sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jul 8, 2008

Local & state: Piles, Lowman sit in third at junior tournament

Topekan Riley Piles and teammate Ben Lowman of Manhattan shot a 5- under 66 during Monday's first round of the KGA Junior Team Championship at Emporia Municipal Golf Course and are tied for third entering today's final round.

Lawrence's Chase Chamberlin teamed with Overland Parks' Curtis Yonke to shoot an 8-under 63 and lead by two shots over defending champions Zach Sanders of Overland Park and Jake Myron of Kansas City, Mo.

Manhattan's Clarke Fry and Gordon Chang were four back at 67 and Topekans Brandon Falley and Brian Walker were five back with a 68.

The first round was four-ball stroke play, while today's final round is alternate shot.

Kansas Jayhawk golfers Meghan Gockel and Sydney Wilson were named to the 2008 National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Teams.

Student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and compete in at least half of their team's rounds during the year to qualify.

Gockel is a junior accounting and finance major while Wilson, is a sophomore business management major.

Basketball: Jefferson says heis happy to be in Milwaukee

Yi Jianlian didn't want to play in Milwaukee. The man he was traded for insists he does.

The Bucks introduced Richard Jefferson on Monday after acquiring him from New Jersey on draft day in a trade for Bobby Simmons and the young Chinese star, who was the No. 6 pick last year.

The second-leading scorer in Nets history said he was surprised by the trade. However, Jefferson said he has nothing against the city that Yi was reluctant to play in.

"It was nothing about Milwaukee," he said. "I could've been traded to Boston. I could've been traded to L.A. I could've been traded anywhere.

"It wasn't about the city. It was about that feeling of rejection by the team that traded for you on draft day seven years ago. But when that happened, I didn't want to go to New Jersey either."

Larry Brown, Charlotte Bobcats coach, hired his brother to round out his coaching staff.

Herb Brown will join Jeff Capel, Phil Ford and Dave Hanners as assistants. The move Monday came a day before the Bobcats open a rookie and free agent minicamp in Las Vegas.

Football: Patrick, Olbermann reunite for Sunday night football

Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann are reuniting on television on NBC's Sunday night NFL coverage.

The network announced Monday that it had hired Patrick, hoping to recapture the chemistry that hooked viewers to ESPN's "SportsCenter" during the pair's run from 1992-97.

"It was seamless. We never tried to understand why it worked," Patrick said on a conference call. "It just did."

Patrick joins the returning cast of NBC's studio show that includes Olbermann and host Bob Costas. Patrick said the idea originated in casual conversations with Costas, some of whose highlight duties he will take.

James Brown, Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth will host "Inside the NFL" when it moves to Showtime in the fall.

Brown hosts the CBS pregame show on Sundays, while Simms is the network's lead analyst. Collinsworth is a holdover from the program's previous run on HBO and also works for NBC and NFL Network.

Dan Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers chairman, and his son, team president Art Rooney II, want to buy Dan Rooney's brothers' shares in the team.

The team says some of Dan Rooney's four brothers want to focus their business efforts elsewhere.

Lofa Tatupu, Seattle Seahawks linebacker, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence on Monday.

General: Wimbledon final draws highest ratings in 8 years

The Wimbledon men's final drew in television viewers as the drama built deep into the afternoon.

Rafael Nadal's five-set victory over Roger Federer on NBC on Sunday earned the championship's highest overnight rating in eight years, the network said Monday. The coverage from 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. ET drew a 4.6 rating and a 12 share. That's up 44 percent from last year's five-set final between the two, a win by Federer that drew a 3.2/9 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday's ratings increased as the match wore on, dipping during the rain delays, before peaking from 4:00- 4:30 with a 6.5/15.

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward Janne Pesonen and defenseman Ben Lovejoy to one-year contracts on Monday.

Todd Bertuzzi, a free-agent forward, signed a one-year, $1.95 million contract with the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Paul Holmgren, Philadelphia Flyers general manager, agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the end of the 2011-12 season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed restricted free agent forward Matt Stajan to a two-year, $3.5 million contract on Monday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed center R.J. Umberger to a four- year contract Monday.

From staff and wire reports