Knight wins in return
LUBBOCK, Texas, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The first full night of college basketball action this season saw the return of one of the sport's best-known figures as well as a major shocker in North Carolina.
Bob Knight, dismissed by Indiana University 14 months ago, coached his first game at Texas Tech Friday night and it turned out to be a success. His team downed William & Mary in the opening round of the Red Raider Classic.
The Red Raiders built a 21-point lead in the opening half, saw it cut to nine in the second period and then pulled away in the late going.
Knight was as active on the sidelines as always, showing most of his animation when his young team made a mistake. The only apparent difference between Friday night and his days at Indiana was Knight's wardrobe. Instead of wearing a red sweater, as he always did while coaching the Hoosiers, he wore a black sweater for the season opener.
The game attracted far less than a sellout. The crowd at the 15,050-seat United Spirit Arena was announced at 10,444.
In Chapel Hill, Tommy Adams scored 20 points and Devin Green and Barry Hairston added 17 apiece as Hampton stunned 20th-ranked North Carolina, 77-69, in their season opener.
Jason Capel scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for North Carolina (0-1), which lost its home opener for the second time in the last three seasons but just the third time in 73 years.
No. 2 Illinois, meanwhile, downed Gonzaga, 76-58; No. 3 Kentucky bounced back from a season-opening setback to whip Marshall, 90-73; and No. 7 Florida defeated Florida State, 68-47.
Lakers suffer first loss
PHOENIX, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Lakers became the last team to fall from the unbeaten ranks Friday night with a stunning 95-83 loss to the Phoenix Suns, who got 20 points from Penny Hardaway and 18 from Stephon Marbury.
The victory was just the Suns' fourth in the last 23 meetings against the Lakers, who had won their first seven games.
Phoenix has had trouble defending the low post all season and figured to have its hands full with Shaquille O'Neal. The 7-2 superstar had 28 points and 12 rebounds but made just eight of 18 free throws.
The loss was Los Angeles' first in the regular season since April 1, 2001 against New York and its first on the road since a 104-83 setback at Phoenix on March 26.
The 83 points were a season low for the Lakers, who came in as the NBA's top scoring team at 105.1 points per game.
Other NBA results: Minnesota 120, Indiana 113 in double overtime; Philadelphia 98, Atlanta 78; Utah 101, Washington 92; Charlotte 96, Miami 87; New Jersey 109, New York 83; San Antonio 105, Cleveland 91; Sacramento 105, Chicago 71; Sacramento 105, Chicago 71; Seattle 100, Golden State 91; Toronto 94, Los Angeles Clippers 85.
Oilers lose best player in victory
EDMONTON, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Josh Green and Anson Carter scored two goals apiece Friday night as the Edmonton Oilers pounded the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-1, in a victory that came with a huge price.
Edmonton lost its best player in the first period as Ryan Smyth broke his ankle in the offensive zone on a push from behind by Chicago defenseman Jon Klemm.
Smyth, who was playing his 195th consecutive game, began the night third in the NHL in scoring with eight goals and 15 assists. He is expected to be sidelined 10-12 weeks and could miss the Olympics for the Canadian team.
Green and Carter picked up the slack, scoring 43 seconds apart in the first period. Green increased the lead to 3-0 less than four minutes into the second and Carter made it 4-1 with 3:16 left in the period.
Mike Comrie, Jochen Hecht and Todd Marchant finished the scoring for the Oilers, who took over first place in the Northwest Division. They were coming off a 3-1
1 road trip.
Other NHL results: Detroit 8, Minnesota 3; Florida 2, Buffalo 0; Columbus 3, Anaheim 2; Nashville 4, Atlanta 4; Colorado 1, New York Islanders 0; Edmonton 7, Chicago 1.
Judge orders Twins to play in 2002
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A county judge, citing the role the Minnesota Twins have played in the community during their 40-year history, ruled Friday that the franchise must play baseball in the Metrodome next year.
Hennepin County Judge Harry Crump issued a temporary injunction that ordered Major League Baseball not to interfere with the Twins' 2002 season.
Although more legal battles lie ahead, the judge's ruling could slow down baseball's attempt to reduce the number of franchises playing the sport from 30 to 28.
Owners agreed earlier this month to eliminate two teams prior to the 2002 season. Although they did not specify which teams would be wiped out, most speculation has focused on Minnesota and Montreal.
