SPORTS BRIEFS - Sports

SPORTS BRIEFS

Saturday, Apr 26, 2008 - 12:07 AM

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GOLF

Sorenstam stalking the lead

AVENTURA, Fla. - Annika Sorenstam shot a 4-under 67 on the Soffer course yesterday, drawing her to one shot of Young Kim at the midway point of the Stanford International Pro-Am.

Kim also shot a 67, matching her first-round score on Turnberry's Miller track. They'll enter the third round with a solid cushion over Paula Creamer (71) and Angela Stanford (70), both 2 under.

Sorenstam's day began with three straight birdies, and on a day where par seemed like a mystifying score for most players. Only seven players were under par through two rounds, with Meena Lee (71), Momeko Ueda (72) and Kyeong Bae (71) at 1 under to round out that elite group. The cut was 7 over, and even that wasn't enough to keep Morgan Pressel (74) around for the weekend.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Hansbrough staying at North Carolina

Tyler Hansbrough wants to make one more run at the national championship. The North Carolina star will have to wait a little longer to find out whether two of his high-scoring teammates will be back to help him. The Associated Press national player of the year said yesterday that he will return for his senior year. However, sophomores Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will declare for the NBA draft, though they won't hire agents - leaving open the possibility of their return.

Hansbrough, a 6-9 forward, averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds. He led the Tar Heels (36-3) to the winningest season in school history and the Final Four while sweeping the major national awards. He will be the first returning AP national player of the year since LSU's Shaquille O'Neal in 1991.

In other college basketball news:

Brigham Young guard Lee Cummard is entering the NBA draft but will keep his options open by not hiring an agent. Cummard, a 6-7 junior, said that he wants to see what kind of interest teams have in him between now and the June 26 draft. He has until June 16 to remove his name from consideration and still be able to return for his senior season.

TRACK AND FIELD

Texas triumphs in distance event

PHILADELPHIA - Leonel Manzano broke away from a crowded field in the final 200 meters and carried Texas to its third straight Relays' victory in the college men's distance medley relay championship at the 114th Penn Relays.

Erik Stanley, Danzell Fortson and Jacob Hernandez teamed with Manzano, the NCAA indoor mile champion, for a winning time of 9 minutes, 32.89 seconds. Stanford was second in 9:33.16, and hometown favorite Villanova was third in 9:34.39.

The victory moved Texas toward its stated goal of trying for a Relays sweep of the DMR, 3,200 and 4-mile relays. The sweep has been accomplished by four schools, Maryland in 1940, Michigan in 1945 and 2005, Arkansas in 1999, and Villanova 11 times from 1964-80.

Michigan women pulled off a Relays double for the second straight year, adding a victory in the 6,000 relay to Thursday's distance medley relay win. Danielle Tauro, Toni Lynn Salucci, Geena Gall and Nicole Edwards combined for a winning time of 17:28.98, the Wolverines' second straight win in the event.

NHL

Avalanche take hit at forward

DETROIT - Colorado Avalanche forward Wojtek Wolski will not play in Game 2 against the Detroit Red Wings and likely will miss the rest of the Western Conference second-round series because of an upper-body injury. Wolski was hurt in Detroit's 4-3 win Thursday night. Star forward Peter Forsberg, who was scratched from the series opener with a groin injury, is questionable for Game 2.

NBA

Cheeks fined for criticizing officals

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks was fined $25,000 by the NBA for his actions after Game 2 of the 76ers' playoff series against Detroit. Cheeks was cited for verbal abuse of the officials and for not leaving the court and going directly to the locker room at the end of Philadelphia's 105-88 loss. "It's just an error in judgment by me," Cheeks said before Game 3 last night. "They have the upper hand. I just need to abide by the rules."

ELSEWHERE

After years of battling the effects of Parkinson's disease, American cycling star Davis Phinney got some long-awaited relief. Doctors in Palo Alto, Calif., activated a pacemaker that was embedded earlier this month into Phinney's brain, and after several hours of adjusting the settings of the device, the 48-year-old former stage winner of the Tour de France had no detectable tremor on the left side of his body and was walking with far more ease than usual.

John McConnell, the steel magnate and majority owner of the Columbus Blue Jackets, died Friday. He was 84. The NHL club and Worthington Industries, the $3 billion-a-year steel processing company Mr. McConnell founded, announced the death. Mr. McConnell also was an early investor in Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew and a former minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

AROUND THE STATE

Tamera Young of James Madison was named Virginia Sports Information Directors all-state player of the year. Dukes teammate Dawn Evans was named top rookie, and ODU's Wendy Larry took home coach-of-the-year honors. Young, a Richmond Times-Dispatch all-state first team selection, led the CAA in scoring (20.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg) last season.