Renault faces intentional crash charge
PARIS, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The World Motor Sports Council has ordered Renault to answer charges of intentionally causing a crash at last year's Singapore Grand Prix.
The ruling Friday by Formula One's governing body, FIA, said the move helped Spain's Fernando Alonso win the race.
In a statement, the FIA said representatives from the French team have been told to appear before a special meeting Sept. 21 in Paris.
"(Renault) conspired with driver Nelson Piquet to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of Alonso, his Renault teammate," FIA said.
Piquet eventually left the inaugural night race after hitting the wall on lap 14 of the 61-lap grand prix.
If found guilty, Renault faces a possible complete F1 expulsion.
Old Dominion returns to college football
NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Old Dominion University will field a football team Saturday for the first time since 1940.
The Monarchs will play their first game in 69 years against Division II Chowan University at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Va.
"We put it at six years because we needed a year to recruit and then five years to cycle a class through," Coach Bobby Wilder told The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot about his six-year contract. "And honestly, that's what I think it's going to take."
The school said on its Web site Friday that its seven-game home schedule is sold out.
The newspaper said the school was called the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary in 1940 before the program was eliminated.
William & Mary's main campus today is located in Williamsburg and the school plays in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Bruins extend Julien's contract
BOSTON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Claude Julien has agreed to a multiyear contract extension to remain the coach of the NHL's Boston Bruins for the next four seasons.
Details were not disclosed, but the Boston Herald reported the deal runs through the 2012-13 season.
Julien, 50, is entering his third season as the Bruins' coach.
Last season, he guided the Bruins to a 53-19-10 record and the semifinals of the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
He won the Jack Adams Award, symbolic of the league's top coach, the third coach in franchise history to earn the honor.
"Claude has shown a tremendous propensity to get the maximum results out of our team," General Manager Peter Chiarelli said at a news conference.
The Bruins scored an Eastern Conference-leading 116 points in the regular season and were the top seed in the East before losing to Carolina in the conference semifinals, their longest playoff run since 1999.
Tigers broadcaster Harwell facing cancer
DETROIT, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Longtime Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell says he is attempting to remain optimistic despite having inoperable cancer.
The Detroit Free Press reported Friday Harwell confirmed his diagnosis Thursday, but the man who has spent the last 42 years detailing Tigers games remains hopeful.
"We don't know how long this lasts," Harwell told the Free Press. "It could be a year, it could be much less than a year, much less than a half a year. Who knows?
"Whatever's in store, I'm ready for a new adventure. That's the way I look at it."
A tumor in the area of Harwell's bile duct was found in August after the play-by-play broadcaster was hospitalized for an obstruction. Harwell does not intend to have surgery or other treatment.
Harwell, who has served as a major league broadcaster for 55 years, offered thanks to his supporters nationwide.
"I'd like to thank them for their loyalty and support over the years. And their affection, which I don't know whether I deserve or not, but I accept it," Harwell, 91, told the Free Press.
