Briefly in sports

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 24, 2000 by Capital-Journal

- K-State's Wetterhus, KU's Dahle honored --- Kansas State's Annie Wetterhus, who helped Kansas State to a fifth-place finish in the NCAA cross country championships last fall, was one of 10 athletes named to the GTE Academic All-District at-large team. Wetterhus has a 3.961 grade-point average in mathematics. Also, Cynthia Dahle, a senior defender on the Kansas soccer team, received second-team honors. Dahle has a 3.68 GPA in social work.

- Jecminkova fires Wildcat tennis team --- Kansas State's women's tennis team jumped to No. 34 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings this week, in part fueled by Alena Jecminkova, who was named the Big 12 player of the week. Jecminkova helped the Wildcats pull an upset over then-No. 18 Baylor and Missouri. Jecminkova is 15-6 in singles and has teamed with Anna Pampoulova for a 17-8 doubles mark. K-State is 9-4 overall, 3-0 in the Big 12.

HOCKEY

- Devils fire Ftorek --- With a late-season slump fueling fears of yet another playoff disaster, the New Jersey Devils on Thursday fired coach Robbie Ftorek, who led the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference with eight games left in the season. Larry Robinson, the assistant seen as the heir apparent since rejoining the coaching staff this season, was given the job of turning things around before the playoffs are set to start in just under three weeks.

- Neilson released from hospital --- Flyers coach Roger Neilson went home Thursday from the hospital, where he was being treated for cancer. "Roger is doing extremely well," said Dr. Isadore Brodsky, the chief of oncology hematology at Hahnemann University Hospital. The 65-year-old Neilson, who underwent a stem cell transplant March 10, will be examined again Monday.

THE LAST WORD

- Greg Cote --- The Miami Herald sportswriter, writes about Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds, who will compete regularly with Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs in a National League home run festival: "It's sort of like William Shakespeare and Ernest Hemmingway giving a seminar on writing ... and Mark Twain walked in. Like Beethoven and Chopin were jamming in the concert hall ... and Mozart joined them."

--- Compiled from staff and wire reports