In Brief
BASKETBALL
Kentucky freshman Davis,
Missouri coach Haith honored
Kentucky freshman forward Anthony Davis was named The Associated Press' College Basketball Player of the Year on Friday, and Missouri's Frank Haith was selected Coach of the Year.
The 6-foot-10-inch Davis became the first Kentucky player and second freshman to win the award. He averaged 14.3 points -- on a team with six double-figure scorers -- 10.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks while shooting 64.2 percent from the field. His block total is a school record and third-best ever for a freshman.
Davis received 43 votes from the 65-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Balloting was done before the NCAA Tournament. Thomas Robinson of Kansas was second with 20 votes, and Draymond Green of Michigan State got the other two votes.
Haith's first season at Missouri ended with a second-round loss to 15th-seeded Norfolk State in the NCAA Tournament. But the Tigers won 30 games and the Big 12 tournament and were ranked in the AP poll the entire season, reaching second for one week and third in the final poll.
Haith received 21 votes. John Calipari of Kentucky and Tom Izzo of Michigan State tied for second with 10 votes each.
Also: The U.S. women's basketball team headed to the London Olympics this summer will have a familiar feel for coach Geno Auriemma of Connecticut. Five former Huskies -- Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Maya Moore and Tina Charles -- are on the team announced Friday. All five helped the U.S. qualify for the Olympics by playing on the 2010 world championship team that won the gold medal.
Joining them is two-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings. Also returning for a second straight Olympics are Candace Parker, Seimone Augustus and Sylvia Fowles. Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry will be competing in the Olympics for the first time and trying to help the U.S. win a fifth straight gold medal. The Americans have won 33 straight Olympic games.
Only 11 of the 12 roster spots were announced. The final spot could go to Baylor junior Brittney Griner, who would become the first college women's basketball player to compete in the Olympics for the U.S. since 1988 when Vicky Bullett (Maryland) and Bridgette Gordon (Tennessee) played.
Former UNLV forward Chace Stanback scored 16 points, but his West team lost to the East 103-99 in the Reese's College All-Star Game in New Orleans. Jae Crowder, the Big East Conference player of the year from Marquette, scored 25 points to lead the East.
Tray Woodall scored 17 points to spark host Pittsburgh to a 71-65 victory over Washington State in the championship game of the College Basketball Invitational. Tournament Most Valuable Player Lamar Patterson had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Panthers (22-17), who won the final two games of the best-of-3 series against the Cougars (19-18).
Big East presidents agreed on a policy that would bar the Connecticut men's basketball team from next season's conference tournament because the Huskies haven't qualified academically for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. The team said the surgery was successful and that Hill should return this season.
Boston Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal had season-ending surgery on his left wrist. He appeared in 25 games, averaging 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22.8 minutes.
FOOTBALL
Saints coach Payton to appeal
season-long bounty suspension
Saints coach Sean Payton is appealing his season-long suspension from the NFL for his role in New Orleans' bounty system.
General manager Mickey Loomis, assistant coach Joe Vitt and the Saints organization also decided to appeal. Loomis was suspended for eight games, Vitt got a six-game suspension, and the team was fined $500,000 and lost second-round draft picks this year and in 2013.
Payton also will ask commissioner Roger Goodell for guidance on the parameters of the suspension, which runs through next year's Super Bowl.
Goodell last week announced the suspension of Payton, starting Sunday, for his role in connection with New Orleans' bounty system, which offered improper cash bonuses for big hits that either knocked opponents out of games or left them needing help off the field. Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who left the Saints after last season to join the St. Louis Rams, ran the bounty program and has been suspended indefinitely.
The commissioner has said since the unprecedented penalties were announced that the Saints' coach probably would be allowed to continue working as his appeal was resolved. But he added that the challenge would be expedited.
Also: The Oakland Raiders acquired running back Mike Goodson from the Carolina Panthers for offensive tackle Bruce Campbell. Goodson, who ran for 501 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons with Carolina, became expendable after the team signed free-agent running back Mike Tolbert.
The Raiders also agreed to a one-year deal with unrestricted free agent Philip Wheeler, filling their void at starting outside linebacker.
The NFL suspended New York Giants running back Andre Brown for the first four games of the 2012 season for violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substances. Brown was on the Giants' practice squad last season and did not play.
Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters ruptured his right Achilles while training this week and is expected to miss the season. He will have surgery next week.
The New England Patriots re-signed wide receiver Deion Branch, who had 51 catches for 702 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf was arrested in Great Falls, Mont., his hometown, on burglary and drug possession charges. He was freed on $76,000 bond and is scheduled to make an initial court appearance Monday.
Prosecutors in Harrisburg, Pa., filed a document listing 33 statements made by two Penn State administrators to support the perjury charges against the men, accused of lying to a grand jury investigating child sex abuse allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. A second document defended the case and said a judge should not dismiss the charges.
The statements laid out by the state attorney general's office are from January 2011, when athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz appeared before a secret grand jury investigating Sandusky. Many of the statements downplay the seriousness of a report Curley and Schultz fielded from graduate assistant Mike McQueary, who said he saw Sandusky in the football team shower with a boy a decade ago.
