sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, May 1, 2008

Local & state: Washburn, ESUtennis teams at same regional

The Washburn and Emporia State men's and women's tennis teams will compete in an NCAA Division II North Central Regional next week in Maryville, Mo.

The Lady Blues and Emporia State will play each other, with Northwest Missouri State and Winona State in the other match on May 8 or 9. The Washburn men play St. Cloud State and the Hornets face Northwest Missouri.

The winners of the regional pod advance to the NCAA championships in Houston, Texas.

EMPORIA STATE was selected to host the NCAA Division II North Central softball regional tournament May 7-11 at the Trussler Sports Complex. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday.

THREE SHAWNEE HEIGHTS athletes will sign letters of intent with Neosho County Community College at 2:45 p.m. May 5 at Shawnee Heights High School.

Craig Kleinberg will sign for soccer, Nathan Brown for wrestling and Eric Lattimer for track.

On Wednesday, Washburn Rural's Brandon Weyand signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Manhattan Christian College.

Rural's Kyle Winkley, meanwhile, announced his plans to walk on to the football team at Kansas.

THE KANSAS SOFTBALL team rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to beat Nebraska 6-3 Wednesday in the second game of a doubleheader in Lincoln, Neb. The Jayhawks (36-17, 6-10 Big12) scored in the top of the eighth on a throwing error and RBI hits by Ally Stanton and Sara Ramirez. Nebraska rallied from a 4-2 deficit to win the opener 5-4.

General: Derby favoriteBig Brown draws No. 20

Big Brown's all in and so is the filly Eight Belles, a perfect combination for an intriguing 134th Kentucky Derby.

Unbeaten in three career starts, Florida Derby winner Big Brown was stamped the 3-1 favorite for Saturday's 11/4-mile Derby after drawing the far outside No. 20 post position. Eight Belles, taking on the boys for the first time, drew the No. 5 post and was 20-1 on the morning line set by Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia.

"I feel that if we run our race, and he breaks clean, I don't see a horse as of yet that can beat Big Brown," trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said Wednesday. "I just don't see it. I don't want to see it, either."

The only Derby winner to leave from the No. 20 post was Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.

Rafael Nadal eased into the third round of the Barcelona Open by defeating Potito Starace 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. Nadal, the top- seeded player at Barelona, has won 99 of his last 100 matches on clay.

Colleges: BCS turns downplan for four-team playoff

Even a four-game playoff scenario was too much for the BCS.

Bowl Championship Series officials rejected a plan Wednesday to turn the much-criticized system for deciding a national champ into a four-team playoff, starting in the 2010 season.

The BCS format will remain the same until at least the 2014 season.

During five hours of meetings with the other conference commissioners, Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive presented a plan for a plus-one format, matching the No. 1 team in the nation against No. 4 and 2 vs. 3 in the marquee bowl games. The winners would meet about a week later in the BCS title game. The plan also called for creating another BCS bowl game.

The College World Series will be played in Omaha at least through 2030, under an agreement the city and NCAA reached Wednesday.

A long-term contract has been in the works for months, with much of the discussion centered on the construction of a new downtown ballpark to replace 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Division I baseball championship has been held in Omaha every year since 1950. The CWS also is good for business, injecting an estimated $41 million into Omaha's economy during last year's 10- day run.

Basketball: Pierce denies gesture was gang-related

Celtics forward Paul Pierce, fined $25,000 for what the NBA called a "menacing gesture" during Game 3 of Boston's playoff series against Atlanta, denied that the sign was gang-related.

"I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it," Pierce said in a statement issued Wednesday before Game 5 of the series. "I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday's game."

The expectations were there for Kevin Durant the day he first arrived in Seattle: anything less than being the best rookie in the NBA would be a disappointment.

The 19-year-old didn't disappoint.

Durant, the Sonics' dynamic young star, has been chosen as the NBA Rookie of the Year, The Associated Press has learned from a person with knowledge of the vote. The person requested anonymity because the official announcement has not been made, but is likely to come today when the Sonics have scheduled a news conference.

Avery Johnson was fired as coach of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, a move the team referred to as "relieving him of his duties."

Johnson guided the Mavericks to many highs in three-plus seasons, but there were too many lows.

From staff and wire reports