IN BRIEF

TRACK AND FIELD

Gay runs wind-aided 9.75 in first, only 100

It took Tyson Gay only 9.75 seconds to prove that he's healthy and leave the rest of the world wondering what he might do next.

With a helping wind at his back, America's best-known sprinter ran the 100 in the seventh-fastest time under any conditions Thursday, then exited stage right, not to be seen again at the U.S. championships in Eugene, Ore.

About a half hour after he ran, Gay's coaches confirmed he wouldn't be racing again this week.

"But I want to," Gay said. "Because I ran a horrible race."

Already qualified for this summer's world championships in Berlin, Gay used this single race as a tuneup. Because of the wind, the 9.75 won't go down as the American record, even though this was .02 seconds faster than the mark he set last year on the same track.

Record or no, over the past four weeks, Gay has made his point: He's ready to take on world-record holder Usain Bolt.

Also: Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay has pulled out of the U.S. championships with an injured left hamstring.

HOCKEY

Teen sensation expects to be top pick in draft

John Tavares has waited for this moment nearly all his life even though he is only 18.

Tavares very well could be the top pick at the NHL Draft today. The New York Islanders have the first selection.

"I've worked very hard to get where I am," said Tavares, who turns 19 on Sept. 20. "I've really changed a lot of things that I needed to to get myself for the next level, and it's always been my dream to play in the National Hockey League, so (today) is one step toward that."

Also: Sergei Fedorov is returning to his homeland.

Nineteen years after defecting from the Soviet Union, the former NHL Most Valuable Player and winner of three Stanley Cups has signed a two-year contract with Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

MISCELLANEOUS

Baseball star Harper garners another first

Las Vegas High School baseball standout Bryce Harper has made plenty of headlines this month.

First, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, then he made national news by announcing he had enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada and would skip his final two years of high school.

Now, Harper has done something no other sophomore ever had done. He was named Baseball America's High School Player of the Year.

Harper was nearly unstoppable this spring. He batted .626 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs.

In 39 games, Harper scored 76 runs and was walked 39 times. He stole 36 bases. Forty-five of his 72 hits went for extra bases.

He is the 18th winner of the Baseball America award and the first that wasn't a senior.

Also: UNLV women's golf sophomore Kristen Schelling advanced to the third round of the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Devens, Mass.

The University of Alabama has taken the first step toward appealing a ruling by the NCAA that forced the Crimson Tide football program to vacate 21 wins.

The university said it has sent a notice of appeal to the NCAA but won't contest other sanctions, including three years of probation.

The Kansas Board of Regents voted to require state universities to conduct regular audits that include their athletic departments after revelations that Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder and others received tens of thousands of dollars in undocumented payments.

An audit of Kansas State disclosed questionable financial dealings, including 13 undocumented payments totaling $845,000 to Snyder and two others.

Former Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe is returning to the bench after an eight-year absence.

Ellerbe was hired as an assistant at George Washington.