Palmer Expects to Be No. 1 Pick

The Cincinnati Bengals are on the verge of completing a deal to make Carson Palmer the No. 1 pick in this weekend’s NFL draft, and they could put the finishing touches on a contract as early as today.

“It’s still not finalized yet,” Palmer said late Wednesday, still waiting to hear word from agent David Dunn, who has been in Cincinnati this week for face-to-face meetings with the Bengals. “They’ve been talking the past week.”

Sports Illustrated.com and ESPN.com reported late Wednesday the Bengals had reached an agreement in principle with Palmer, but the sides were ironing out minor details.

The Bengal Web site reported Palmer was waiting for the OK to board an early morning flight today to Cincinnati. Palmer denied that.

“I’m going to New York,” he said. “There are a lot of rumors going around.”

But Palmer said he expects to become a Bengal and that he’s “fired up about it.”

Dunn could not be reached for comment.

-- Sam Farmer

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The Green Bay Packers claimed Eric Crouch off waivers from the St. Louis Rams and said they will give him a shot at quarterback.

Crouch won the 2001 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Nebraska but sat out last season after the Rams drafted him in the third round and tried to convert him into a wide receiver.

Motor Racing

Mario Andretti crashed during a practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sending his car sailing through the air and flipping over three times.

He walked away from the crash, according to video aired by Indianapolis television station WTHR, but sought medical attention at the speedway’s hospital.

The station reported that debris apparently was left on the track after a crash involving Kenny Brack, who was not injured.

Andretti, 63, who won the 1969 Indy 500, was testing the car for son Michael’s racing team. He might try to qualify a second car for his son’s team because driver Tony Kanaan has a broken arm.

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The Grand Prix of Road America was restored to the Championship Auto Racing Teams schedule, with organizers saying issues that caused the event to be canceled have been resolved.

The race, scheduled for Aug. 3, will be renamed the Mario Andretti Grand Prix at Road America in honor of the racing great credited with pushing for further discussions to settle the dispute between Road America and CART.

CART announced last winter that the race was canceled because of noncompliance with a sanctioning agreement, a charge denied by Road America.

Miscellany

Terrence Woods of Florida A&M; and Caity Matter of Ohio State have won the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Steitz Award as the best male and female collegiate three-point shooters. Woods, a junior guard, made 139 of 304 attempts (45.7%) this season. Matter, a sophomore, made 106 of 235 (45.1%).

Ronda Luna, an English teacher and softball coach at Bishop Amat High, will make her professional boxing debut tonight in a four-round featherweight fight on a five-bout card at the Irvine Marriott.

Luna, who twice won the National Blue & Gold tournament as an amateur, will face Rosa Ponce, who is also fighting professionally for the first time, in a scheduled four-round bout.

First bout is at 7:30 p.m.