GOLF
Davis, Oosthuizen tied for lead
in suspended Houston Open
Brian Davis shot a 7-under-par 65 in the second round and shares the lead at 11-under 133 with Louis Oosthuizen at the Houston Open in Humble, Texas. The round was suspended because of darkness with 70 players on the course.
Houston resident Jeff Maggert was at 10 under, but he had eight holes to play in his round. Defending champion Phil Mickelson (70), J.B. Holmes (67), Tommy Gainey (67) and Greg Owen (69) finished their rounds and were two shots behind the leaders at 9 under. Ernie Els, who must win to qualify for next week's Masters, was at 5 under after a 69.
A thunderstorm dumped 1¼ inches of rain Thursday, causing the backup. The players enjoyed sunny and calm conditions Friday, but the fairways were damp, and players were permitted to lift, clean and place.
Also: Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot her second straight 4-under 68 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, Calif., taking a one-stroke lead over Haeji Kang after the second round of the LPGA Tour's first major of the year. Tseng is at 8-under 136.
Lindsey Wright and Sun Young Yoo were third at 6 under, while Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak was three strokes back in fifth midway through the only major she has never won.
Six players -- Peter Lawrie, Jamie Donaldson, David Lynn, Pelle Edgerg, Maarten Lafeber and Simon Wakefield -- share the second-round lead in the European Tour's Sicilian Open in Sciacca, Sicily. They are at 8-under 136, one stroke ahead of seven golfers.
LOCAL COLLEGES
Rebels' late rally falls short
in 4-2 baseball loss at TCU
UNLV was shut out for eight innings and lost to Texas Christian 4-2 in a Mountain West Conference baseball game at Fort Worth, Texas.
Brandon Bayardi went 2-for-3 for the Rebels (12-14, 1-6 MWC), who grounded into double plays in three straight innings. They scored twice in the ninth, on Cole Wilstead's RBI double and a botched pickoff attempt at third base that allowed Danny Higa to score.
TCU (13-10, 5-2) scored a run in the third and three in the fourth off UNLV starter Joe Robinson (2-4), who allowed six hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings.
Also: UNLV senior Bethany Calvo is tied for the lead after the first round of the ASU women's golf invitational in Tempe, Ariz. Calvo opened with a 4-under-par 67 for the Rebels, who are tied for fifth after shooting their best round of the year, a 3-over 287. Fifth-ranked Arizona State leads at 4-under 280.
UNLV's Myshauna Alexander finished seventh in the javelin with a throw of 152 feet, 9 inches at the Texas Relays in Austin.
The College of Southern Nevada defeated Utah State-Eastern 8-4 and 17-6 in a Scenic West Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader at Price, Utah. Morgan Stotts went 6-for-9, including three doubles and a triple, with three RBIs for CSN (24-10, 11-7 SWAC). Chad Whiteaker slugged a three-run homer in the first game, and Quinnton Mack and Anthony Ford homered in the second game.
Alicia Firelein, Desiree Laswell, Erin Romero and Hope Curtis homered in a seven-run seventh inning to power CSN to an 8-7 victory over North Idaho in the first game of a SWAC softball doubleheader in Moses Lake, Wash. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak, but the Coyotes lost the second game 4-0 to drop to 16-26 and 11-19.
MISCELLANEOUS
Djokovic, Murray to meet in
final; injured Nadal withdraws
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced to his first final since winning the Australian Open, beating Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6 (5) at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Djokovic's opponent Sunday will be 2009 champion Andy Murray, who advanced with a walkover when Rafael Nadal withdrew hours before their semifinal because of a left knee injury that has bothered him in recent weeks. Nadal said the injury has been getting worse, but he hopes for a quick recovery to avoid missing any of the clay-court season.
Also: Outfielder Alex Gordon, who had a breakout 2011 season after a mediocre first four years in the majors, agreed to a $37.5 million, four-year deal that includes a player option for 2016 to remain with the Kansas City Royals. Gordon, 27, hit .303 with 23 home runs, 45 doubles and 87 RBIs last season. He also won his first Gold Glove.
Jamie Moyer, a 49-year-old pitcher entering his 25th major league season, made the Colorado Rockies' starting rotation. The left-hander, who posted a 2.77 ERA this spring, will start the team's second game of the season, April 7 against the Houston Astros.
Pitcher Livan Hernandez agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves, a short time after he was released from a minor league deal with the Astros. The 37-year-old right-hander was the Opening Day starter for the Washington Nationals last season and went 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA in 29 starts.
The San Diego Padres signed pitcher Cory Luebke to a four-year contract worth $12 million. The 27-year-old was 6-10 with a 3.29 ERA in 46 games (17 starts) as a rookie last season.
Jason Isringhausen made the Los Angeles Angels' roster and is set for his 16th major league season. The 39-year-old reliever received a $650,000, one-year contract and a chance to make $200,000 in performance bonuses.
A Florida prosecutor dismissed a misdemeanor domestic battery charge against Manny Ramirez of the Oakland Athletics because his wife, the alleged victim, won't cooperate in the investigation. Ramirez had pleaded not guilty to slapping her last September.
