England on the ropes in first cricket test
BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Australia has tightened its grip on the first cricket test with three quick England wickets after declaring its first innings at 9 for 602.
Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting dominated the England bowlers on the second day of play in Brisbane before he was finally trapped LBW by Matthew Hoggard for 196. The Australian tail-end batsmen also hit out with Brett Lee scoring 43. Stuart Clark made 39 off 23 deliveries.
England captain Andrew Flintoff fared best in the attack, taking 4 wickets for 99 runs. Hoggard had 2 for 98 while James Anderson, Ashley Giles and Steve Harmison managed one wicket each.
The weary visitors were soon in trouble when Glenn McGrath dismissed Andrew Strauss for 12 and Alastair Cook for 11. McGrath was denied his hat trick by Paul Collingwood who was soon on his way back to the pavilion after scoring only five runs when he was caught behind by Adam Gilchrist off Clark.
Ian Bell (13) and Kevin Pieterson (6) survived the rest of the days play to leave England struggling at 3 for 53 at stumps.
Miami fires Coker after tepid season
CORAL GABLES, Fla., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Miami Friday fired head football coach Larry Coker following a lackluster season, school officials said.
However, athletic director Paul Dee told a news conference Coker would coach a bowl game if the Hurricanes are invited to a post-season contest.
Following a 17-13 win over No. 18 Boston College Thursday night, Miami finished the regular season 6-6.
Coker was told of the decision early Friday. He has three years remaining on his contract, which pays him nearly $2 million a year, ESPN reported. The school would still owe him between $2.4 million and $3 million in a buyout, the report said.
The 58-year-old Coker won more games in his first six seasons than any other Hurricanes coach except Dennis Erickson, and has won more games in the last five years than all but five Division 1-A coaches, ESPN said.
Coker had a winning percentage of nearly 80 percent, won a national championship in 2001 and played for another title the following season, but the Hurricanes had tepid seasons over the last two years.
Pregnant Mia Hamm to miss Texas honor
WACO, Texas, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Soccer legend Mia Hamm has turned down induction next year into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame because she is pregnant and cannot travel.
Hamm had been voted into the hall along with other sports figures associated with the Lone Star State, such as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
But a spokesman for Hamm and husband Nomar Garciaparra of the Los Angeles Dodgers said the soccer great is due to deliver in the early spring, and her doctor has advised her not to travel after January, the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Friday.
Hamm reluctantly told the hall she would have to decline induction at the Feb. 15 banquet in Waco, but would accept the honor in 2008, the report said
"This (a pregnancy decline) is a first for us," hall director Steve Fallon said.
Hall bylaws say if someone declines induction for a three-year period, the person's name is taken off the ballot for five years, the American-Statesman said
Alabama native Hamm spent her high school years in Wichita Falls, Texas, though she played at the college level at North Carolina before she went on to play 17 years for the U.S. women's national soccer team. After leading Team USA to gold in the 2004 Summer Olympics, Hamm retired.
Amateur Pike leads at MasterCard Masters
MELBOURNE, Australia, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Young Australian amateur Aaron Pike shot a three-under 69 Friday to lead the second round of the MasterCard Masters at Melbourne.
The 21-year-old struggled late but still managed to stand 11-under-par 133 after the second round, two strokes ahead at Huntingdale Golf Club.
Justin Rose shot a six-under 66 and is alone in second place at nine-under-par 135; Kurt Barnes, one shot behind Rose, also posted a second-round 66.
Steven Bowditch (69), Tony Carolan (69), Greg Chalmers (67), Simon Khan (66)) and John Senden (68) are knotted in fourth place at seven-under 137.
