in brief

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Texas AD says school exploring
'all options' regarding Big 12

Texas is still "looking at all options" before deciding whether to stay in the crumbling Big 12 or move to another conference, athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Saturday.

Dodds spoke outside of his stadium suite before Saturday's Texas-Texas Christian playoff baseball game, but declined further comment on what those options are.

Dodds has said he wants to keep the Big 12 together. The Longhorns are considered the key to the league's survival, particularly after it lost Nebraska (Big Ten) and Colorado (Pacific-10) in a matter of two days this week.

The Texas regents have scheduled a meeting Tuesday for "discussion and appropriate action regarding athletic conference membership."

Meanwhile, Pac-10 officials met with top Oklahoma officials, a spokesman for the university's president said.

Jay Doyle, a spokesman for Oklahoma President David Boren, said Boren and athletic director Joe Castiglione "had a very cordial and informative meeting" with Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott and deputy commissioner Kevin Weiberg. Doyle would not elaborate.

Also: Taylor Jungmann gave up one run on six hits in 8 1/3 innings to lead Texas to a series-tying 14-1 win over Texas Christian in a best-of-3 NCAA Super Regional in Austin.

Texas and TCU, both 50-12, will face off today for a berth in the College World Series.

Texas A&M won both the men's and women's team titles at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships for the second straight year.

The men pulled in front after a victory in the 4x400-meter relay. The Aggies were even in the points with host Oregon going into the event, which the Ducks did not run. Florida finished second.

The women were boosted by a 1-2 finish in the 200 meters. They finished ahead of Oregon to the disappointment of the home crowd of 12,812 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene.

UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland is recuperating after having surgery to repair a ruptured right Achilles' tendon.

A team spokesman said Howland had the surgery Friday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and is resting comfortably at home.

No details on how or when Howland sustained the injury were provided.

PRO FOOTBALL

Cowboys excited by chance
to work out in new stadium

Fans lined the sideline, cheering when quarterback Tony Romo's arrival on the field was shown on the giant video screen overhead. The same when receiver Miles Austin appeared with a wide smile. They responded ecstatically when first-round draft pick Dez Bryant caught a long touchdown pass.

Imagine what it will be like if the Dallas Cowboys are playing in the NFL's biggest game in nearly eight months.

This was only an offseason minicamp.

Instead of practicing outside in the heat at their Valley Ranch facility, the Cowboys took their afternoon session inside to Cowboys Stadium -- the site of the next Super Bowl.

"The thing you have to do is respect this process," linebacker Bradie James said. "I wish we could microwave the season and get to December. But you can't. ... But in the back of our minds, we know where the Super Bowl is."

After the weekend minicamp that wraps up organized offseason activities, the Cowboys don't start training camp in San Antonio for six weeks. The season opener at Washington is three months away.

Also: The endorsement of Kyle Orton as his starting quarterback maybe wasn't as emphatic this time around.

Still, Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels insisted after minicamp in Englewood, Colo., that Orton will be his guy heading into training camp.

From there, the competition is open, as Brady Quinn and rookie Tim Tebow will have an opportunity to win the job.

Nothing is set in stone.

"We've got a guy who's going to go into camp as the starter, no question about it, and he deserves it," McDaniels said. "If somebody comes in there and plays better than he does, then that player will play."

About this point last spring, McDaniels, then in his first year as coach, eagerly anointed Orton as his starter, a move that was made to ease any tension, cease any speculation.

TENNIS

Federer continues run, reaches
Gerry Weber Open title match

Roger Federer won his 29th consecutive match at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, beating native son Philipp Petzschner 7-6 (3), 6-4 to reach the final against Lleyton Hewitt.

Federer will go for his sixth title in this event today against Hewitt, who is seeded eighth and defeated Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-2 to reach his first final of 2010.

Also: Americans Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish will meet in today's final at Queen's Club in London after contrasting wins.

The seventh-seeded Querrey reached his fourth final of the season by outlasting Rainer Schuettler of Germany, 6-7 (9), 7-5, 6-3. Fish upset eighth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.

All top six seeds were missing from the semifinals at Queen's, a traditional warm-up for Wimbledon, which begins June 21.

Maria Sharapova beat American qualifier Alison Riske 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to advance to today's final of the grass-court Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, against Li Na.

Top-seeded Li beat fourth-seeded Aravane Rezai of France 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the other semifinal to return to the final for a second straight year.

Sharapova won the Wimbledon warm-up in 2004 and 2005 and was runner-up in 2007, the last time she was in a grass-court final.

MISCELLANEOUS

College basketball coaching
great Wooden quietly buried

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships and died June 4, has been buried in Los Angeles.

UCLA athletics spokesman Marc Dellins confirmed that Wooden was laid to rest Friday afternoon after a private ceremony for family and invited guests at Forest Lawn's Old North Church in the Hollywood Hills.

A public memorial for Wooden is scheduled for June 26 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion.

Wooden died of natural causes at age 99 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He had been hospitalized since May 26.

Also: Tom Izzo either hasn't decided where he'll coach next season or he's keeping it a secret.

Izzo's courtship by the Cleveland Cavaliers continued with no resolution -- and no timetable for a decision.

Izzo, 55, did not announce if he'll accept the Cavs' offer and jump to the NBA or stay at Michigan State, where he has built one of college basketball's sturdiest programs. Izzo is believed to be considering a five-year, $30 million contract from the Cavs, who are in the early stages of the most important offseason in franchise history.

Cleveland is looking to replace coach Mike Brown before the start of free agency July 1, when the club will attempt to re-sign star LeBron James.

Veronica Campbell-Brown defeated rival Allyson Felix in the 200 meters at the adidas Grand Prix in New York in the world's best time this season.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist from Jamaica burst out to a strong start, then held off Felix to win in 21.98 seconds. Felix, a three-time world champion from Santa Clarita, Calif., finished in 22.02.

Ivan Calderon claimed an unanimous decision over Jesus Uribe to retain his WBO junior flyweight championship in New York's Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

Calderon was knocked down with a hard right hand in the second round, but used movement and slickness to win most of the remaining rounds.

The 35-year-old Calderon (34-0-1, six knockouts) is considered one of the best pure boxers in the world, but because he fights at junior flyweight and doesn't have much knockout power, he has flown under the radar for much of his career.

He was making the sixth defense of the WBO title he won in August 2007.