Soft Walls Planned for Indy 500

Another giant step in auto racing safety appears imminent. A new “soft wall” system, which dissipates crash energy before it reaches drivers’ bodies, should be in place for next month’s Indianapolis 500 and may soon be adopted by NASCAR.

“If we go forward with it, it’s going to be one of the most revolutionary safety aspects in modern racing,” Brian Barnhardt, the Indy Racing League’s chief technical officer, said Wednesday.

While NASCAR hasn’t taken the last step, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said that all the tracks “are aware of this technology” and “are receptive to it.”

Two more crash tests on the new system will be conducted by the end of April.

If all goes well with the walls at the Indy 500, they will be left in place for the August NASCAR race there, the Brickyard 400.

College Basketball

Kareem Rush, Missouri’s second-leading career scorer who helped the Tigers reach the NCAA regional finals this year, will skip his senior season and make himself available for the NBA draft.

Rush, who averaged 19.8 points this season, hasn’t hired an agent, a move that would prohibit his return to Missouri under NCAA rules.

Tom Crean, who guided Marquette into the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years, signed a multiyear contract extension.... Josh Pastner, who came to Arizona as a non-scholarship player because he wanted to be a basketball coach, was promoted to assistant by Coach Lute Olson.

Sophomore guard Adam Boone will transfer from North Carolina after the spring semester.... Dustin Brown, a 6-foot-7 forward from the Bay Area, signed a national letter of intent with Loyola Marymount. Brown played in high school at San Rafael but spent this past season at St. Thomas More Academy in Connecticut where he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds.... Tennessee basketball players April McDivitt and Michelle Munoz, daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz, plan to transfer at the end of the semester.

Pro Football

State representatives voted to halt work on a new football stadium for the Arizona Cardinals and ask voters whether the project should continue.

On a 34-22 vote, the House approved a bill that would stop all work by the Tourism and Sports Authority, which is assigned to build the stadium, until Maricopa County voters, who originally approved the project, could decide its future in September.

Philadelphia offensive coordinator Rod Dowhower, 59, retired after 21 years in the NFL and helping the Eagles reach the NFC championship game last season.

Tennis

Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain was ousted from the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal, losing to David Nalbandian of Argentina, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), in the second round.

Second-seeded Justine Henin avoided the rash of upsets that highlighted play in the Bausch & Lomb Championships, posting a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Clarissa Fernandez in a second-round match at Amelia Island, Fla.

But three highly seeded players were ousted on a rain-shortened day, with No. 7 Meghann Shaughnessy losing to Paola Suarez, 6-1, 1-6, 6-0, No. 8 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario losing to Nathalie Dechy, 6-2, 6-2, and No. 13 Alexandra Stevenson losing to Anastasia Mysinka, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.

Defending champion Andre Agassi has entered the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA, July 22-28. Since missing the Australian Open in January because of an injured wrist, Agassi has won two tournaments.

Miscellany

Police are investigating accusations that three Notre Dame football players and a former player raped a female student who was lured to a house with promises of a party.

The woman told investigators she was raped March 28 but waited until last Saturday to report the crime because she knew it would be a high-profile case and feared her name would be made public.

The players’ names were not released because investigators have not decided whether they will be charged, St. Joseph County police Capt. Harry Seider said.

Undefeated junior bantamweight Jose Navarro (9-0, three knockouts) of South-Central Los Angeles will meet Jose Adrian Cuevas (1-1) tonight in a scheduled eight-round bout at the Centennial Garden in Bakersfield.

College baseball’s single-game attendance record fell as 25,101 fans watched Louisiana State defeat Tulane, 9-5, at the Louisiana Superdome.

Passings

Pat Flaherty, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1956, has died. He was 76. Flaherty, who had been battling emphysema, died at his home in Oxnard on Tuesday.