In Sports from United Press International

Johnson big winner in college awards

ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Penn State running back Larry Johnson gathered a collection of hardware Thursday night during the annual college football awards show.

One of five finalists in a Heisman Trophy race that could be one of the closest ever, Johnson won the Maxwell Award as college football's most outstanding player and the Doak Walker Award as the outstanding junior or senior running back. He was also named the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year.

Johnson was the ninth player in NCAA history to rush for over 2,000 yards, totaling 2,015 on 251 carries.

He wiped out Lydell Mitchell's school single-season rushing record of 1,567 yards and averaged 8.03 per carry. He also set school records for catches (39) and receiving yards (341) by a running back to take his place among the star backs in Penn State history.

Johnson has added 341 yards receiving -- a school record for running backs -- and has 2,575 all-purpose yards, the ninth-best total in NCAA history.

The Heisman Trophy will be announced Saturday night in New York and Johnson will be joined at the ceremony by Brad Banks of Iowa, who Thursday night won the Davey O'Brien Award as best quarterback.

A senior from Florida, Banks has completed 155 of 258 passes for 2,369 yards with 25 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has ran for 387 yards and five scores to help the third-ranked Hawkeyes gain a berth in the Orange Bowl against Southern California.

Running back Willis McGahee and quarterback Ken Dorsey of Miami and quarterback Carson Palmer of Southern California are the other Heisman Trophy finalists.

Dorsey was a finalist for the O'Brien, Maxwell and Camp honors, yet came away empty. But he can claim a far more coveted prize Jan. 3 when the top-ranked Hurricanes oppose Ohio State for the national championship in the Fiesta Bowl.

Banks' teammate, Nate Kaeding, won the Lou Groza Award as the top Division I-A kicker. Kaeding made 20 of 22 field goals, including a 55-yarder.

Charles Rogers of Michigan State, who already has stated his intention to apply for the NFL draft, won the Biletnikoff Award as best receiver.

The Coach of the Year award went to Tyrone Willingham, who orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in his first season at Notre Dame. Just 5-6 a year ago, Notre Dame was 10-2 this season and will play North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.

Billups carries Pistons past Bulls

CHICAGO, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Chauncey Billups hit a pair of key three-pointers in the final four minutes Thursday night to lead Detroit past Chicago, 86-76.

Billups' three-pointer with 3:44 remaining extended Detroit's lead to 74-70 and Corliss Williamson scored 41 seconds later for a six-point advantage, prompting a timeout by the Bulls.

Chicago got baskets by Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose around another inside hoop by Williamson to cut the deficit to 78-74 with 91 seconds to go. Clifford Robinson found an open Billups on the right side and he made another three-pointer with 67 seconds left. Billups scored 21 points.

Richard Hamilton scored 20 points and added nine assists despite missing his final 10 shots. Ben Wallace grabbed 21 rebounds, his fifth game with more than 20.

Detroit has won five straight at Chicago and owns a 14-2 record against the Bulls since Michael Jordan's second retirement in 1998.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota downed Atlanta, 113-95.

Wild surprises Detroit

DETROIT, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Rookie Rickard Wallin scored on his first NHL shot Thursday night as Minnesota continued its stunning start with a 3-2 victory over Detroit.

Wes Walz and Richard Park also scored for the Wild, who were unfazed in their first road game of the season against the defending Stanley Cup champions, taking over first place from Vancouver in the Northwest Division.

Minnesota, which is tied with Dallas for the best mark in the Western Conference, scored three straight goals to build a 3-1 lead after two periods and improved to 2-6-1-1 in the all-time series.

Making his NHL debut, Wallin scored the decisive goal with 8:27 left in the second, chipping the puck over goaltender Curtis Joseph following a bad bounce from behind the net.

Dwayne Roloson did the rest, stopping 36 shots to improve his personal unbeaten streak to seven games (4

Boyd Devereaux and Brendan Shanahan scored for the Red Wings, who had their unbeaten run halted at five games (4

Other NHL results: Ottawa 5, Boston 2; Columbus 4, New Jersey 2; Philadelphia 2, Toronto 1; Tampa Bay 3, Montreal 2; St. Louis 2, Nashville 2; Carolina 4, Calgary 3; San Jose 5, Pittsburgh 2.

Richter out, Rangers acquire Dunham

NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The New York Rangers announced Thursday night that goaltender Mike Richter will miss the rest of the season.

They promptly replaced him by trading for Nashville's Mike Dunham.

The Rangers sent left wing Rem Murray and defensemen Tomas Kloucek and Marek Zidlicky to the Predators in exchange for Dunham.

