Bowman Set to Return as Coach of Red Wings

Scotty Bowman has always said he will know when it’s time to step away from the bench.

Now is not the time.

Bowman, 67, announced Thursday he will return to the Detroit Red Wings for a ninth season and his 30th as a head coach.

“I’ve always felt I’ll know when I’m ready to step aside,” the NHL’s winningest coach said. “This season, the season ran well. Obviously, the playoffs didn’t.”

After winning the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cups, the Red Wings were eliminated in the second round in ’99 and 2000 before this season’s first-round elimination by the Kings.

The Kings exercised a one-year contract option on right wing Glen Murray, who had 18 goals and 39 points in 64 games with them this season. He added four goals and seven points in 13 playoff games. . . . Right wing Nelson Emerson had surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow.

Duane Sutter, who took over the Florida Panthers in midseason, will remain as the team’s coach. . . . The Atlanta Thrashers and right wing Jeff Odgers agreed to terms on a contract for next season.

Golf

Bob Estes tied the course record at a sodden TPC at Southwind with a 10-under-par 61 to take a four-stroke lead in the opening round of the St. Jude Classic at Memphis, Tenn. 30 players were still on the course when play was suspended. Estes had 10 birdies in matching the record set by Jay Delsing in the final round in 1993. . . . Leta Lindley birdied the last two holes for a five-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Laura Davies and four others after the opening round of the Rochester International in New York. Davies was in a group at 68 with Nancy Scranton, Emilee Klein, Brandie Burton and Jean Bartholomew. . . . Tiger Woods will team with Annika Sorenstam and play the team of David Duval-Karrie Webb in a made-for-television event July 30 at Bighorn Country Club.

Miscellany

Cycling faced another drug scandal when police raided the hotels of riders in one of the world’s top races and seized what they said was a large amount of banned performance enhancers.

The predawn raids in the northern city of San Remo, Italy, forced cancellation of the day’s stage of the Giro d’Italia and raised new questions three years after a drug scandal at the Tour de France threatened to destroy the sport.

Jon Crispin, a 6-foot-2 sophomore guard on the Penn State basketball team last season, is transferring to UCLA. NCAA transfer rules dictate Crispin must sit out the 2001-02 season, although he is allowed to practice with the Bruins.

UC Irvine has extended the contract of men’s basketball Coach Pat Douglass for four years, putting him under contract through the 2007-08 season. The Anteaters were 25-5 last season. . . . Canadian national women’s Coach Bev Smith was hired as Oregon’s coach, returning to a program shaken by a feud between its players and former coach Jody Runge. . . . Rasheed Hazzard, 24, a former George Washington University guard, has been hired as basketball coach at Venice High. His father, Walt, is a former UCLA and Laker star who coached the Bruins from 1984 through ’88.

France advanced to the championship of the FIFA Confederations Cup, defeating Brazil, 2-1, at Suwon, South Korea, in a rematch of the 1998 World Cup final. In Sunday’s championship, France plays Japan, which defeated Australia, 1-0, at Yokohama in the other semifinal. . . . Tiffeny Milbrett scored twice from inside the penalty area to lead the New York Power to a 4-2 WUSA win over the Carolina Courage at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Running back Antowain Smith signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots after four years with the Buffalo Bills. . . . The New Orleans Saints signed draft picks Ennis Davis of USC and Mitch White of Oregon State to three-year contracts.

Mark Dismore earned the pole for the Indy Racing League’s Casino Magic 500 at Texas Motor Speedway with a qualifying lap of 215.508 mph.

Teenage light-welterweight Juan McPherson, 16, was forced out of the amateur boxing world championships at Belfast, Northern Ireland, when officials discovered he was too young. Boxers 17 and over are permitted to fight in the tournament. McPherson will be 17 on June 26.