confirmed the next pretrial conference date for Dec. 2. «He's still recovering from the injuries he sustained.»

Most of those dates were set earlier, but they're all subject to change. DeLaney said Sanchez's recovery process is ongoing and might impact the schedule. Prosecutors expressed doubt afterward that Dec. 11 is a realistic trial date.

Defense attorneys left without taking questions from reporters.

Sanchez has been off the air since the Oct. 4 incident at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. He was in town for the weekend's game between the Colts and the Las Vegas Raiders. Sanchez was stabbed in the chest and spent a week in a hospital. The trucker, who claims self-defense and has not been charged, is suing him and Fox Sports for unspecified damages.

Prosecutors charged Sanchez with a felony count of battery involving serious bodily injury, along with three misdemeanor charges, including public intoxication. He declined to address the allegations as he left the hospital with an arm in a sling Oct. 12.

«I'm just focused on my recovery, and I just want to thank the first responders,» Sanchez told