UPI NewsTrack Sports

Kansas tops pre-season basketball poll

MCLEAN, Va., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Kansas, the 2008 national champion, was voted No. 1 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Thursday ahead of the 2009-10 men's basketball season.

Kansas claimed a dramatic overtime win over Memphis State in the 2008 title game and finished 27-8 last season in claiming a fifth consecutive Big 12 Conference championship.

The Jayhawks were given 27 of 31 first-place votes and 770 points in the pre-season poll, giving them the top spot over No. 2 Michigan State, which had three first-place votes and 732 points. The Spartans were last year's NCAA runner-up.

Texas (676 points) is third and 2009 champion North Carolina (653), which got the final first-place vote, is fourth. Kentucky (635) is fifth.

Villanova, which made last year's Final Four, is the No. 6 team, followed by seventh-rated Purdue, No. 8 Duke, ninth-ranked West Virginia and No. 10 Butler.

Tennessee is in the No. 11 spot with Pac-10 rivals California at No. 12 and Washington at No. 13. Connecticut, a Final Four participant in 2009, is 14th and Michigan is 15th.

At No. 16 is Oklahoma, ahead of Big Ten members Ohio State at 17 and Minnesota at No. 18. SEC foes Mississippi State and Georgia Tech are 19th and 20th, respectively.

Georgetown opens the year at No. 21, followed by, in order, Dayton, Louisville, Clemson and No. 25 Syracuse.

NASCAR driver Allmendinger accused of DWI

MOORESVILLE, N.C., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Police in Mooresville, N.C., said NASCAR driver A.J. Allmendinger was arrested on charges of drunken driving early Thursday morning.

Mooresville police said Allmendinger, who was stopped on Highway 150, had a blood alcohol level of 0.08, the legal limit for drivers in North Carolina, WCNC-TV, Charlotte, N.C., reported.

The arrest of Allmendinger, 27, comes in the wake of another incident involving a NASCAR driver and alcohol.

WCNC said Mooresville police initially suspected alcohol played a role in last week's accident involving NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip.

Waltrip, 46, hit a motorcyclist with his vehicle last Wednesday while making a U-turn. The accident, which resulted in the NASCAR driver being cited for failing to yield, left the motorcyclist with unspecified injuries.

While police did suspect alcohol played a role in the collision, Waltrip had a 0.06 blood alcohol level following the accident, the report said.

O'Neal trying to become deputy sheriff

CLEVELAND, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Cavaliers star Shaquille O'Neal could soon become a deputy sheriff

in Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is the county seat, an official said.

Holly Hollingsworth, spokeswoman for the Ohio attorney general, said if state officials approve Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bob Reid's plans to deputize the NBA player, O'Neal would have to meet certain requirements before he can assume the post, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported Thursday.

In addition to completing 36 hours of police training within six months, the 7-foot-1 center would have to pass a shooting range test and complete the Ohio

police examination to maintain his appointment.

The Plain Dealer said O'Neal, 37, held law enforcement commissions in Arizona, Florida and Virginia.

An unidentified sheriff deputy told the newspaper the addition of O'Neal would be a welcome change for the sheriff's office given the recent criminal probe into former Sheriff Gerald McFaul.

"The public is so used to hearing bad things," the deputy said. "This is refreshing."

Rain washes out first round of PGA event

MADISON, Miss., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Heavy rains in Mississippi left the site of the PGA's Viking Classic unplayable, forcing officials to postpone Thursday's first round of the tournament.

Tee times were reset twice Thursday morning before tournament organizers called off play. The first round was rescheduled for Friday, with the second round Saturday and the third and fourth rounds both Sunday.

However, rain was forecast for the Madison, Miss., area Friday in addition to the nearly 1 inch of rain that had drenched the Annandale course since midnight Wednesday.