In Sports from United Press International

Tommy Maddox suffers serious injury

NASHVILLE, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The Hollywood script of the 2002 NFL season took a horrific turn Sunday when Tommy Maddox was taken off the field by ambulance and hospitalized after being hit by linebacker Keith Bulluck in the third quarter as the Tennesee Titans rolled to a 31-23 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"The reports from the hospital are positive," said Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "He regained feeling in his upper extremities. We are cautiously optimistic."

Tennessee's dominant performance was dampened by the injury to Maddox on the final play of the third quarter.

Maddox was falling forward as he completed a pass to rookie Antwaan Randle El when Bulluck put his forearm into the quarterback's left shoulder.

Team trainers and doctors spent at least 10 minutes tending to Maddox, who was motionless as he was strapped to a backboard. Maddox was then loaded into an ambulance on the field and taken to Baptist Hospital's trauma unit.

Maddox has sensation and movement in all extremities and will stay overnight in the hospital. However, hospital officials declined to disclose the nature of the injury.

Steelers spokesperson Ron Wahl said the team will update Maddox's condition on Monday.

"His eyes were moving around, so we all felt better about that," said Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart, who was benched in favor of Maddox in Week Three. "To see him go out in that fashion, that's the last thing anyone would want to have happen."

Maddox, a first-round pick in 1992 who revived his career in the Arena League and XFL, was responsible for all five wins after replacing an ineffective Stewart in a Sept. 29 overtime win over Cleveland.

But a week after throwing for a career-high 473 yards last week in a tie against Atlanta, Maddox threw for just 194 yards and was intercepted three times before he was injured.

Texas drops eight places in coaches poll

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Miami remained the unanimous choice for the top spot, but Texas dropped eight places after a tough loss when the latest college football coaches poll was released Sunday morning.

Miami (9-0) was idle on Saturday but retained all 61 first-place votes and a total of 1,525 points in the nationwide poll. The Hurricanes have won a school-record 31 games and host No. 19 Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Ohio State (12-0), which survived another scare on Saturday, is second with 1,455 votes. The Buckeyes kept their hopes for a national championship alive by edging Illinois, 23-16 in overtime.

Texas was hoping for a shot at Miami - the defending national champions - but saw their title hopes all but evaporate following a 42-38 loss to rival Texas Tech. Texas (9-2) dropped all the way to 11th.

Washington State (9-1), which was idle, and Iowa (11-1), which easily got by Minnesota, are third and fouth respectively. Oklahoma (9-1) rounds out the top five.

Georgia (9-1), Southern California (8-2), Notre Dame (9-1), Michigan (9-2) and Kansas State (9-2) all moved up a notch and complete the top 10.

Virginia Tech (8-2), which has a game with Miami left, is No. 12, followed by Florida (8-3), Florida State (8-3) and Colorado State (9-2).

Penn State (8-3) routed Indiana but remained 16th. Colorado (8-3), Maryland (9-2), Pittsburgh (8-2) and Louisiana State - which was hammered 31-0 by Alabama -round out the top 10. LSU (7-3) was 12th last week.

Boise State (10-1) climbed two spots to No. 21, followed by Texas Christian (8-1). Following their big victory, Texas Tech (8-4) moved into the poll at No. 23 with UCLA (7-3) and Hawaii (8-2) completing the top 25.

North Carolina State (9-3), Oregon (7-4) and Bowling Green (8-2) dropped out of the poll.

Donovan McNabb suffers broken ankle

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb, the Eagles' key to a potential run at the Super Bowl, suffered a fractured right ankle Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals and will miss six to eight weeks.

The NFL's highest-paid player, McNabb was injured on the game's first series when he was sacked by linebacker LeVar Woods and safety Adrian Wilson. He fumbled and stayed on the turf, clutching his leg.

Despite the injury, McNabb returned to the game with his ankle heavily taped and with a noticeable limp. He gave a courageous effort, completing 20 of 25 passes for 255 yards while matching a career high with four touchdown passes in his club's 38-14 victory.

"I felt like I rolled up on my ankle," said McNabb, who walked into the postgame interview room on crutches.

McNabb, who initially was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, finally left the game with less than five minutes remaining.

X-rays after the game revealed the fracture that could sideline McNabb for the remainder of the season. The Eagles have six games remaining.

"It's a six-to-eight week injury," Eagles Coach Andy Reid said. "Somewhere in that area if everything goes right, depending on how the options go."

Losing McNabb, 25, is a devastating blow for the Eagles (7-3), who lead the NFC East by one game over the New York Giants (6-4). McNabb took the Eagles to the NFC championship game last season.

A threat on the ground as well, McNabb has accounted for 65 percent of his club's offense this season. He has thrown for 2,289 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 460 yards rushing and six touchdowns.

With McNabb on the sidelines, five-year veteran Koy Detmer will take over as the starter. Detmer has started just six of 51 games in his career.

Earlier this year, the Eagles rewarded McNabb, making him the game's highest paid player with a 12-year, $115 million contract.

McNabb's deal surpassed the $103 million contract quarterback Drew Bledsoe signed with the New England Patriots before the 2001 season.

Griese injures left knee, MRI on Monday

SEATTLE, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The Denver Broncos lost starting quarterback Brian Griese to a sprained MCL in his left knee late in the third quarter of Sunday's 31-9 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Griese was injured after being hit in the knee by rookie defensive end Rocky Bernard following a completion to Rod Smith. Bernard was assessed a roughing penalty on the play.

