In Brief

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

BYU rejected on TV rights issue, won't join Big East

Negotiations between the Big East and Brigham Young have broken off, and the school will not be joining the conference, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"BYU to the Big East is dead. It's not going to happen," said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. BYU athletic department spokesman Brett Pyne said in an email that school officials declined a request for comment.

The Big East was trying to add BYU as part of its plan to expand westward and become a 12-team football league. At issue are TV rights. The person said BYU wanted to retain the rights to its home football games, and the league could not agree to that. No other school in a major conference has such a deal.

BYU left the Mountain West Conference after last season, entered the West Coast Conference for all other sports besides football and struck an eight-year-deal with ESPN.

Also: Honolulu police said they don't have enough information to investigate allegations that University of Hawaii football players are involved in a point-shaving scheme. The department said it became aware of the allegations in early November.

Earlier Tuesday, the university released a statement saying the admissions office received an anonymous letter Nov. 3 accusing unnamed players of intentionally playing poorly to affect the final score as part of a gambling scheme. The university said officials immediately alerted police and the NCAA.

After winning 10 games in 2010, the Warriors are 5-6 this season. They're 3-7-1 against the point spread and have failed to beat the spread in almost two months.

UNR junior running back Mike Ball, who played at Desert Pines High School, was kicked off the team. Coach Chris Ault said Ball, the Wolf Pack's leading rusher, violated team rules and protocol. Ault declined to provide any details.

Ball had rushed for 704 yards and three touchdowns while starting five of nine games this season, and is UNR's leading kick returner with 1,695 yards. He ran for a career-best five touchdowns in a 63-28 win over UNLV as a freshman.

A heart condition called cardiomyopathy that was probably undiagnosed killed Arkansas tight end Garrett Uekman, a coroner said. Uekman, a 19-year-old redshirt freshman, died Sunday.

TENNIS

Federer rips Nadal in pool play at ATP World Finals

Roger Federer needed one hour to complete a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Rafael Nadal, qualifying for the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London with his most comprehensive victory over the Spaniard.

Pinned behind the baseline, Nadal found Federer's forehand unplayable. From 2-2 in the first set, Federer won 10 of the next 11 games. He finished with 28 winners to Nadal's four.

Nadal leads the series against Federer 17-9, but the Swiss player is 4-0 in their matches indoors.

In the first match, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga kept alive his hopes of reaching the final four by beating American Mardy Fish, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Federer's win means Fish cannot advance.

Andy Murray pulled out of the tournament with a groin strain. He lost in straight sets to David Ferrer on Monday.

MISCELLANEOUS

Kurt Busch loses another crew chief, makes YouTube

Steve Addington, the crew chief for NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kurt Busch, has left Penske Racing, the second crew chief Busch has lost in three seasons. Addington joined Penske before the 2010 season after spending two seasons working with Kyle Busch.

News that Addington had left the team came the same day a video shot by a fan emerged on YouTube of Busch verbally abusing an ESPN reporter during Sunday's season finale at Homestead, Fla. Busch also was caught during the live broadcast making an obscene gesture inside his car as he drove his wounded Dodge into the garage.

Busch lost crew chief Pat Tryson after the 2009 season, when Tryson left Penske to work for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Also: Arkansas junior forward Marshawn Powell, the team's leading scorer and leading returning rebounder, will miss the rest of the season with torn knee ligaments that will require surgery. Powell, a preseason second-team All-Southeastern Conference pick, averaged 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the team's first two games this season, shooting 71.4 percent from the field.

The Miami Marlins acquired left-hander Wade LeBlanc from the San Diego Padres for catcher John Baker.

LeBlanc went 5-6 with a 4.63 ERA last season, winning three of his final four decisions. In parts of four seasons with the Padres, he went 17-22 with a 4.54 ERA, starting 52 times. Baker was limited to 16 games last season after having elbow reconstruction surgery in September 2010. In 212 career games with the Marlins, he batted .271 with 14 home runs and 89 RBIs.

Antonio Margarito was granted a boxing license in New York, keeping his 154-pound title fight with Miguel Cotto on schedule for Dec. 3 at Madison Square Garden. The New York State Athletic Commission licensed Margarito after a medical examination determined he was healthy enough to fight. Last week, the commission ordered another examination of Margarito's eye, which was seriously injured during his loss to Manny Pacquiao last year.