sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 14, 2007

Local & state: Former ESUcoach Kill takes No. Illinois post

Northern Illinois has hired Jerry Kill as its new football coach, less than a week after he led Southern Illinois to the FCS semifinals.

NIU introduced Kill, 46, on Thursday as the successor to Joe Novak, who retired last month after 12 seasons with the Huskies.

The former Emporia State coach (1999-2000) and Cheney native had a dream, and it was realized.

"I've chased a dream and the dream came true today," Kill said at a news conference at NIU's athletic training center. "I wanted to have the opportunity to coach Division I football and I wanted to make it a place where it would be a great fit and have a chance to be successful."

SIU is in what used to be Division I-AA, while NIU is a Mid- American Conference team in what formerly was Division I.

The Salukis went 12-2 this season, including a 34-32 come-from- behind victory at NIU in September. In Kill's seven seasons in Carbondale the team went 56-32, won three straight Gateway Conference titles (2003-05) and made five consecutive postseason appearances.

Pittsburg State football coach Chuck Broyles has promoted Tim Beck to assistant head football coach and John Pierce has added the role of recruiting coordinator to his position on the Gorilla staff.

Beck has been the Gorillas' offensive coordinator for 14 of the 20 seasons he has been a member of the Pittsburg State staff. Beck will continue to serve as offensive coordinator.

Pierce has been with PSU for 20 years. He takes the recruiting post previously held by Bill Kroenke, who left the coaching staff to become assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions at the school.

Baseball: A-Rod finalizes 10-year,$275 million contract with Yankees

Alex Rodriguez set another record for baseball's highest contract, finalizing his $275 million, 10-year agreement with the New York Yankees on Thursday.

A-Rod set the previous mark with his $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas in December 2000. Traded to the Yankees in 2004, he opted out of that contract Oct. 28, during the final game of the World Series.

Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said New York would not negotiate further with Rodriguez because his decision eliminated the $21.3 million subsidy the Yankees were to receive from Texas from 2008-10, a figure negotiated at the time of the trade.

But Rodriguez then approached the Yankees through a managing director at Goldman Sachs and negotiated his new deal in early November without agent Scott Boras.

Florida Marlins president David Samson said Thursday that his team was the closest it has been to securing its own ballpark, after city commissioners voted to go ahead with a large public works project that includes a new baseball stadium on the site of the Orange Bowl.

Shortstop David Eckstein agreed to terms with the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $4.5 million contract on Thursday.

Eckstein had a career-high .309 batting average for the St. Louis Cardinals last season. He was MVP of the Cardinals' 2006 World Series victory.

The Chicago History Museum won a collection of rare documents, letters and memos detailing the Black Sox scandal at an auction that ended Thursday.

The museum offered about $100,000 for the collection, topping 35 other bids, said suburban Chicago auctioneer Mastro Auctions.

Golf: Trouble on 18th leavesWoods one shot behind at Target

Tiger Woods went 10 weeks and four days without hitting a golf shot that mattered, and it hardly showed Thursday in the Target World Challenge when he struck just about everything where he was aiming.

Until he got to the final hole.

Woods pulled his approach into the hazard on the 18th hole at Thousand Oaks, Calif., to finish with a double bogey for a 3-under 69, leaving him in a pack of players one shot behind Jim Furyk in the final tournament of the year.

"It's frustrating the way it ended, no doubt, because it was a good round of golf," Woods said.

Louise Stahle shot a course-record 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the Dubai Ladies Masters in the United Arab Emirates.

The 22-year-old Swede had nine birdies and one bogey in the Ladies European Tour's season-ending tournament. England's Laura Davies and Lisa Hall opened with 67s, and Sweden's Sophie Gustafson and Denmark's Lisa Holm Sorensen shot 68s.

Defending champion Annika Sorenstam, who held the previous course record of 65, had a 70, while Natalie Gulbis shot a 77.

England's Robert Rock shot a 2-under 70 in windy conditions Thursday to take a one-stroke lead over South Africa's Charl Schwartzel, Alex Haindl and Ulrich van den Berg in the South African Open at Paarl, South Africa.

The Englishman had five birdies and three bogeys on the Pearl Valley Golf Estates course in the event sanctioned by the Sunshine and European tours.

General: Police hope video shedslight on Tinsley shooting

New security camera video shows a silver Chrysler 300 shadowing a Rolls-Royce belonging to Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley shortly before someone fired an assault rifle at him.