Griese is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday.

"I heard a pop and hopefully it's just an MCL," Griese said. "I'll get an MRI done tomorrow and we'll know more than. The doctors think it's a second degree sprain."

If Griese is sidelined for an extended period of time, the Broncos still have plenty of experience at quarterback in Steve Beuerlein, who is in his 16th season.

Beuerlein came off the bench Sunday and completed his only two passes for touchdowns, helping the Broncos pull away for the victory.

Signed as a free agent prior to last season, Beuerlein missed the entire 2001 campaign after undergoing surgery on his right elbow. He has passed for 22,747 yards in his career, including a career-high 4,436 in 1999 while with Carolina.

Griese, often the target of critcism in Denver, has been the Broncos' starter since taking over for the retired John Elway in 1998. This season, Griese has completed 238-of-358 passes for 2,603 yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

Brack wins season's final CART race

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Kenny Brack of Sweden closed the CART season Sunday by taking the checkered flag in the Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for his only victory of the year.

Driving a Toyota/Lola, Brack captured his fifth career CART win by 3.987 seconds over series champion Cristiano da Matta of Brazil.

Pole sitter Bruno Junqueira of Brazil made it three Toyota-Lolas on the podium and earned a $500,000 bonus by finishing runner-up in the points standings.

Patrick Carpentier of Canada and Dario Franchitti of Scotland, both with a chance for the bonus entering the race, rounded out the top five.

Fred Taylor fined by NFL

NEW YORK, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Running back Fred Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars was fined $10,000 by the National Football League for making a "throat-slashing" gesture after scoring a touchdown.

After a fourth-quarter score in last Sunday's 26-7 win over Washington, Taylor made the gesture toward the Redskins defense and was cited for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The fine was imposed late Saturday.

The gesture is illegal in the NFL, but Taylor claimed he went across his chest, not his throat. He suggested the fine was unjustified.

"The league is getting carried away," he said. "I can't afford to be giving away money."

The oft-injured Taylor, who is one of the league's most productive backs when he is healthy, has 772 yards on 182 carries and five touchdowns in a thus far injury-free 2002. The 6-1, 232-pounder, who is in his sixth season out of Florida, missed the last 14 games in 2001 with a painful groin injury.

In 1998, as a rookie, Taylor set 29 team records, and rushed for 1,223 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.

Americans win Warburg Cup

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Curtis Strange and Paul Azinger got the United States off to a quick start Sunday and Raymond Floyd provided the clinching point to give the Americans their second straight triumph in the Warburg Cup.

The United States won eight of a possible 12 points Sunday in cold, blustery conditions to defeat the Rest of the World team at Sea Island Golf Club, 14 ½-9 ½. In the inaugural event last year, the United States posted a one-point triumph.

Needing 12 points to clinch a victory, the United States got its 12th point from Floyd, who defeated Seiji Ebihara of Japan, 2 & 1. Floyd earned three points in the three-day, Ryder Cup-style competition.

Strange defeated Sam Torrance in a matchup of this year's Ryder Cup captains, 4 & 3, while Azinger downed Bernhard Langer by the same score.

Tom Lehman then gave the U.S. a 9 1/2-6 1/2 lead by heating up on the back nine and closing out Eduardo Romero, 2 & 1. Mark O'Meara pushed the lead to four by besting Nick Faldo, 3 & 2.

The World Team began battling back as Barry Lane held off Scott Hoch to win, 1-up; and Ian Woosnam rallied to defeat Tom Kite, 3 & 2.

With its hopes of retaining the title facing a legitimate threat, the United States closed strong. Hale Irwin knocked off Rodger Davis, 2 & 1 and Fred Funk hung on to halve his match with Isao Aoki.

One of the disappointing performances for the United States came from captain Arnold Palmer. He was overwhelmed by Gary Player, 6 & 5, in the day's opening match.

In the late matches, Bob Gilder bested Stewart Ginn, 1-up, and Tom Watson halved Dennis Durnian in the day's final match.

Temperatures at the Island course were in the 50s with wind and rain making scoring difficult.

N.C. State loses Emtimov for season

RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Sophomore forward Ilian Emtimov, a long-range sharpshooter, has been lost to the men's basketball team at North Carolina State for the season because of a torn ACL in his left knee.

The 6-7, 226-pounder was injured while making a rebound late in the first half of an exhibition game Nov. 8 against the One-World All-Stars. An MRI revealed the tear.

Emtimov, a projected starter, was an emotional sparkplug off the bench for the Wolfpack last season, and Coach Herb Sendek said his high-level of energy and shooting accuracy will be sorely missed.

"We don't have a replacement for Ilian Evtimov," Sendek said. "In many ways, he's our (football quarterback) Philip Rivers. He's a guy who not only is an outstanding player in his own right, but truly has the gift of making everyone around him better. I thought he was extremely instrumental in our improved play last year, and he had worked extremely hard in preparation for this season. When you have an injury of that magnitude, you have to ask everybody to raise his level of play and collectively make up for his absence."

As a freshman in the 2001-02 campaign, the Winston-Salem, N.C., native averaged 7.1 points per contest and shot nearly 40 percent from three-point range. He was a fixture as the team's sixth man, and twice was named ACC Rookie of the Week.