Bowden says he'll pick Andrews' successor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Florida State football Coach Bobby Bowden says he'll get input from coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher but will have the final say on a new defensive coordinator.
The job will have to be filled when Mickey Andrews retires at the end of the season, his 26th at FSU.
"I'll make the final decision, but I'll definitely get (Fisher's) input, and very strongly," Bowden said during the ACC's weekly coaches' teleconference Wednesday.
Bowden has been under stinging criticism during his team's lackluster 4-4 season, with some critics calling for him to step down at the end of the season.
Fisher, the offensive coordinator, will coach the Seminoles when Bowden retires or will get $5 million if the 79-year-old head coach doesn't bow out by Jan. 1, 2001, the Florida Times-Union reported.
Andrews confirmed his own retirement Tuesday. He coached 18 first-round NFL draft picks at the Tallahassee school.
The Seminoles have won two national championships, but have not won 10 games in a single season since 2003.
-0-
Federer leads winners in his hometown
BASEL, Switzerland, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Roger Federer, gunning for a fourth straight title in his hometown, led Wednesday's winners at the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland.
Federer, the top seed, was an easy 6-3, 6-3 second-round winner over unseeded Andreas Seppi of Italy.
"I had to save break points today, which I didn't have to do in the first round, so I thought it was a bit tougher," Federer, who was once a ball boy in Basel, said in reference to a 6-3, 6-4 opening-round victory against Belgium's Olivier Rochus.
Federer is playing for the first time since losing 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro at the U.S. Open final in New York in September.
Also winning Wednesday were fifth-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek, sixth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, No. 4 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia, and Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy.
-0-
Toyota drops its F1 racing team
TOKYO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Toyota Motor Corp., citing cost-cutting measures, said Wednesday it would withdraw its team from Formula One racing.
Toyota issued a statement Wednesday saying it would leave F1 racing at the end of the 2009 season. The F1 schedule wrapped up last weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Toyota joined the F1 circuit in 2002 but its cars never managed a Grand Prix victory. Team drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock were expected to look to other F1 teams for possible cars for 2010.
The company said it was "dedicated to competing at the pinnacle of motor sports, even in the face of the abrupt economic changes that started last year."
"However, when considering TMC's motor-sports activities next year and beyond from a comprehensive midterm viewpoint reflecting the current severe economic realities, TMC decided to withdraw from F1."
-0-
Former NBA player Bol helping Sudanese
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Former NBA player Manute Bol says despite his serious physical ailments, he is heading back to his native Sudan to help the poor.
The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle reported Wednesday the 7-foot-7 Bol, who was in a wheelchair because of arthritis, spoke of his intention to travel to Sudan next Monday to assist the struggling African nation through the non-profit Sudan Sunrise program's education and reconciliation efforts.
Bol, 47, who retired from the world of basketball in 1995 and was seriously injured in a 2004 taxicab accident, spoke in Monroe County Tuesday about how many children in Sudan are forced to walk miles to reach a teacher and write in the dirt since they have no schools.
"They have no shoes," Bol said. "When they go back (home), they might not have food. That's why I help."
Bol's Monroe County appearances were sponsored by the University of Rochester.
The Democrat and Chronicle said while a 2005 peace agreement helped end a 20-year civil war in Sudan, the African country is facing new crises in the form of poverty and famine.
