Cotton Denied Eligibility to Play at North Carolina St.

Schea Cotton, one of the nation’s top basketball recruits, has been denied NCAA eligibility to attend North Carolina State this fall, the university said Friday.

Cotton appealed an earlier NCAA decision invalidating a Scholastic Assessment Test score that would have qualified him to play at the Atlantic Coast Conference school.

Cotton, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Long Beach who sat out his senior season at Bellflower St. John Bosco because of a shoulder injury, agreed to attend UCLA last fall, but the NCAA invalidated his SAT qualifying score less than a week before he was to enroll. He attended and played at St. Thomas More, a prep school in Oakdale, Conn., this past season. He has twice fallen short of a qualifying score on the SAT.

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The NCAA has signaled there could be changes made in its Division I initial-eligibility requirements, which some say are unfair to minorities and rural students. . . . Valparaiso Coach Homer Drew signed a contract extension through 2005-06.

Golf

Fred Funk took advantage of a windless day to break the 36-hole scoring record with a 12-under-par 130 at the Kemper Open in Potomac, Md. He is three strokes ahead of Craig Parry, Stuart Appleby and Chris DiMarco.

Gary Player, 62, is atop the leaderboard at the PGA Nationwide Championship, vying to become the second-oldest winner in the history of the Senior PGA Tour. He shot a five-under 67 to gain a share of the lead at Alpharetta, Ga., with 51-year-old Gil Morgan.

Annika Sorenstam shot a five-under 67 in the rain for a one-stroke lead after one round of the weather-shortened LPGA Michelob Light Classic at St. Louis.

Soccer

Hristo Stoichkov scored on a free kick in the 33rd minute and passed to Ivailo Yordanov in the 84th as Bulgaria won, 2-0, over Algeria in a World Cup tuneup game at Sofia, Bulgaria. . . . Francois Omam Biyick scored on two headers to give Cameroon a 2-1 victory over Denmark at Copenhagen. . . . Marc Overmars scored one goal and set up two as the Netherlands beat Nigeria, 5-1, at Amsterdam.

Inter Milan signed 31-year old striker Roberto Baggio to a two-year contract. No terms were given. . . . Referee Gottfried Dienst, whose ruling in favor of England on controversial goal in the 1966 World Cup coined the term “Wembley Goal,” died Monday and was buried Friday in Basel, Switzerland. He was 78.

Miscellany

The U.S. Olympic Committee, which has been concentrating on a bid for 2012 Olympics, may try to gain the 2008 Games instead after Toronto said it will pursue the 2008 games, according to USOC President William Hybl. He says it would be difficult to interest the International Olympic Committee in returning to North America for the 2012 games if Toronto wins the 2008 bid.

The Sparks cut third-round draft choice and former UCLA player Rehema Stephens and former University of Houston star Timicha Kirby from their training camp roster. . . . Pernell Whitaker, serving a drug-related suspension from boxing, has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after he was stopped at about 3 a.m. Thursday, police in Virginia Beach, Va., said. . . . World-record holder Donovan Bailey won the 100 meters in 10.16 seconds at a meet in Milan, Italy.

Tony Stewart beat his own record for the fastest official lap at Texas Motor Speedway at 224.448 mph to gain the pole for the True Value 500K. . . . Jeff Gordon earned his second Winston Cup pole position at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway the same way he won the first three years ago--by breaking the track record with a lap at 125.558 mph. . . . Jeff Burton won the Hardee’s 250 Busch Grand National race at Richmond. . . . Bernd Schneider of Germany qualified a Mercedes CLK-LM for the pole position in the 24 Hours of Le Mans Endurance race, which begins today. . . . The Oakland Raiders released 33-year old cornerback Terry McDaniel. . . . Wide receiver Andre Rison signed a four-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs.