IN BRIEF

GOLF

UNLV women's team nets NCAA regional bid

The UNLV women's golf team earned a berth to the NCAA West Regional, set for May 8-10 in Sacramento, Calif., the Division I women's golf committee announced Monday.

It's the sixth straight regional bid in the seven-year history of the program, and the Rebels were seeded 16th in the 21-team field. The top eight teams from each of three regionals advance to the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., May 20-23.

UNLV was joined by Mountain West Conference rival Brigham Young in the West Regional, which also includes eight teams ranked in Golfweek's top 25, led by No. 1 Southern California.

Also: Phil Harison, who introduced everyone from Ben Hogan to Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods during his 60 years as the starter on the first tee of the Masters, has died. He was 82.

He died Sunday of natural causes, according to Augusta National Golf Club.

Harison was one of two people to attend every Masters since it began in 1934.

FOOTBALL

Running back Rhodes released by Raiders

The Oakland Raiders released running back Dominic Rhodes, two days after using their top draft pick to take big-play back Darren McFadden.

Oakland had a glut at running back after the draft and began addressing it almost immediately by announcing the team cut ties with Rhodes. The Raiders still have two backs with 1,000-yard seasons on their roster in Justin Fargas and LaMont Jordan.

Rhodes signed a two-year contract with the Raiders last offseason after helping Indianapolis win the Super Bowl. He restructured his contract earlier this offseason and was expected to share the rushing load with Fargas before McFadden was drafted.

Also: The Carolina Panthers added depth on their defensive line by agreeing to a one-year deal with free agent Darwin Walker.

Walker's agent, Al Irby, confirmed the deal. The Chicago Bears let Walker go in February.

The Philadelphia Soul moved to 9-0 by routing the previously unbeaten Dallas Desperados 57-28 in the Arena Football League.

MISCELLANEOUS

Dawkins introduced as Stanford coach

Johnny Dawkins did the whole meet-and-greet thing on Stanford's campus, two days after becoming the Cardinal's new men's basketball coach.

The 44-year-old Dawkins, a longtime assistant coach at Duke under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski, was formally introduced by the school. He replaces reigning Pac-10 Coach of the Year Trent Johnson, who led Stanford to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 before leaving to coach Louisiana State.

Also: Alex Ovechkin joined the Russian squad for the world hockey championships and was awaiting insurance before he will be allowed to practice or play.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation will be responsible for insuring Ovechkin and the $124 million, 13-year contract he signed with the Washington Capitals earlier this year.

The New York Racing Association said it's closer to emerging from bankruptcy, and horse racing in the state got a potentially lucrative boost with a decision allowing racetracks and off-track betting facilities to take wagers over the Internet.

The NYRA holds the state's franchise to run thoroughbred racing at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. The group said a federal judge approved its amended plan to pay back creditors, a deal funded by a $105 million state bailout.