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Sports Briefs: Knight won't attend his induction into IU's Hall of Fame
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Published: October 30, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. Bob Knight, a former Indiana coach, will not attend next week's induction into the athletics department's hall of fame.
Athletics Director Fred Glass said yesterday that Knight contacted him directly to decline the invitation. Glass said Knight was concerned that the interest in him would be a distraction from the other six inductees. All living members of the 2009 Hall of Fame class, except Knight, are expected to attend in person.
Knight won a school-record 662 games and three national championships at Indiana before being fired by Myles Brand, then the university president, in September 2000. Knight retired in 2008 with the most wins (902) of any coach in Division I men's basketball.
More basketball
■ The NCAA has approved new rules on recruiting intended to restrict money being funneled to third parties.
The governing body wants to limit access by coaches from outside the NCAA who run camps and try to enlist players.
The NCAA yesterday also put in place a six-member committee to select a successor to the late Myles Brand as NCAA president. The group will be led by Oregon State president Ed Ray and met last night.
The NCAA also approved to a $35 million addition to its headquarters in Indianapolis.
■ Shaquille O'Neal, now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, wants to continue a sideline in law enforcement.
Spokesman John O'Brien of the Cuyahoga County sheriff's office said that O'Neal has applied to become a special deputy. He would have the right to carry a gun and make arrests but not be a paid, formal employee. O'Neal previously served roles with law-enforcement agencies in Arizona, Virginia and Florida.
The sheriff has forwarded the application to the state agency that must consider the request to deputize O'Neal, who would need 36 hours of training and would have to take the Ohio police exam if approved.
■ A federal judge has denied a prosecution request for a psychiatric evaluation of Karen Cunagin Sypher, the woman accused in a plot to try to extort $10 million from Coach Rick Pitino of Louisville.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson ruled this week that there was no "reasonable cause" to question Sypher's competency. Prosecutors had noted in asking for the exam that Sypher's former attorney was concerned about her mental state. She has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of attempting to extort money from Pitino and lying to the FBI. Pitino has acknowledged a sexual encounter with her in 2003.
■ Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge stemming from her July arrest.
Taurasi, an all-star guard on the WNBA champions, spent a day in jail after a judge suspended nine days of her sentence.
Taurasi's blood-alcohol level was 0.17 percent when she was pulled over in Phoenix on July 2 after a 93-81 victory over the Seattle Storm. That's more than twice Arizona's legal limit of 0.08 percent.
■ Duke, Virginia and Maryland were among 16 schools selected yesterday as hosts for first- and second-round games in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournaments in 2010 and 2011.
Soccer
■ Mia Hamm, a former soccer star at North Carolina and with the U.S. women's team, yesterday was appointed an international ambassador for the 2011 women's World Cup in Germany.
"It's a great honor," said Hamm, who scored a record 158 goals in 275 international matches before ending her career in 2004.
■ President Kevin Payne of D.C. United was fined $5,000 by Major League Soccer, then apologized yesterday for criticizing the league and three of its teams.
The MLS said Payne was punished for "public comments deemed detrimental to the public image of the league" and pointed to an item posted on The Washington Post's Web site this week. Payne was critical of the conservative playing style of Colorado, New England and Real Salt Lake in quotes posted on the site.
Payne said the tactics create "a lot of games in our league that I can't watch."
Miscellaneous
■ The International Cycling Union (UCI) has rebuffed claims by France's anti-doping agency of lapses and favoritism in drug testing at this year's Tour de France, singling out agency president Pierre Bordry in particular and calling him "mischievous and misinformed." The UCI also says that the Astana team of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong was tested more than others, countering the French agency's allegations that Armstrong received preferential treatment.
■ Serena Williams has clinched a spot in the semis of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, after beating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third win in the group phase.
Williams was broken to trail 2-1 in the first set but won seven straight games to take control of the match. She converted her third match point when Dementieva sent the ball into the net.
The win kept Venus Williams in the round-robing tournament. She needs to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in yesterday's late match to advance after losing to her sister 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Wednesday.
Serena Williams has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking after Dinara Safina pulled out of the tournament with a back injury.
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