Brady to start in Super Bowl
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Tom Brady went through an entire practice session at full speed Wednesday and was then pronounced the New England Patriots' starting quarterback for Super Bowl XXXVI.
Coach Bill Belichick, after watching Brady in practice and then looking at it all over again on videotape to make sure his quarterback's sprained ankle would not be a factor, chose Brady over Drew Bledsoe to lead the Patriots on Sunday when they will try to win their first NFL championship.
"Tom Brady demonstrated in practice today that he is fit to play," Belichick said in a short statement released by the club Wednesday night. "He will be our starting quarterback on Sunday."
The St. Louis Rams, meanwhile, spent an uneventful day on the practice field with Coach Mike Martz announcing that offensive tackle Orlando Pace will be held out of practice until Friday but that the key member of the offensive line would be ready for the game.
Both the Patriots and St. Louis Rams conducted their first workout of Super Bowl week Wednesday as the fans began to trickle into a city that has, in certain areas, become almost a fortress.
Because of the events of Sept. 11, security is intense in the areas surrounding the Louisiana Superdome as well as at the major downtown hotels.
As far as the game itself has been concerned, however, the focus early in the week has been on the status of Brady, who limped off the field in the second quarter of last Sunday's AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh.
Brady, who was unheralded prior to the season, replaced the injured Bledsoe in the second week of the campaign and helped carry the Patriots to the AFC East title. But when Brady suffered a sprained left ankle against the Steelers, Bledsoe came off the bench for the first time in four months and guided the Patriots into the Super Bowl.
Belichick indicated he would make a decision on his quarterback after Wednesday's practice at Tulane Stadium, but when that practice was over, an announcement was not immediately forthcoming.
Instead, Belichick and his coaching staff returned to the team hotel and looked at a videotape of the practice session to confirm what they had just seen.
New England players, however, did not need any confirmation. Running back Antowain Smith, for instance, said he thought Brady looked perfectly healthy during the practice session.
"He looked good today," Smith said. "He was going back, stepping up in the pocket, throwing the ball."
Malone reaches 34,000 points
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Karl Malone scored 18 points Wednesday night, the last of which gave him 34,000 for his career, as the Utah Jazz dispatched the Chicago Bulls for the ninth straight time, 90-78.
The perennial All-Star forward is the second-leading scorer in NBA history. He is 4,387 points -- roughly 2 1/2 seasons at his current pace -- behind all-time leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
It was not a stellar game for Malone, who made just five of 14 shots and committed seven turnovers. But it was enough for the Jazz, who had lost five of seven and certainly viewed a visit from the Bulls as a welcome sight.
John Stockton had 16 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who have not lost a regular-season game to the Bulls since Jan. 6, 1997. Chicago did beat Utah in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.
Eddie Robinson scored 18 points for the Bulls, who fell to 1-21 on the road.
Other NBA results: Indiana 83, Memphis 82; Philadelphia 96, Minnesota 91; Detroit 88, Atlanta 71; Los Angeles Lakers 111, Orlando 93.
Kings enjoy record January
ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Felix Potvin recorded his third shutout of the month Wednesday night while Philippe Boucher and Nelson Emerson provided the offense as the Los Angeles Kings capped the best January in franchise history with a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Wild.
Los Angeles was among the league's best teams in the first month of 2002, winning 11 of its 14 games, including its last four road contests.
Potvin played a crucial role in the Kings' impressive month, recording all three of his shutouts this season on the road during January. He faced just 16 shots Wednesday night, having little trouble en route to his 22nd career shutout.
Minnesota's Dwayne Roloson faced almost as many shots in the second period, 15 of them, as Potvin did the entire game. But Roloson allowed Boucher's power-play goal midway through the period.
Emerson deflected Andreas Lilja's slap shot 8:10 into the third period.
Other NHL results: New York Islanders 6, New York Rangers 3; Ottawa 3, Philadelphia 1; Toronto 6, Atlanta 0; Phoenix 3, Florida 1; Boston 4, Montreal 3 in overtime; New Jersey 3, Chicago 1; San Jose 6, Pittsburgh 3; Carolina 3, Tampa Bay 1; St. Louis 4, Washington 1; Calgary 4, Detroit 3; Nashville 5, Colorado 2; Edmonton 2, Vancouver 2.
Sooners win Oklahoma battle
NORMAN, Okla., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Hollis Price scored 17 points Wednesday night as No. 7 Oklahoma earned a hard-fought 58-53 Big 12 Conference victory over No. 9 Oklahoma State.