"I think Judge Crump followed 30 years of judicial precedent," said Bill Lester, executive director of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which initiated the lawsuit attempting to block the elimination of the Twins.
"This obviously is not an end in itself, but at least provides the breathing room we need to come up with a solution that keeps the Twins in the Metrodome for 2002 and in Minnesota forever."
Crump's decision was filled with historical references and concluded that the Twins are simply too important a part of the community to allow them to be removed by baseball executives from outside Minnesota.
Bellisari suspended by Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Ohio State quarterback Steve Bellisari has been suspended indefinitely after he was arrested early Friday and charged with drunken driving.
"This is a very unfortunate situation for Steve and our team," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "The Department of Athletics has a policy in this place for this type of violation, including effect on game participation and availability of counseling."
Sophomore quarterback Scott McMullen will make his first start for the Buckeyes Saturday when they host Illinois.
Belissari, a 21-year-old senior, was arrested by Ohio State police and charged with two counts of drunk driving and a stop sign violation.
The suspension comes at a critical time for Ohio State (6-3), which can win at least a share of the Big Ten title with wins over Illinois and Michigan in its final two games.
Bellisari has started the last 31 games at quarterback for Ohio State. He has completed 53 percent of his passes for 1,599 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions.
Hewitt clinches No. 1 spot
SYDNEY, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- In front of a raucous crowd Friday, Australian Lleyton Hewitt became the youngest men's player to finish the year at No. 1 by beating childhood idol Patrick Rafter, 7-5, 6-2 at the Tennis Masters Cup.
"It's an unbelievable feeling," Hewitt said. "To become No. 1 at 20 years of age, and to do it in Australia, you couldn't have written a better dream."
At 20 years and eight months, Hewitt surpassed last year's Champions Race leader Gustavo Kuerten, who lost earlier in the day to Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Kuerten finished 0-3 in the round-robin tournament, failing to add to his total of 771 points in the ATP Champions Race.
Jimmy Connors had been the youngest to achieve the year-end No. 1 ranking at 22 years and three months in 1974, the year after computerized rankings were introduced.
A winner of a career-high five titles this year, including his first Grand Slam, Hewitt will meet Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain in the semifinals today. The other semifinal will send Kafelnikov against Sebastien Grosjean.
Florida center of football attention
GAINESVILLE, Fla., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- With Thanksgiving fast approaching, it is time for the annual battle in the Sunshine State with huge national title implications.
Florida State again collides with Florida, but the more important college football matchup is to the south, where No. 2 Miami welcomes No. 13 Syracuse in a game that likely will decide the Big East Conference title.
The two games highlight schedule today that includes some traditional rivalries and could possibly determine some berths in the Bowl Championship Series.
Miami (8-0) avoided a major scare last week and escaped with an 18-7 win at Boston College with the help of a bizarre return for a score by safety Edward Reed in the final minute. The Hurricanes did not wilt under the pressure and seek their 19th straight victory -- the longest in the nation. The winner clinches at least a tie for for the Big East crown.
Miami remained second to Nebraska in the latest BCS ratings.
Syracuse (8-2) stamped itself as a serious threat with a 22-14 win at Virginia Tech in late October and takes an eight-game winning streak, fourth best in the nation, into this week's game.
Third-ranked Florida (8-1), currently fifth in the BCS, still entertains hopes of landing a berth in the national title game, but needs to win the rest and get some help from other teams. The next step for the Gators comes today against No. 20 Florida State (6-3), which is trying to avoid its first four-loss season in 15 years.
A victory this week gives the Gators their 12th consecutive nine-win season, breaking the Southeastern Conference record set by Alabama from 1971-81.
No. 9 Maryland (9-1) can clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a BCS bowl berth with a win Saturday at North Carolina State.
Maryland also can become the first team other than Florida State to win the ACC title since the Seminoles joined the conference in 1992.
Lewis hopes to regain title
LAS VEGAS, Nev., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Hasim Rahman has something to prove. Lennox Lewis has to prove his critics wrong. Something has to give tonight when the two heavyweights meet for the WBC and IBF titles.
Rahman stunned Lewis and shocked the boxing world in April when he recorded a one-punch knockout in the fifth round of their bout in South Africa. Lightly regarded, the Baltimore native captured both belts and put himself in position for the biggest payday of his career.
Rahman (35-2, 29 KOs) was hand-picked for that fight by Lewis, who felt he offered some name recognition and a questionable chin.
