In Brief

BASKETBALL

Former UCLA player, coach Hazzard dies after long illness

Walt Hazzard, a former UCLA and NBA standout who played on the Bruins' first NCAA championship basketball team in 1964 and later coached the team for four seasons in the 1980s, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 69.

Hazzard's family said he had been recuperating for a long time from complications following heart surgery. The school said Hazzard died at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

Hazzard had a stroke in March 1996 and made a strong recovery but became less publicly active. He made occasional appearances at UCLA games in recent years.

Hazzard was co-captain of the 1964 national title team under coach John Wooden. He was 77-46 as the school's coach.

GOLF

Choi takes one-stroke lead in LPGA Tour's season finale

Na Yeon Choi shot a 1-under-par 71 in swirling wind to take a one-stroke lead over Sandra Gal after the second round of the LPGA Tour's season-ending Titleholders in Orlando, Fla. She was at 7-under 137.

Choi opened with a four-putt double bogey on the first hole and was 2 over through six holes. She rallied with three birdies in a four-hole stretch.

Gal had her second straight 69. Hee Young Park (69) and Paula Creamer (71) were 4 under. Michelle Wie was even par after a 73, and top-ranked Yani Tseng was 2 over after a 76.

Also: South Africa's Jbe Kruger shot a 5-under 67 to take a four-stroke lead after the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Malelane, South Africa. Kruger was at 13-under 131. He had an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.

Jeff Freeman won the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., shooting his fourth straight 5-under 66 for a four-stroke victory.

MISCELLANEOUS

Missouri football coach gets probation for drunken driving

Suspended Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving in Columbia, Mo., and received a 30-day suspended sentence and two years' probation.

Pinkel, 59, was arrested in Columbia on Wednesday night and suspended without pay the next day for the final home game of the season against Texas Tech today. Defensive coordinator Dave Steckel will lead the team.

Pinkel could lose as much as $306,000 for the incident.

Also: Seventh-seeded UNLV upset No. 2 San Diego State 3-0 (25-20, 29-27, 25-23) in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference volleyball tournament at Albuquerque, N.M. The Rebels (13-16) will meet second-seeded Texas Christian today in the semifinals.

Makenzie Moea'i had 12 kills and Madeline Westman and Candice Thomas nine each for UNLV. Westman also had a match-high eight blocks. Stephanie Thelen had a team-high 34 assists, and Allison Davies led the Rebels in digs with 11.

Forward Judd Blackwater scored three goals and goaltender Joe Fallon stopped 21 shots to lead the Wranglers to a 5-0 ECHL victory over the Utah Grizzlies in West Valley City, Utah.

Blackwater has tallied points in 10 straight games. Forward Eric Lampe and left wing Ned Lukacevic also scored for Las Vegas (8-4-3).

Also, the Wranglers signed Mike Hoffman, a 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pound defenseman who has spent most of his nine-year pro career in the American Hockey League.

Hoffman, who has compiled 50 points and 621 penalty minutes in 289 AHL games, replaces defenseman Jamie Fritsch, who was called up to Bridgeport (AHL). Las Vegas forward Pete MacArthur, riding an eight-game point streak, was called up to Peoria (AHL).

Drosselmeyer, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic and Belmont Stakes, has been retired to stand at stud in Kentucky. The 4-year-old son of Distorted Humor out of Golden Ballet will stand at WinStar Farm in Versailles for a $17,500 fee.

D.C. United midfielder Dwayne De Rosario was named Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Player, capping a season in which he was traded twice. He was the league's leading scorer with 16 goals and 12 assists.

Trying to stem the uproar caused by his comments on racism, FIFA president Sepp Blatter expressed regret for causing offense to anyone but stopped short of a full apology and rejected calls to resign. Blatter said he was sorry for the furor caused by his claim that racist abuse does not exist on the soccer field and that any racial incidents could be settled by a handshake at the end of a match.

Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said four people have been arrested in connection with the death of Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High School football player Griffen Kramer, the son of former NFL quarterback Erik Kramer. Thursday's arrests follow the Oct. 30 death of the 18-year-old varsity backup quarterback.