sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 10, 2008

Local & state: Hayden's Pilesto play golf at Washburn

Two-time city champion Riley Piles, a senior at Hayden, will sign a golf letter of intent with Washburn at 3:30 p.m. today in the school cafeteria. Piles has helped Hayden to second-place Class 4A state finishes the past two seasons.

Washburn's softball game at Emporia State scheduled Wednesday was postponed because of wet grounds. The MIAA doubleheader will be made up at 3 p.m. April 27 in Emporia.

Basketball: Memphis' Calipari named Naismith coach winner

John Calipari was named Naismith National Coach of the Year by The Atlanta Tipoff Club on Wednesday.

The Memphis coach led the Tigers to the NCAA title game where they lost 75-68 in overtime to Kansas.

It's the second Naismith award for Calipari, who won in 1996 after leading Massachusetts to the Final Four.

Memphis won 38 games and was ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP poll for a school-record 16 straight weeks.

O.J. Mayo is leaving Southern California after one season to enter the NBA draft, a decision confirmed Wednesday night by a school spokesman.

Mayo plans to hire an agent, which would prevent him from returning to the Trojans.

The freshman guard signaled his intentions by wearing socks with the NBA logo in USC's 80-67 loss to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

UCLA All-American Kevin Love and teammate Darren Collison have not yet decided whether they will make themselves available for the NBA draft, coach Ben Howland said Wednesday.

He dismissed a report on the Los Angeles Times' Web site that said the players had decided to leave and were expected to hire agents, which would prevent them from returning to the Bruins next season.

Candace Parker had a whirlwind 24 hours.

Parker was selected No. 1 by the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA draft on Wednesday, a day after capping her college career by leading Tennessee to a second straight NCAA title.

Parker joins Lisa Leslie, turning Los Angeles into one of the top teams in the league.

LSU intends to hire Stanford's Trent Johnson, who led the Cardinal to the round of 16 in this year's NCAA tournament, as its new coach.

Several people at LSU familiar with the selection process said a formal announcement was expected by Thursday. The people asked to remain anonymous because the hiring was not yet official.

Bill Bayno returned to college basketball after an eight-year absence Wednesday, signing a five-year deal to coach Loyola Marymount.

Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin will return for his sophomore season instead of declaring for the NBA draft. Griffin said Wednesday that he'd heard projections from experts that placed him anywhere from third to 10th in this June's draft.

Texas A&M's DeAndre Jordan said Wednesday he will enter the NBA draft without hiring an agent, giving him the option of returning to the Aggies.

Isiah Thomas will finish the season as the Knicks' coach but needs a good explanation for why things went so horribly wrong for any chance to last beyond that. New president Donnie Walsh said he plans to meet soon with Thomas, and he wants to know why a team he thought could be good instead will finish as perhaps the worst in franchise history.

NFL: Favre says if Packersneed him, he'd consider returning

If the Green Bay Packers are ravaged by injuries this season, Brett Favre might consider returning should the team reach out to him.

"It would be hard to pass up, I guess," he told the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald. "But three months from now, say that presents itself, I may say, you know what, I'm so glad I made that decision. I feel very comfortable in what I'm doing and my decision."

Former Vikings great Carl Eller was jailed Wednesday after allegedly fighting with police after being stopped for possible drunken driving. Eller was held on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, fleeing police and assaulting a police officer.

Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly lashed out at Oklahoma on Wednesday after a disappointing performance in a 40-yard dash in front of NFL scouts.

Kelly, who left OU after his junior season, blamed his slow time of 4.68 seconds on an unexpected change in surfaces at his pro day.

From staff and wire reports