On Thursday, Lewis weighed in at 246 1/2 pounds, 10 1/2 more than Rahman.
Earnhardt, Jr. wins NASCAR pole
HAMPTON, Ga., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hoping a strong finish to the season can give him a legitimate shot at making a run for the NASCAR Winston Cup championship next year.
He got a head start Friday, winning the pole for Sunday's NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He claimed his second pole of the season by running a fast lap of 192.047 miles per hour around the 1.54-mile oval.
Earnhardt said the team made some dramatic changes to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo during Friday morning's practice session. That resulted in a pole-winner as he went out late Friday
and knocked Mark Martin off the pole.
"We weren't really comfortable with the car in practice and made several chassis changes," Earnhardt said. "We tried lots of different combinations and finally even at the end of practice, I wasn't totally confident. I didn't know we could beat Mark's team after what I saw he ran. We ran the car and tried to run the same marks I ran in practice."
Martin will start second after running a lap at 190.463 mph in a Ford Taurus. Normally in competition for a Winston Cup title at this stage of the season, wallace is 12th in the standings and looking for his first victory of the season.
Rahal to return to Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Team Rahal has become the latest CART team to announce it would compete in next year's Indianapolis 500, another sign that the world's biggest race is regaining its stature.
The announcement was made Friday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Owner Bobby Rahal, who drove to victory in the 1986 race, will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time since 1995, when he finished third. Jimmy Vasser will drive the Miller Lite-sponsored car, which is co-owned by TV star David Letterman, an Indianapolis native.
"This race has a lot of meaning to me," said Rahal, a CART owner who previously has been an outspoken critic of the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the Indy 500 since 1996. "The greatest moment in my racing life was here in 1986 and the worst moment in my racing life was here in 1993 when we didn't qualify."
Vasser has run the Indy 500 six times. He has finished fourth twice, including in May for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing.
Webb opens four-shot lead
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Karrie Webb of Australia opened a four-shot lead Friday at the Tyco/ADT Championship, firing one of just two sub-par rounds turned in at the Trump International Golf Club.
Webb shot a 1-under-par 71 to match Laura Davies of England for the best round of the day and build a four-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam of Sweden and Australia's Wendy Doolan.
A two-time Player of the Year, Webb began the day just a stroke ahead of Sorenstam but watched her playing partner and just about everyone else falter over the challenging layout.
At 6-under 138, Webb is well on the way to her third title of the season and second at this exclusive event, which invites the top-30 money winners on the LPGA Tour.
Sorenstam and Doolan are at 2-under 142. Sorenstam, who has clinched Player of the Year honors after winning eight titles, struggled to a 2-over 74, bogeying three holes on the front nine.
World team leads Americans
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Japan's Isao Aoki eagled the par-4 12th hole Friday and the team of Stewart Ginn-Jose Maria Canizares rallied from a two-hole deficit with five to play to capture their match and spur a collection of international players to a 4 1/2-1 1/2 lead over the United States at the inaugural Warburg Cup.
The Ryder Cup-style event has brought together some of the best players in the history of the game with Arnold Palmer serving as captain for the United States and Gary Player leading a team officially called the Rest of the World.
Friday's action involved six foursomes matches. Six fourball matches will be played Saturday with 12 singles matches scheduled for Sunday. The Rest of the World needs eight points from the remaining 18 matches to win the event.
Aoki, partnering Nick Faldo, holed his 9-iron second shot from 125 yards at the 414-yard 12th to put his side 1-up en route to a 2 & 1 victory over Hale Irwin and Mark Calcavecchia. Both Irwin and Calcavecchia played in the 1991 Ryder Cup when it was held at the site of this week's competition -- the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
Canizares, from Spain, and Ginn, an Australian, appeared headed for defeat before winning three of the final five holes to defeat Loren Roberts and Tom Watson, 1-up. Watson missed a three-foot par putt at the 16th, allowing Canizares and Ginn to even the match.
In the other matches, Frank Nobilo of New Zealand and Bernhard Langer of Germany defeated Scott Hoch and John Cook, 2 & 1; Player and Des Smyth of Ireland won over Palmer and Mark O'Meara, 3 & 2; Ray Floyd and Dana Quigley beat Australian Ian Stanley and Englishman Denis Durnian, 1-up; and Curtis Strange teamed with Larry Nelson to halve Scotland's Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam of Wales.
