Norm Roberts named St. John's coach
JAMAICA, N.Y., April 13 (UPI) -- Norm Roberts was hired as head basketball coach at St. John's University Tuesday.
The 38-year-old Roberts moves to St. John's from Kansas, where he was an assistant on the staff of Coach Bill Self.
Roberts succeeds Mike Jarvis, who was fired in December. The Red Storm had a 6-21 record last season, one of the worst in the school's history.
"This is coming home," Roberts, a New York city native, said at a news conference."It's very exciting to be coaching in New York again, at a place where I always dreamed of doing the job."
Other candidates for the St. John's job had been DePaul Coach Dave Leitao and former North Carolina Coach Matt Doherty.
Roberts worked for Self at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois before going to Kansas.
"We are so very happy for Norm," Self said. "He's an excellent recruiter, he's an excellent coach and he conducts his business in a manner which any university would be proud. He has a unique way of getting close to players quickly."
Garret Anderson gets 4-year extension
ANAHEIM, Calif., April 13 (UPI) -- The Anaheim Angels Tuesday announced a four-year contract extension for Garret Anderson, the team's all-time hits leader.
"We stated before that signing Garret to a contract extension was a priority," said General Manager Bill Stoneman. "We are extremely pleased to announce this deal keeping Garret in an Angels' uniform through 2008 and possibly longer."
The 31-year-old Anderson, a two-time all-star, has averaged 30 home runs and 120 runs batted in the past four years. Last season, he hit .315 with 29 homers and 116 RBI.
Anderson is in his 10th season with the Angels.
Weathersby hospitalized after accident
CINCINNATI, April 13 (UPI) -- Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dennis Weathersby was in a hospital Tuesday after being involved in an automobile accident, the team announced.
Weathersby's condition was not reported. Team officials said he was being evaluated at University Hospital.
"He was involved in an auto accident Monday evening. The Bengals have been informed that there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol involved in the accident. No other persons were involved," said a report from the Bengals.
Weathersby, 23, who played for Oregon State in college, was drafted in the fourth round by Cincinnati last year a week after he was wounded in an a drive-by shooting in Duarte, Calif., his hometown. He recovered from a bullet wound in his back.
Haith takes over as Miami basketball coach
CORAL GABLES, Fla., April 13 (UPI) -- Frank Haith is the new men's basketball coach at the University of Miami.
Haith, an assistant coach for 16 years, including the last three seasons at Texas, was hired Monday to replace Perry Clark, who was fired in March after two straight losing seasons. Clark's overall record at Miami was 64-55.
ESPN said Haith received a five-year contract.
"Frank is an outstanding individual and an extremely knowledgeable basketball person," Miami Athletic Director Paul Dee said. "He is, in my opinion, the top assistant coach in the country and has proven to be one of the nation's top recruiters."
The 38-year-old Haith also was an assistant at Wake Forest, Texas A&M, Penn State, North Carolina and Elon.
"All the pieces are in place for this to be a very successful program. The university is located in a very dynamic city and has an excellent academic reputation," Haith said.
Hawks apologize for playing obscene song
ATLANTA, April 13 (UPI) -- An apology from the Atlanta Hawks says the team is "deeply sorry" that an obscenity-filled hip-hop song was played in Philips Arena during a weekend game.
"Without question, it never should have occurred," the team said in a statement issued Monday.
Part of a DMX song titled "Party Up" was played on the arena sound system during a timeout in Atlanta's Saturday night game against the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks said their regular sound technician was not on duty that night, and that the team was dealing with "this serious matter internally with those responsible."
"Obscenities and other inappropriate graphic language were clearly audible to our fans, and as a result of this, we are deeply sorry," the team statement said. "It is never appropriate anytime something like this occurs and with the numerous families in attendance Saturday night, this was a serious error in judgment."
