Kansas still No. 1 in coaches' poll
MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Illinois joined the Top 25 while Kansas remained atop the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' men's basketball poll released Monday.
The season began just last week and the few games played made for very slight changes in the rankings. Illinois (1-0) grabbed the No. 25 position as Mississippi State (0-1) fell out of the rankings after starting the season at No. 19. There were no changes among the first 12 teams' rankings.
Kansas (1-0) won 27 of the 31 first-place votes while No. 2 Michigan State (1-0) grabbed three and fourth-ranked North Carolina (3-0) the other. Texas (1-0) is ranked No. 3 and Kentucky (1-0) remained fifth and Villanova (1-0) is No. 6.
Purdue (1-0) held on to the No. 7 slot ahead of eighth-ranked Duke (1-0) and No. 9 West Virginia (1-0) while Butler (1-0) is 10th, Tennessee (1-0) 11th and California (2-0) is 12th.
Connecticut (1-0) and Washington (3-0), switched places with UConn now 13th and Washington dropping one spot to 14th. Ohio State (2-0) moved up two spaces to 15th, followed by Michigan (1-0) and Oklahoma (1-0), which each fell one place. Minnesota (1-0) is still 18th, Georgia Tech (1-0) the new No. 19 and Georgetown (1-0) is 20th.
Dayton (1-0) was 21st followed by, in order, Louisville (1-0), Clemson (1-0), Syracuse (2-0) and Illinois.
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Oakland's Bailey is AL Rookie of the Year
NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Oakland relief pitcher Andrew Bailey was voted the American League Rookie of the Year, baseball officials announced Monday.
Bailey, 25, was 6-3 and had 26 saves to place in the Top 10 in that category in the American League. He finished with a 1.84 earned run average and 91 strikeouts over 83 1/3 innings last season. Bailey was also selected to the AL All-Star team last summer.
He is the eighth member of the Oakland Athletics to win the rookie of the year award. Huston Street, who won in 2005, was the most recent A's player to win the honor.
Bailey was listed first on 13 of the 28 rookie of the year ballots and was second on six ballots and third on five others to total 88 points. Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus, who had 65 points, was second.
The award is determined on a vote by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America representing each American League city.
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Florida's Coghlan voted top NL rookie
NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Florida outfielder Chris Coghlan, who hit .321 last season, was voted the National League Rookie of the Year.
Coghlan, 24, added nine home runs and 47 runs batted in to his .321 average over 128 games for the Marlins, who boast their third rookie of the year winner since 2003. Dontrelle Willis won the honor in 2003 and Hanley Ramirez took the award in 2006 for Florida.
Coghlan finished the season with a flourish, getting 47 hits in August -- the highest such monthly total for a rookie since 1954 -- and then 46 hits in September. Coghlan's batting average was the best among NL rookies, as were his totals for on-base percentage, hits and runs.
Coghlan was listed first on 17 of 32 ballots and was second on six others and third on two for a total of 105 points. Philadelphia starting pitcher J.A. Happ was second with 94 points.
The award is determined on a vote by members of the Baseball Writers Association of American representing each National League city.
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Horse trainer Bobby Frankel dies at 68
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel died Monday in Pacific Palisades, Calif., horse racing industry publications reported. He was 68.
The Thoroughbred Times, without naming sources, reported that Frankel died after a lengthy battle with leukemia, while The Horse reported Juddmonte Farms racing manager Garrett O'Roarke as saying that Frankel's ex-wife and daughter were by his side at the time of his death.
Frankel won the Eclipse Award five times, including four starting in 2000 when his barn won 22 graded stakes at 10 tracks and finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes with Aptitude, The Thoroughbred Times reported.
"Bobby Frankel was one of the greatest trainers in Thoroughbred racing history," said Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. "His outstanding horsemanship, coupled with a keen insight into the game, made him a force in the sport for the last 40 years. His immense talent, and his abiding love for his horses, will be sorely missed."
While saddling six Breeders' Cup winners, Frankel won just one Triple Crown race -- the 2003 Belmont Stakes with Empire Maker to deny Funny Cide a Triple Crown.
Frankel's horses won 3,654 races in 17,657 starts, earning $227,947,775.
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UNLV football coach Sanford fired
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- University of Nevada, Las Vegas head football coach Mike Sanford has been fired after a disappointing season, school officials say.
UNLV President Neal Smatresk and Interim Athletic Director Jerry Koloskie announced Sunday that Sanford wouldn't be back. The news came following a 2009 football season that ended Saturday with a 45-17 loss at Air Force, dropping the Rebels' record to 4-7 overall and 2-5 in the Mountain West Conference.
The game capped Sanford's fifth season as UNLV football and gave him a 15-43 overall record at the school, the second-lowest winning percentage in school history -- besting only Jeff Horton's mark of 13-44 posted in five seasons from 1994-98, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
"(Koloskie) and I announce the decision regarding Mike Sanford's employment regretfully and with the utmost respect for the time and effort he has devoted to the football team," Smatresk said in a statement.
"We appreciate the service, commitment and dedication that Mike Sanford and his staff provided to UNLV over the last five years," Koloskie added. "Our efforts remain focused on building the Rebels into a winning football program."
