Hollins Will Be Eligible for UCLA

Ryan Hollins, a 6-foot-11 center-forward from Pasadena Muir High, will be eligible to play for the UCLA basketball team next season because Saint Louis has granted him a full release from the letter of intent he signed in November.

Hollins decided not to attend Saint Louis when Coach Lorenzo Romar left to become coach at Washington. He signed a grant-in-aid with UCLA in June. Saint Louis originally gave him a qualified release, meaning he would have had to sit out next season.

Although the full release came Monday, Hollins might be asked to be a redshirt unless sophomore forward Andre Patterson is academically ineligible. Patterson, expected to be among UCLA’s top rebounders, is taking summer classes to boost his grade-point average.

Steve Henson

Pro Football

The Carolina Panthers agreed to terms with Julius Peppers, the second overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Peppers, an All-American at North Carolina, is expected to start at left defensive end for the Panthers.

Peppers played three seasons for the Tar Heels and ranked second in school history with 30.5 sacks.

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Darnay Scott, a receiver who played his first eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, agreed to a one-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is expected to sign a one-year deal worth the $650,000 minimum salary for veterans later this week and report to training camp Thursday, Jaguar spokesman Dan Edwards said.... The Miami Dolphins signed defensive end Jay Williams to a three-year contract extension through 2005.... The New England Patriots signed first-round pick Daniel Graham, a tight end from Colorado.

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Lawyers for former NFL receiver Rae Carruth appealed his murder conspiracy conviction, saying a judge should not have allowed jurors to hear statements by Carruth’s girlfriend, Cherica Adams, after her November 1999 shooting.

Carruth was convicted in January 2001 of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and using a gun to try to kill the baby Adams was carrying.

Carruth is serving a sentence of at least 18 years, 11 months.

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Pat Summerall, whose 21-year broadcasting partnership with John Madden ended at last year’s Super Bowl, will return to Fox Sports this fall to do play by play on regional games primarily involving the Dallas Cowboys.

Tennis

Meilen Tu beat fellow American Alexandra Stevenson, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

In evening matches, two Americans lost. Yugoslavia’s Jelena Dokic, seeded No. 5, defeated Amy Frazier, 6-3, 7-5, and Conchita Martinez of Spain defeated Laura Granville, 6-3, 6-3.

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Karol Kucera of Slovakia lost his opening-round match in the Generali Open ATP tournament at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Kucera lost in straight sets to Chilean clay-court specialist Nicolas Massu, 6-3, 6-3.

In other matches, Nicely Davydenko of Russia defeated Armenian Sargis Sargasian, 7-6 (5), 6-3, and Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands defeated Galo Blanco of Spain, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-4.

Golf

Even though Tiger Woods was out of contention, the final round of the British Open on ABC got an overnight rating of 4.9 with a 14 share, which is 7% higher than the 4.6/14 for the final round last year.

The overnight rating Saturday, when Woods shot an 81 in the wind, rain and cold, was a 4.2 with a 12 share, which is 8% higher than the 3.9/12 for last year’s third round.

In Los Angeles, where the coverage began at 6 a.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday, the numbers were 4.1/13 for Saturday and 4.1/14 for Sunday.

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WorldCom lost its namesake PGA Tour event, one day after the troubled telecommunications company filed for bankruptcy.

“Our golf tournament represents an enormous economic impact for our entire community which we are not willing to jeopardize,” Heritage Classic Foundation board chairman Joe Fraser said.

Miscellany

The Mighty Ducks said they signed free-agent center Samuel Pahlsson and defenseman Chris O’Sullivan to one-year contracts.

Pahlsson had six goals and 14 assists in 80 games last season. O’Sullivan, 28, played in Switzerland last season.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning avoided arbitration by re-signing defenseman Pavel Kubina to a multiyear contract.

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Former Towson guard Tamir Goodman has signed a three-year deal with the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team in Israel.

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NASCAR continued its crackdown on infractions, docking 25 points from Dale Jarrett’s team and fining his crew chief, Todd Parrot, $20,000 because his car failed postrace inspection.

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Swimmer Steve Siler, who tested positive for ephedrine at the 2002 Charlotte Grand Prix event, was suspended for two months by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.