Sports - Page 15

West Virginia's John Beilein took a break from feverishly drawing up a game plan for his next opponent in the National Invitation Tournament to catch a few hours of sleep. As the sun rose Wednesday, so did Beilein and his coaching staff. The one comforting thought was that Beilein figured Clemson's Oliver Purnell was probably doing the same. More Info...  

Running back Frank Gore has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the San Francisco 49ers, a reward for his team-record 1,695 yards rushing last season. Gore, who led the NFC in rushing in his second pro campaign, was due to earn $435,000 in the upcoming season. With the extension, the Pro Bowl running back will be under contract to the 49ers through 2011 with a deal containing more than... More Info...  

Former Major League baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five workers on his family's ranch, the Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday. Urbina, a former pitcher with the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, was also found guilty of illegal deprivation of liberty... More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. Jeff Burton could have turned Kyle Busch and won at Bristol, but he's just not that kind of racer. More Info...  

Jim Boylen's enthusiasm won over Utah athletic director Chris Hill and helped the longtime assistant land his first head coaching job. Boylen demonstrated quickly he was every bit as gung-ho as billed shortly after being introduced Tuesday as the new Utah coach. He worked as an assistant in college and the NBA for 20 years, and comes to Utah and the Mountain West Conference from Michigan State of... More Info...  

Duke has given Texas permission to speak to Gail Goestenkors about replacing retired Hall of Famer Jody Conradt as the Longhorns' women's basketball coach, a Duke team official said Tuesday. Duke spokesman Lindy Brown said Texas officials asked Monday to speak to Goestenkors, the seven-time Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year, and athletic director Joe Alleva granted the request. More Info...  

Bruce Pearl says he's happy at Tennessee and won't consider leaving now. The men's basketball coach was contacted Tuesday by Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, who got clearance the night before from Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton to talk to Pearl, a former Iowa assistant. Pearl told Barta he was not leaving Tennessee, and then he wanted fans to know. More Info...  

Latest news and information from the world of sports. LAKELAND, Fla. – Detroit's Chris Shelton went on a Ruthian tear before a precipitous fall left him struggling to live up to expectations. More Info...  

The Philadelphia Eagles acquired Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes and quarterback Kelly Holcomb from the Buffalo Bills on Monday night for defensive tackle Darwin Walker and a conditional draft pick in 2008. "This is something that has been brewing," Bills general manager Marv Levy said. "Takeo is a good person, but we wanted to strengthen our defensive tackle. More Info...  

Stan Heath can only wonder what next season would have been like at Arkansas. "I feel a little disappointed that I didn't get a chance to coach what I think was going to be my best basketball team," Heath said Monday. Heath was fired after five seasons at Arkansas after losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. More Info...  

If Kevin Durant and Greg Oden play only one season of college basketball, it will have been as All-Americans. The freshmen were voted to The Associated Press' All-America team Monday, the first members of their class so honored since 1989. The 6-foot-9 Durant, who led Texas to the Big 12 title game, was the only unanimous choice of the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. More Info...  

Serena Williams says a heckler bothered her throughout her match Monday at the Sony Ericsson Open, making at least one racist remark before he was finally ejected. "The guy said, `Hit the net like any Negro would.' I was shocked," Williams said. "I couldn't believe it. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double fault on that point." Williams won the third-round match against Lucie Safarova,... More Info...  

John Calipari, who guided Memphis to the NCAA regional final for the second straight season, received a contract extension through 2012 on Monday. Calipari's name was tossed out as a candidate for job openings like Kentucky even before Memphis lost 92-76 to top-seeded Ohio State in the South Regional on Saturday. More Info...  

ESPN is changing quarterbacks. Joe Theismann will no longer be part of the network's "Monday Night Football" broadcast and will be replaced as an analyst by Ron Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, the network announced Monday. Jaworski will join play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and analyst Tony Kornheiser in the booth. More Info...  

The New Orleans Saints will stay in Louisiana through the 2010 season, reaching an agreement with state officials. Both sides agreed Monday to toss out contract clauses that would have allowed the NFL team leave the state within the next four years. They also said they will keep negotiating on a deal that could keep the Saints in New Orleans beyond the current contract. More Info...  

The Indianapolis Colts will open the NFL season on Thursday night, Sept. 6, with a home game against the New Orleans Saints. In what has become a recent tradition, the Super Bowl winner hosts the opening game three days before the full schedule begins. "The Colts are the Super Bowl champions and New Orleans obviously was a terrific story on and off the field for the league," commissioner Roger... More Info...  

Kentucky's search for its next basketball coach won't include Rick Pitino. Pitino said Monday that while he enjoyed his eight years with the Wildcats, he's happy coaching Louisville and wouldn't consider returning to the school he led to the national championship in 1996. "I would never ever leave (Louisville) to go to another college because they're my family," Pitino said. More Info...  

Twenty-five years later, Georgetown got even for a coach named Thompson and a player named Ewing. In an NCAA tournament full of tremendous rallies, it was the Hoyas' turn -- against North Carolina, of all teams. Georgetown overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half, then ripped off 14 straight points in overtime to stun the top-seeded Tar Heels 96-84 in the East Regional final Sunday for their... More Info...  

The match included 25 double faults, one on a second serve that landed wide of the doubles alley. There were 91 unforced errors and 13 service breaks, resulting in 2 1/2 hours of fitful tennis before a stadium crowd that groaned at the mishits and missed chances. Maybe one match every 20 months between Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams is enough. More Info...  

As Jeff Burton considered how to beat Kyle Busch in the closing laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, he couldn't shake the lessons his mother taught him as a child. More Info...