IN BRIEF

GOLF

Australian Green takes early lead at Texas Open

Australia's Nathan Green shot an 8-under-par 62 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Olin Browne and Paul Claxton at the Texas Open in San Antonio.

Green birdied nine of the first 16 holes before dropping a stroke on the par-3 17th and closing with a par.

Claxton and Browne, a three-time tour winner, had bogey-free 64s on La Cantera Golf Club's Resort Course.

Tim Herron, Greg Kraft, Patrick Sheehan, Jason Gore, Nick O'Hern and Chad Collins opened with 65s.

Also: Michele Redman and Sweden's Maria Hjorth shot 6-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour's Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, Calif.

In-Kyung Kim and Mikaela Parmlid were tied for second at 67.

Phil Blackmar, Bruce Fleisher and Des Smyth shot 5-under 65s in Timonium, Md., to share the first-round lead in the Senior Players Championship, the fifth and final Champions Tour major of the year.

Fred Funk, Scott Hoch, Bernhard Langer and Eduardo Romero opened with 66s.

England's Paul Broadhurst birdied two of his final three holes for a 4-under 67 and a share of the first-round lead in the Madrid (Spain) Masters with Sweden's Magnus Carlsson and Australia's Marcus Fraser.

MOTOR SPORTS

Rain gives Johnson pole for Sprint Cup race

Sprint Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole Saturday for the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway after rain in Concord, N.C., canceled qualifying 90 minutes before it was scheduled to begin.

The field was set based on owner points. Johnson and Carl Edwards, 72 points behind the leader, will start on the front row in the midpoint race in the Chase for the Cup.

Greg Biffle, 77 points behind Johnson, will start third, followed by Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick.

Also, witnesses said Edwards and Harvick scuffled after Edwards walked into Harvick's garage stall and the two engaged in a heated argument.

MISCELLANEOUS

Holyfield offered title fight against Valuev

Evander Holyfield has been offered a fight with WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev in December.

Holyfield, a former heavyweight champ who turns 46 this month, has not fought since losing a unanimous decision a year ago to then-WBO champion Sultan Ibragimov.

Should the fight happen, it probably will be staged in Switzerland or Germany, said Chris Meyer, Sauerland Event managing director.

Also: Guard Rudy Fernandez and center Joel Przybilla will not travel with the Portland Trail Blazers for their game in Kansas City, Mo., against Atlanta tonight.

Fernandez sprained his left ankle in the Blazers' 110-95 loss to Golden State on Wednesday. Przybilla has bronchitis.

The team also said small forward Martell Webster had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Webster, who was injured in the exhibition opener, probably will miss eight to 10 weeks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed free-agent center David Harrison.

The 7-foot Harrison, selected by Indiana in the first round of the 2004 draft, appeared in 189 games in four seasons with the Pacers, averaging 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Southeast Missouri State fired athletic director Don Kaverman and placed men's basketball coach Scott Edgar on administrative leave three days after the NCAA notified the school of possible major violations.

The moves come three months after the women's basketball team forfeited 44 wins, and the women's and men's programs were placed on two years' probation for major and secondary violations.

Associate athletic director Cindy Gannon was appointed interim AD.

Clint Malarchuk, the former NHL goalie best known for having his jugular vein slashed by a skate in a 1989 game with Buffalo, is recovering in Minden after accidentally shooting himself in the chin with a rifle.

Wife Christy told sheriff's deputies that the .22-caliber rifle discharged after her husband placed the butt on the ground between his legs. He had been shooting rabbits.

The 47-year-old former Las Vegas Thunder player, now a goalie coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, was flown by helicopter to a Reno hospital for treatment Tuesday.

Auburn assistant football coach Steve Ensminger will run the offense the rest of the season.

Coach Tommy Tuberville said Ensminger won't be a candidate to replace Tony Franklin as offensive coordinator. Tuberville fired Franklin six games into his first season with the 20th-ranked Tigers on Wednesday.

Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez went through a full session of practice and appears on track to start Saturday against Arizona State.

Sanchez sustained a bone bruise in his left knee in the third quarter of USC's 44-10 win over Oregon on Saturday.

The UNLV women's soccer team lost 1-0 to Brigham Young in Provo, Utah.

The Cougars (9-5, 1-1 Mountain West) outshot the Rebels (9-4-1, 1-1) 28-6, including 13-1 in the first half.

The UNLV men's tennis team lost three of four doubles matches against South Carolina in the Rebel Fall Invitational at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Wesley Burrows and Attila Toth teamed for the Rebels' victory.

Top UNLV men's tennis player Elliot Wronski lost both of his matches at the D'Novo ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

Wronski, ranked 49th, lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 to Georgia's Nate Schnugg, then was beaten 7-6, 6-1 by Stanford's Richard Wire.

The UNLV volleyball team lost to Utah 25-13, 25-14, 25-22 in Salt Lake City.

The Rebels (10-8, 3-2 MWC) are 0-11 in Salt Lake City since 1997.