Oklahoma Football Player Critically Injured in Accident

Oklahoma cornerback Michael Thompson was placed in intensive care Thursday after eight hours of surgery to repair injuries suffered in a single-vehicle accident in Norman, Okla.

Gay Conner, a spokeswoman for University Hospital in Oklahoma City, said Thompson’s condition was listed as critical or guarded, but said the operation went well.

Police said the 1994 Nissan pickup truck Thompson was driving ran off the road for an unknown reason and struck a tree while traveling about 70 mph. Firefighters had to free Thompson from the wreckage. He was wearing a seat belt.

Thompson, 20, suffered a broken right femur, a broken jaw and two broken ankles.

Matt Riddle, a childhood friend, said Thompson had a lot of scrapes and scratches, but seemed to be improving.

“He’s in bad shape, but he’s lucky,” Riddle said.

Thompson played in 13 games as a sophomore last season for the national champions. He had 61 tackles, one interception, 13 passes broken up, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Pro Football

Cris Carter, one of only two players in NFL history with more than 1,000 receptions, plans to retire after this season.

The Minnesota wide receiver, No. 2 behind Jerry Rice in receptions and touchdown catches, made the announcement Wednesday night during a banquet speech in Middletown, Ohio, where he was a high school star.

The 35-year-old Carter had previously said he would return for at least one more season, but he hadn’t announced when he would retire.

Carter’s agent, Mitchell Frankel, told the Associated Press he hadn’t spoken to his client since Carter’s comments.

The St. Louis Rams signed free agent defensive end Cedric Jones, who started all 19 regular-season and playoff games for the NFC champion New York Giants last season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Jones, 6 feet 4 and 270 pounds, had 47 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and five passes defended last season. For his five-year career, Jones, 27, has 145 tackles, 15 sacks, seven passes defended, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

The Carolina Panthers signed free agent running back Adrian Murrell, the team said.

Murrell spent last season with the Washington Redskins. He rushed for 50 yards in 15 games and caught 16 passes for 93 yards.

Defensive end Tracy Scroggins, an unrestricted free agent, signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Lions.

Tennis

Top-seeded Venus Williams breezed into the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup at Hamburg, Germany, with an easy 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gala Leon Garcia of Spain.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, the fourth-seeded Spaniard and three-time champion in the $565,000 event, cruised into the quarterfinals by beating Denisa Chladkova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-2.

Second-seeded Andrew Ilie of Australia fought off a tough challenge from unseeded Alexander Popp of Germany for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory in the second round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Houston, but fifth-seeded Magnus Gustafssom was defeated by Andy Roddick, 6-2, 6-4.

Third-seeded Carlos Moya reached the quarterfinals of the $500,000 Mallorca Open clay-court tournament at Palma de Mallorca, Spain, by beating fellow Spaniard Sergi Bruguera, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. . . . Defending champion Tina Pisnik of Slovenia beat Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 7-5, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals of the $170,000 Croatian Bol Ladies Open at Bol, Croatia. . . . No. 5 Thomas Johansson of Sweden tumbled out of the BMW Open at Munich, losing, 6-4, 6-4, to Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco in the second round.

Miscellany

The late John Steadman, a columnist for the Baltimore Sun who wrote about sports in Baltimore for half a century, was named winner of the 2001 Red Smith Award for major contributions to sports journalism. Steadman, who died Jan. 1, becomes the 21st recipient of the award.

International Olympic Committee officials expressed satisfaction with progress made by Athens on the construction of long-delayed sports venues, a key in its struggle to prepare for the 2004 Games.

Government officials, for the first time, gave IOC inspectors, led by Jacques Rogge, final locations for all venues and firm dates for their construction.

The U.S. Olympic site evaluation team will visit and inspect eight bid cities for the 2012 Summer Games. Their travel will begin with a June 10-13 trip to Washington, followed by stops in Dallas June 18-21, Houston July 16-19, Cincinnati July 23-26, New York July 30-Aug. 2, Tampa Aug. 2-5, San Francisco Aug. 20-23, and Los Angeles Aug. 23-26.

South Carolina tailback Derek Watson, the Gamecocks’ first 1,000-yard rusher in four seasons, was accused of striking Richelle Beard “in the arm with his fist,” according to University of South Carolina Police Department report filed by Beard on Wednesday night. The report said Beard, a sophomore, wanted to press charges.

All-time U.S. national team scoring leader Eric Wynalda was traded by the winless New England Revolution of the MLS to the Chicago Fire for forward John Wolyniec. . . . Xavier hired Butler’s Thad Matta as men’s basketball coach.