Maryland, Illinois get bowl bids
By United Press International
Maryland and Illinois, two schools with surprisingly near-perfect regular seasons this year, received major bowl bids Tuesday.
Maryland (10-1), which won its first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1985 and reached 10 wins for only the fifth time in school history, will play in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1956. Maryland's opponent will be announced on Dec.9.
Illinois (10-1) also had only one blemish on its record en route to the Big Ten Conference championship and is headed to the Sugar Bowl against an opponent also to be announced on Dec. 9.
Maryland, under first-year coach Ralph Friedgen, ended Florida State's nine-year run of ACC titles and will play a bowl game for the first time since a 34-34 tie with Louisiana Tech in the 1990 Independence Bowl. The Terrapins' only loss this season came against Florida State.
Olympic torch on its way to Salt Lake
ATLANTA, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Muhammad Ali sent the Olympic torch on its way to Salt Lake City and the 2002 Winter Games Tuesday after a welcoming ceremony in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park.
The torch arrived before dawn at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport from Athens, Greece, on a jumbo jet, returning to the last U.S. city to hold the Games for the start of a 46-state tour.
After the plane landed, Nikki Stone, a gold medalist in women's aerials at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and Bill Spencer, a biathlete who competed in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics, passed the torch to six-time gold medal speed skater Bonnie Blair and her mother Eleanor.
Ali, who lighted the flame at the Atlanta Games in 1996, was given the torch after the ceremony and passed it to figure skater Peggy Fleming, who carried the flame along with her former coach Robert Paul through Centennial Olympic Park. Ali
won a gold medal in boxing in 1960 and Fleming captured a gold medal in 1968.
The torch relay will travel more than 13,000 miles before its arrival in Salt Lake for the Feb.8 opening ceremony.
Olympic honor for hockey chief
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- USA Hockey President Walter L. Bush has been honored with the Olympic Order, the highest individual award in international athletics.
The International Ice Hockey Federation and the International Olympic Committee will honor Bush at the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Olympic Order is awarded to a person who has illustrated the Olympic ideal through his or her actions, or has rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause.
"I am humbled by this honor," Bush said. "I am proud and pleased to feel that I have made a contribution to the Olympic movement worldwide. It is a movement I feel very strongly about, and I have made it a priority to further hockey's international relationships around the world."
Bush has served as president of USA Hockey for more than 15 years.
Syracuse coach faces surgery
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Jim Boeheim, veteran basketball coach of 9th ranked Syracue, has taken a leave of absence to undergo surgery for an enlarged prostate, it was announced Tuesday.
"My doctors anticipate a return to coaching within a couple of weeks," Boeheim said in a statement released by the university. "Associate Head Coach Bernie Fine will be in charge until I return. My health has always been a private matter and I would hope that people would respect those wishes."
Boeheim, 57, has said he does not have cancer and that his problem is 100 percent treatable. The school did not disclose when he would have the surgery.
Kansas said favoring Sooner aide
LAWRENCE, Kan., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- After five straight losing football seasons, Kansas reportedly is looking to one of the tope programs in the Big 12 Conference in hopes of building a winner.
According to a report in the Lawrence Journal-World on Tuesday, Kansas will name Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino as its new coach.
Mangino, 45, served as an assistant under Bill Snyder at Kansas State for eight years before coming to Oklahoma in 1999. The Youngstown State graduate has only been a head coach on the high school level.
Last season, Mangino won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's best assistant after Oaklahoma went 13-0 and claimed its first national title since 1985.
Terry Allen, 45, was fired on Nov. 4, one day after the Jayhawks were routed, 51-7, by Nebraska. Defensive coordinator Tom Hayes served as interim coach for the final three games as Kansas was pounded by Texas and Iowa State before ending the season with a win over Wyoming.
Frustrated Bulls coach said to want out
CHICAGO,Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Chicago Bulls Coach Tim Floyd has told his players he would ask to be relieved of his duties, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Tuesday.
Asked if he would step down, Floyd told the newspaper, "I'm not prepared to share that with you right now."
A top Bulls official said, however, there were no plans to let Floyd go.
The Bulls are 2-13 and tied with the Miami Heat for the worst record in the National Basketball Association. Floyd has endured the worst coaching start in NBA history -- a record of 47-182 in three-plus seasons. But along with the losing this season, Floyd has had to deal with player unrest.
Veteran forward Charles Oakley publicly criticized Floyd last month and was fined a whopping $50,000 for comments detrimental to the team.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Floyd had a heated confrontation with injured forward Ron Artest regarding a proposed dress code after last Saturday night's loss to Philadelphia, and Floyd accused veteran players of undermining his authority.
Orioles sign Cordova
BALTIMORE, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Baltimore Orioles, hoping to beef up their outfield offen sive output, have agreed to terms on a three-year contract with free agent Marty Cordova.
Financial terms were not disclosed for the 1995 Rookie of the
Year, who revitialized his career last season with the Cleveland Indians.
Cordova's numbers were better than any Baltimore outfielder in the 2001 season, batting .301 with 20 homers and 69 RBI in 122 games.