It was the first meeting between two schools with both ranked in the top 10. Oklahoma (16-3, 5-2 Big 12) built a 29-17 lead at halftime before the Cowboys came all the way back.
Price made two free throws with 5:20 left for a 48-47 edge, but Victor Williams answered with a basket to give Oklahoma State (17-4, 4-4) its final lead at 49-48 just 18 seconds later.
Daryan Selvy gave the Sooners the lead for good with a corner jumper and Price made one of two free throws for a 51-49 advantage with 3:50 remaining.
Price used a smooth spin move to get past Victor Williams for a layup and a 55-51 lead with 1:32 to go. Williams cut the deficit to two with a pair of foul shots, but Aaron McGhee hit a pair from the line to restore the four-point edge with 30 seconds left.
Cheyne Gadson led Oklahoma State with 14 points, but missed a critical pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that would have cut the deficit in half.
In the only other game involving a top 10 team Wednesday night, Alabama downed Arkansas, 109-94.
Hall of Famer Lane dies at 73
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Dick "Night Train" Lane, a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and considered one of the hardest hitters in league history, has died of a heart attack. He was 73.
The Hall of Fame defensive back burst on the NFL scene in 1952 with the Los Angeles Rams after four years in the United States Army. Signed as an undrafted free agent, Lane intercepted 14 passes in 12 games, setting a rookie record that still stands, even though the league has expanded to a 16-game schedule.
Lane played 14 seasons with the Rams, Chicago Cardinals and Detroit Lions and finished with 68 interceptions, which he returned for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns. He was named All-NFL five times and selected to six Pro Bowls.
Webber suspended one game
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Sacramento Kings were forced to play without star forward Chris Webber for a good portion of the season and they will have to do it again tonight.
The NBA Wednesday suspended Webber for one game and fined him $7,500 for throwing a deliberate elbow to the head of Utah's Jarron Collins in the Kings' 114-90 victory on Saturday.
Webber was called for a flagrant foul and will be forced to sit out tonight's game at Seattle.
Webber missed the first 20 games of the season recovering from a sprained right ankle and is averaging 24.6 points. He was selected to his fourth All-Star Game on Tuesday, when he was named as a reserve to the Western Conference squad.
Despite Webber's lengthy absence, the Kings own the NBA's best record at 33-10.
Bruce Coslet hired by Cowboys
IRVING, Texas, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Bruce Coslet, who had his greatest success in the NFL as an offensive coordinator, is back in that role after being hired Wednesday by the Dallas Cowboys.
Coslet signed a three-year contract at undisclosed terms to replace Jack Reilly, who was reassigned after a 5-11 season.
The Cowboys were in disarray on offense last season, using four starting quarterbacks and averaging a mere 15.1 points, next-to-last in the league.
Coslet served as offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals on two occasions and oversaw the NFL's top-rated offenses in 1986 and 1988, when the Bengals went to the Super Bowl.
Coslet had less success as a head coach. He went 47-78 in four seasons with the New York Jets and parts of five seasons with Cincinnati. He stepped down as Bengals' coach after suffering lopsided losses in the first three games of the 2000 season.
Pirates sign Pokey Reese
PITTSBURGH, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Two-time Gold Glove second baseman Pokey Reese agreed to a two-year contract Wednesday with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who added a club option for 2004.
Financial terms were not disclosed for Reese, who was paid $3.2 million last season.
Reese, 28, is coming off a season in which he batted just .224 with nine home runs, 40 RBI and 25 stolen bases for Cincinnati.
The Reds were unwilling to pay Reese what he likely would have earned through arbitration and traded him to Boston on Dec. 18.
The Red Sox had no designs on keeping Reese, who became an unrestricted free agent when they opted not to tender him a contract. Over the last month, Reese has been rumored to be headed to Detroit, Los Angeles, the Chicago Cubs and back to Cincinnati.
The Pirates have been looking for a second baseman after trying several players at the position last season, including Pat Meares, Abraham Nunez and Rob Mackowiak.
Agassi parts company with coach
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Andre Agassi, one of five men to win all four Grand Slam titles, Wednesday parted ways with Brad Gilbert, his coach for the last eight years.
Since teaming up in March 1994, Agassi has captured six of his seven Grand Slam crowns and collected a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. The Las Vegas native has won 49 career ATP titles.
Perhaps the culmination of their efforts came in 1999, when Agassi won the French Open and joined tennis greats Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only players to win all four major tournaments.
