Briefly in sports

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 17, 2004 by Capital-Journal

Mike Danton

pleads guilty

Lance

Armstrong

climbs into contention

Local: Four Shawnee Heights

spikers named KVA All-Stars

Four Shawnee Heights volleyball players were named to participate in the Kansas Volleyball Association's 19th annual All-Star Match at 7 p.m. July 27 at Silver Lake High School. The match features 23 of the state's finest players in the graduating class of 2004 will showcase their talents in a five-game match.

Heights products Erica Cowhick and Leslie Townsend will play for the Red team and Kristen Hall and Kelli Kirkwood will play for the Blue.

Cowhick and Red teammate Mandi Cox of Central Heights are headed to play at Washburn.

Blue teammates Hall (Southwest Missouri State) and Osage City's Anna Stadel (Oklahoma) are Division I signees. St. Marys' Jayna Smith of the Blue team is headed to Pittsburg State.

Shawnee Heights won the KVA Class 5A program of the year.

FIVE KANSAS STATE women's golfers were named to the Division I, II and III National Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar teams. The players were Sarah Heffel, Katy Heffel, Stephanie Limoges, Karen Quintelier and Helene Robert.

THE KANSAS COLLEGIATE Officials Association will hold a football rules meeting and clinic at 9:30 a.m. July 24 at the Social Science building on the Bethany College campus in Lindsborg. Speakers will be former Big 12 and current NFL official Steve Stelljes, and Big 12 football supervisor of officials Tim Millis. Registration is at 9 a.m. Anyone interested in attending may join the association. Membership is $50. For information, contact Mark Goodheart at (785) 356-2633.

General: Armstrong surges

to second overall in Tour de France

The mountains bring out the best in Lance Armstrong.

The Tour de France champion took a big step toward a record sixth straight crown Friday with a display of climbing in the Pyrenees that left contenders dazed.

Jan Ullrich, Tyler Hamilton, Iban Mayo and Roberto Heras saw their dreams of dethroning the Texan fade as Armstrong's blue jersey disappeared into the distance on a punishing ascent to the La Mongie ski station.

Armstrong moved from sixth to second in the overall standings following a ride in which he was runner-up to stage winner Ivan Basso of Italy.

Armstrong is 5:24 behind France's Thomas Voeckler, but Ullrich is the champion's main challenger.

BUDDY RICE nipped teammate Vitor Meira once again at the end.

Rice grabbed his second straight pole Friday and fourth this year with a lap of 201.231 mph at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn., edging Meira by an even-smaller margin than he needed to beat his teammate at Kansas on July 4 in the second-closest finish in IRL history.

That victory by 0.0051 seconds measured about seven inches, and Rice said someone else can calculate this distance. He plans to enjoy starting on the pole for tonight's Firestone Indy 200 in search of his third victory this year.

JACK SPRAGUE broke the Gateway International Raceway qualifying record Friday and took the pole position for Saturday's NASCAR truck series race.

Sprague's Chevrolets lapped the 1 1/4-mile track at 133.227 mph in qualifying for the Ram Tough 200 at Madison, Ill. The old mark of 133.093 mph was set by Stacy Compton in 1999.

Sprague has won 23 career poles, five more than any other driver in the Craftsman series.

GLYNN CYPRIEN was fired two months after becoming basketball coach at Louisiana-Lafayette because he did not have a degree from a university listed on his resume.

Robert Lee, an assistant coach the past nine years, was tentatively appointed as Cyprien's replacement. The university said it would check his resume, as well as those of other assistants.

YANKEES OWNER George Steinbrenner wants baseball commissioner Bud Selig to get an extension beyond 2006.

After saying for more than a year that he would leave office on Dec. 31, 2006, Selig said Tuesday he may be willing to extend his term.

"It's good news for all of baseball that Bud Selig is considering staying on as commissioner beyond his present contract," Steinbrenner said Friday in a statement.

"Bud is my very good friend for over 30 years, and while we don't always agree on everything, he's done a sensational job as commissioner."

Hockey: Danton pleads guilty

in attempted murder-for-hire

Former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton admitted Friday that he tried to hire a hit man, almost certainly bringing his NHL career to an end.

Danton pleaded guilty to a federal murder-for-hire conspiracy charge and faces seven to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 22.

The plot unraveled when the would-be hit man turned out to be a police informant.

"Obviously, this is what I think is a good result," prosecutor Stephen Clark said. "I think it's a fair deal."

Danton is seeking transfer to a prison in Canada, and prosecutors and the FBI said they won't oppose the move. U.S. District Judge William Stiehl, however, noted that Danton may not be allowed to return to the United States.

THRASHERS STAR DANY HEATLEY was indicted Friday in Atlanta on vehicular homicide and five other charges in the 2003 wreck that claimed the life of a teammate.