In Sports from United Press International
Four Heisman finalists named
NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Heisman Trophy presentation on Saturday will be an all-quarterback affair.
Nebraska's Eric Crouch, Miami's Ken Dorsey, Florida's Rex Grossman and Oregon's Joey Harrington were named the four finalists Tuesday for the prestigous award, which is awarded annually to college football's top player.
The 67th Heisman Trophy presentation will take place this year at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square instead of at the Downtown Athletic Club, which was damaged in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
A 6-1 sophomore from Bloomington, Ind., Grossman has completed 66 percent (259-of-395) of his passes this season for 3,896 yards and 34 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He has also rushed for five scores.
Dorsey is the signalcaller of the top-ranked Hurricanes, who will play either Tennessee or Nebraska in the Rose Bowl for the national title. The 6-5, 200-pound junior from Orinda, Calif., has accumulated 23 touchdown passes this season against only nine interceptions. He has completed 185-of-319 (58 percent) for an unbeaten team.
Crouch is the double-threat of the four finalists. In addition to his 1,510 passing yards, the 6-1, 200-pound senior ranks second on the Cornhuskers with 1,115 rushing yards and 18 TDs on 203 carries. He has completed 56 percent (105-of-189) of his passes for seven scores with 10 interceptions.
The 6-4, 220-pound Harrington, a senior from Portland, Ore., has only five interceptions with 23 touchdowns and has thrown for 2,414 yards while completing 58 percent (186-of-322) of his attempts. He has seven rushing TDs on 55 carries.
Maryland and Illinois get bowl bids
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.
Sooner aide Mangino hired at Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Mark Mangino, who helped coach Oklahoma to a national championship last year, was named Tuesday as head coach at Kansas.
Mangino, 45, the Sooners' offensive coordinator, will take over for Terry Allen, who was fired on Nov. 4 with three games left in the season. The Kansas Jayhawks have had six straight losing seasons, five in a row under Allen.
. Before joining head coach Bob Stoops at Oklahoma three years ago, Mangino was an assistant coach for eight years at Kansas State. Mangino was the Sooners' offensive coordinator the past two years. Last season, he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's best assistant after Oklahoma went 13-0 and claimed its first national title since 1985.
Kansas athletic director Al Bohl, who was hired by the university last summer, fired Allen, 45, with three games left in the season and replaced him with interim head coach Tom Hayes. The Jayhawks finished 3-8, losing 59-0 to Texas and 49-7 to Iowa State under Hayes before closing out the season with a 27-14 win over Wyoming.
Kansas, which has one of the most storied basketball programs in the nation, has experienced little success in football. The Jayhawks' last winning season came in 1995 when they went 10-2 with a win over UCLA in the Aloha Bowl. Kansas has not had a coach with a winning record since J.V. Sikes went 35-25 from 1948-53.
FBI searches O.J.'s home
MIAMI, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The home of Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson was searched Tuesday by agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and local authorities in connection with an ongoing drug ring investigation.
Simpson was not arrested or charged and was seen leaving his home in his sports utility vehicle at 8 a.m. EST, about two hours after agents arrived at the house.
"O.J. Simpson fully cooperated with the FBI and is also cooperating with the U.S. attorney's office," said Simpson's lawyer Yale Galantar. "The FBI agents were extremely courteous and professional. We were told by the FBI that this is an ongoing international Ecstasy drug ring and money laundering investigation."
Simpson's South Florida home was one of nine residences upon which search warrants were executed. Eight people have been arrested in Miami, and two others in Chicago, as part of the FBI's two-year investigation.
Chair-kicking Chicago Bull fined
NEW YORK, Mont., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller was fined $7,500 by the NBA Tuesday for kicking a chair into the stands during Saturday's 93-76 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The incident occurred midway through the third quarter when the Bulls were held to eight points and committed seven turnovers. As he came off the court, Miller kicked a chair that hit a fan, who was not injured.
The Bulls (2-13) are tied with the Miami Heat for the worst record in the NBA.
Miller is averaging 15.4 points and a team-leading 8.7 rebounds.
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.
Eddie Popowski dead at 88
BOSTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Eddie Popowski, who spent 65 years in the Boston Red Sox organization as a player, scout, minor-league manager, coach and manager, died Tuesday. He was 88.
The cause of death was not disclosed in a statement released by the Red Sox, which said only that Popowski "had been sick for a while" and died in New Jersey. He is a native of Sayreville, N.J.
Popowski spent 21 seasons as a minor league manager and guided his club to a first-place finish 14 times. He moved to the major leagues in 1967, becoming first base coach for the Red Sox. He served as third base coach for seven seasons and interim manager for parts of two seasons. He spent the last 25 seasons as a minor league instructor and the last 14 as coordinator of extended spring training.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Dodgers deny Sheffield trade rumors
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Despite the renewed Gary Sheffield trade rumors, it appears that the left fielder is going to remain a Los Angeles Dodger, according to a published report Tuesday.
Dodger general manager Dan Evans told the Los Angeles Daily News that several other general managers had called but that the club isn't interested in trading the controversial six-time All-Star.
The Mets, Yankees, Atlanta and Oakland were among the teams who contacted Evans, the newspaper said. Sheffield has two years, $22 million, remaining on his contract with the Dodgers.
Cubs re-sign DeShields
CHICAGO, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs on Tuesday re-signed outfielder Delino DeShields to a one-year contract.
DeShields, 32, was signed by the Cubs on July 7, just four days after being released by the Baltimore Orioles. He batted .276 with two home runs, 16 RBI and 12 steals in 68 games with Chicago.
DeShields was a first-round draft pick of the Montreal Expos in 1987 and debuted with the team three years later as a second baseman.
The left-handed hitter batted .295 with seven homers, 56 RBI and 43 stolen bases in 1993 for the Expos before being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Pedro Martinez, who has gone on to win three Cy Young Awards--two in the American League with the Boston Red Sox. Following his three-year stint with the Dodgers, DeShields played two seasons in St. Louis before signing with Baltimore in 1999.
DeShields is a career .270 hitter with 77 homers, 551 RBI and 453 stolen bases in 1,548 career games.