Mired in a season-worst four-game losing streak, the ailing Rangers also acquired left wing Josh Green from the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional draft pick in 2003.

The Rangers may also be without superstar right wing Pavel Bure, one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history, for the rest of the season with a knee injury. The team still is awaiting results of tests.

In Wednesday night's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, New York was without Richter, Bure, defenseman Brian Leetch, captain Mark Messier and right wing Matthew Barnaby. Defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre then broke a finger.

Richter, 36, has not played since suffering a concussion on a knee to the head against Edmonton on Nov. 5. He recently underwent a series of tests because of his slow recovery.

A Stanley Cup champion, Richter has been ravaged by injuries the past few seasons, tearing both ACLs and suffering a fractured skull on a slap shot.

Canada leads World Cup

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The Canadian team of Mike Weir and Ian Leggatt fired a 13-under 59 Thursday to take a one-shot lead after one round of the golf's World Cup.

Americans Phil Mickelson and David Toms turned in a disappointing 65, beating only six teams in the 24-team field.

Playing a best-ball format, Weir and Leggatt combined for 11 birdies and an eagle at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Vista Vallarta course.

Australians Craig Parry and Adam Scott were alone in second with a 60 while the teams from South Korea (K.J. Choi-S.K. Ho) and France (Thomas Levet and Raphael Jacquelin) shared third at 61.

The French team came to the par-4 18th hole with the lead, but both players wound up in a hazard that runs down the left side of the fairway all the way to the green. That led to a double bogey, a rarity in team play.

The top-seeded American duo was tied for 16th after the first round and led only Colombia, Myanmar, Venezuela, Germany, Mexico and Singapore. Toms and Mickelson were paired with Venezuelans Carlos Larrain Jaime Acevedo for the first round and the Americans trailed their playing partners going to the final hole.

But the Venezuelans also suffered a double bogey at the 18th and missed a chance to finish in front of the Americans.

Friday's second round will be played in an alternate shot format, which will produce much higher scores than were posted Thursday.

Warner's season comes to an end

ST. LOUIS, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Rams Thursday placed veteran quarterback Kurt Warner on injured reserve, ending his 2002 season.

Warner, a former Super Bowl MVP, has been hampered this season with a hand injury. He broke the pinky finger on his right hand against Dallas Sept. 29 and missed the next five games.

He played briefly against Chicago on Nov. 18 and returned to the starting lineup for the next two games, at Washington on Nov. 24, and at Philadelphia on Dec 1.

An x-ray the day following the Eagles' game revealed a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his right hand. The fracture is unrelated to the pinky injury.

Warner appeared in seven games this season with six starts. He completed 144 of 220 passes for 1,431 yards with three touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

Teyo Johnson to turn pro

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Stanford receiver Teyo Johnson announced Thursday he had decided to give up his final two years of eligibility and enter the NFL draft.

The only other Cardinal to have left early for the draft has been tackle Bob Whitfield, a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 1991.

The 6-7 Johnson, who also played basketball for the Cardinal, started all 11 games at receiver and caught a team-high 41 passes for 467 yards and eight touchdowns.

The heavily recruited Johnson came to Stanford in the fall of 2000 and caught 38 passes for 565 yards and seven touchdowns in 2001 to earn Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors.

Johnson played basketball for two seasons at Stanford, starting in 11 of 53 games.

Wyoming hires Joe Glenn

LARAMIE, Wyo., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Joe Glenn, who guided Montana to the Division I-AA national championship in 2001, was named Thursday as the new football coach at Wyoming.

Glenn replaces Vic Koenning, who was fired after posting a 5-29 in three years at the Mountain West Conference school.

Montana was 39-6 in three seasons under Glenn, including a national title last season. The Grizzlies were 11-3 this year, losing to McNeese State last Saturday in the quarterfinals.

Before arriving in Montana, Glenn compiled a 98-35 mark in 11 years at Northern Colorado, winning Division II national championships in 1996 and 1997.

Boehringer signs with Pirates

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- After making a career-high 70 appearances last season, righthander Brian Boehringer agreed to a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday.

The deal has a club option for 2005, but no other terms were revealed.

The 32-year-old Boehringer went 4-4 with one save and a 3.39 ERA in 2002, his first season with the Pirates. He was second on the team in games and limited opponents to a .225 batting average.

Originally selected by the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round of the 1991 draft, Boehringer is 20-27 with three saves and a 4.19 ERA in 273 games with the New York Yankees, San Diego, San Francisco and Pittsburgh.