NCAA Sweet 16 Under Way
By United Press International
Defending champion Duke meets Indiana and Oklahoma faces Arizona Thursday night in "sweet 16" marquee matchups in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke, the top seed in the South Region, and fourth-ranked Indiana collide in Lexington, Ky., followed by a game between third-seeded Pittsburgh and No. 10 Kent State(29-5), one of the tournament surprises.
In the West, second-ranked Oklahoma and No. 3 Arizona meet in San Jose, Calif., followed by a contest between two more surprising teams, No. 8 UCLA and No. 12 Missouri.
On Friday night, Maryland meets Kentucky and Connecticut faces Southern Illinois in the East and Kansas meets Illinois and Texas goes against Oregon in the Midwest.
In the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night, Ball State is at South Carolina.
Bengals after Bledsoe
CINCINNATI, March 21 (UPI) -- After two months of speculation, the Cincinnati Bengals confirmed they have talked with the New England Patriots about trading for veteran quarterback Drew Bledsoe, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Thursday.
On Wednesday night at the NFL meetings, Bengals Coach Dick LeBeau told the Boston Herald that the Bengals were interested in Bledsoe.
"We're looking for a quarterback and I think Drew is a great one," LeBeau said. "But we have to trade for him. I know we're talking with New England about it. Mike Brown has talked with (coach) Bill (Belichick) and Bill referred him to Scott Pioli (the Patriots personnel director). I'm not sure what progress has been made."
LeBeau was not available for comment.
The Patriots reportedly want two first-round draft picks in exchange for Bledsoe. The Bengals apparently won't trade even one first-round choice.
Eagles re-sign veteran punter
PHILADELPHIA, March 21 (UPI) -- Coming off one of the best seasons of his 17-year career, punter Sean Landeta will return to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002.
The Eagles on Thursday re-signed the 40-year-old Landeta to a one-year contract.Financial terms were not disclosed.
Landeta, who has the most punts in NFL history, tied for second in the NFC with a 43.5-yard punting average last season and earned Special Teams player of the week honors twice.
A two-time Pro Bowler and member of two Super Bowl winning teams with the New York Giants, Landeta has appeared in 241 games, including 48 with Philadelphia, and has 1,216 career punts, surpassing Lee Johnson's record of 1,187 in 2001.
Hurricane Tailback hurt
CORAL GABLES, Fla., March 21 (UPI) -- Frank Gore, the projected starter at tailback for defending national champion Miami, will undergo knee surgery later this week, placing his status in doubt for the 2002 season.
Gore suffered the injury to his right knee during a spring practice on Tuesday. An MRI taken on Wednesday revealed damage to the anterior cruciate ligament.
"It's a serious injury, but I wouldn't want to guess on when he might return until after the surgery," Miami Coach Larry Coker told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Gore was expected to replace Clinton Portis, who left school early to declare for the NFL draft. Gore rushed for 562 yards and five touchdowns, averaging an astounding 9.1 yards per carry, as a freshman backup to Portis last season.
Capriati, Seles named to Fed Cup team
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 21 (UPI) -- Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Meghann Shaughnessy and Lisa Raymond were named to the United States team that will face Austria in the first round of the Fed Cup at Charlotte, N.C., April 27-28, team captain Billie Jean King announced Thursday.
Capriati, the two-time Australian Open champion and No. 1 player in the Sanex WTA Tour rankings, has represented the U.S. in the Fed Cup in 1990, 1991, 1996 and 2000. The 25-year-old has won three of the last five Grand Slam titles and regained the No. 1 ranking from fellow American Venus Williams this week.
Seles has been on every Fed Cup team since 1996, helping the U.S. to titles that year as well as 1999 and 2000. She has 52 career singles titles, including nine Grand Slams. The 28-year-old won most recently at Doha, Qatar in February.
The U.S. has won a record 17 Fed Cup championships since the event began in 1963. The Americans withdrew from the event last year following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Sixteen nations are competing this year. The U.S.-Austria winner faces the winner of the Czech Republic-Croatia tie in the second round on July 20-21.
