Briefly

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 10, 2006

Deidre Rosel

Annika

Sorenstam

Local & state: Washburn Rural swimmer signs with KU

Deidre Rosel, a senior at Washburn Rural, signed a letter of intent to compete in women's swimming at Kansas on Thursday.

Rosel placed at state in the 100 backstroke and is a member of the Lawrence Aquahawks club swim team, for which she qualified to swim in the USA Region 8 Sectional in the 100 and 200 backstroke, the 200 and 400 individual medley, and the 200 and 1650 freestyle.

Rosel is one of seven KU swimming and diving signees for 2006.

DARION TERRY, a Topeka West graduate wrestling for Missouri Valley, placed third in the 157-pound division of the NAIA national wrestling tournament last week at Sioux City, Iowa.

Terry lost 7-3 in the semifinals to eventual runner-up Hayden Harrison of Embry-Riddle. Terry won the third-place match 4-3 over Scott Taylor of Dana. Terry finished his career as a four-time NAIA All-American.

Football: Mike Brown says labor deal bad for Bengals

Bengals president Mike Brown, one of two NFL owners to vote against the new labor agreement, thinks the deal is bad for his small-market team.

The Bengals and Buffalo Bills were the only teams to oppose the deal approved Wednesday.

"Economically, this is a very good deal for the players, it's a good deal for the high-revenue clubs, (but) it's a challenging deal for the low-revenue clubs," Brown said. "We didn't feel it was in the best interest of our team financially. That's why I voted against it."

THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS released linebacker Willie McGinest in a salary cap move, ending a 12-year relationship with the NFL's all- time postseason sack leader.

The release of the two-time Pro Bowler was announced Thursday, the day after the NFL owners voted 30-2 at their meeting in Grapevine, Texas, to extend the collective bargaining agreement with the players for six more years, resulting in a new salary cap figure of $102 million.

The 34-year-old McGinest carried a salary cap figure of more than $7 million for next season. The veteran linebacker is now a free agent and can sign with any team, including New England.

EMMITT SMITH, Bruce Smith and Ahmad Rashad will be eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame for the first time.

The National Football Foundation announced Thursday the names of 77 players and seven coaches who will be on the Division I-A ballot.

Emmitt Smith played for Florida from 1987-89 before becoming the NFL's career rushing leader. Bruce Smith played defensive line for Virginia Tech before becoming the first overall NFL draft pick 1985.

Rashad was known as Bobby Moore when he played running back for Oregon from 1969-71.

Golf: Sorenstam, Ochoa

lead LPGA field in Mexico

Annika Sorenstam makes her season debut today at a place where she feels right at home. The gallery, however, will also have its eyes on someone else.

Lorena Ochoa, the first Mexican to win on the LPGA Tour, struggled early at last year's MasterCard Classic but rallied to finish fifth.

The former University of Arizona star won the Wegmans Rochester LPGA in June and is one of only two players to finish in the top five at both LPGA tournaments this season. The Guadalajara golfer won three times in her first three full seasons on the tour.

Sorenstam has won three of her last four season openers, and she will be making her second straight season debut at this tournament.

GUSTY WINDS sent 8-iron shots flying 245 yards, while some 4- irons struggled to go 185. Most of the players couldn't break par and golf's rarest feat spiced up the afternoon.

Indeed, Thursday's opening round of the Honda Classic had almost everything.

Ogilvy's round was bizarre: 11 pars, three birdies, an eagle, a bogey, a double bogey --- and a double eagle on the 6th hole. His tee shot, with the wind, went 373 yards; his 8-iron from 169 hit the green, hopped three times and dropped in the cup's center.

It was the second double eagle on tour this year.

General: French man convicted of drugging children's rivals

A father who drugged his children's tennis opponents, leading to one player's death, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted Thursday.

Christophe Fauviau had confessed to the crime. Before jurors began their two hours of deliberation, the retired soldier told the court that he was responsible for Alexandre Lagardere's death and that "I'll always carry that with me."

Fauviau was accused of spiking the water bottles of his children's opponents 27 times in tournaments across France from 2000 to 2003, using the anti-anxiety drug Temesta, which can cause drowsiness.

IDITAROD dog teams on Thursday rested in trenches of snow, among black spruce on a frozen swamp at the halfway point of the more than 1,100-mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome.

Many leading mushers chose to take a mandatory 24-hour rest at the isolated tent checkpoint of Cripple, deep in Alaska's western interior, where morning temperatures plunged to 40 degrees below zero.

But Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof chose this spot to regain the lead he gave up to Montana musher Doug Swingley on Tuesday when Gebhardt's sled slammed into a tree and he temporarily lost his dog team.