Hedges Rejects Neuheisel’s Plea to Keep Job

Rejecting Rick Neuheisel’s plea to keep his job as University of Washington football coach, Athletic Director Barbara Hedges said Tuesday she was terminating him because he gambled on the last two NCAA men’s basketball tournaments.

Neuheisel’s lawyer, Bob Sulkin, said his client would appeal to Norm Arkans, a university vice president. Neuheisel, 42, has until Monday to make that final plea to the university.

A hearing would then be scheduled.

Should the appeal to Arkans fail, Sulkin said his client would go to court.

Golf

Hoping to remove suspicions about possible cheating by golfers, the PGA Tour will begin using a test in January that determines whether clubs are legal.

At issue is a physics term called the “coefficient of restitution” (COR), which measures how quickly a golf ball springs off the face of a club at impact.

Players will be expected to police themselves, Commissioner Tim Finchem said.

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Two days after finishing tied for fourth in the U.S. Senior Open, Fuzzy Zoeller was the easy winner in the Par-3 Shootout at Gaylord, Mich., finishing with $330,000.

Pro Basketball

Don Nelson signed a three-year contract extension to remain coach of the Dallas Mavericks. Nelson already was under contract as general manager through 2005-06.

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The Sparks’ Lisa Leslie will be the Western Conference starting center at the 2003 WNBA All-Star game in New York on July 12. It is her fourth consecutive starter selection as voted by WNBA fans.

Other West starters will be Houston’s Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson and Cynthia Cooper and Seattle’s Sue Bird. The East starters will be Indiana’s Tamika Catchings, Washington’s Chamique Holdsclaw, Charlotte’s Dawn Staley and New York’s Tari Phillips and Teresa Weatherspoon.

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In WNBA games: Swin Cash scored a career-high 26 points, and the Detroit Shock set a league record for the most first-half points with 56 en route to a 99-88 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars in front of 4,232 at Auburn Hills, Mich.... Crystal Robinson tied a season-high with 22 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 90-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun in front of 10,731 at New York.... Janeth Arcain’s fadeaway jumper with two seconds to play gave the Houston Comets a 71-69 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in front of 6,848 at Houston.

Hockey

General Manager Glen Sather will again coach the New York Rangers because he says he was unable to find a suitable replacement.... Former Montreal goaltender Jeff Hackett signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers to replace Roman Cechmanek, who was traded to the Kings.... Right wing Darren McCarty avoided becoming an unrestricted free agent when he agreed to a four-year deal to remain with the Detroit Red Wings.... Andrew Cassels and the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed on a new two-year deal.

Miscellany

Thunder Collins, a former Nebraska running back, was being held in a Corvallis, Ore., jail on assault and burglary charges after breaking into the home of Jamaal Jackson, an Oregon State cornerback. Jackson lives with Shannon Howell, Collins’ former girlfriend.... Former NBA player Jayson Williams will not go on trial for a limousine driver’s shooting death until next year. A judge delayed Williams’ trial until Jan. 12, allowing time to decide a series of pretrial requests by defense lawyers.

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Deji Aliu of Nigeria pulled off an upset in the 100 meters, finishing in 10.04 seconds on a wet track at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, and finishing ahead of two Americans, Bernard Williams (10.10) and Maurice Greene (10.11).

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UC Santa Barbara was named one of 16 host sites of first- and second-round games in the 2004 NCAA Division I women’s basketball championship. It is the only site on the West Coast.

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UC Irvine hired Terry Boesel as an assistant to men’s basketball Coach Pat Douglass. Boesel, 41, spent the last two years as head coach at La Verne and has been an assistant at the University of San Diego.

Passings

Kevin Belcher, a former New York Giant offensive lineman, died Saturday at his home in El Paso. The cause of death was undetermined, his brother, Darius, said. He was 42.... Bill Miller, a former major league pitcher, died of congestive heart failure in Lititz, Pa. He was 75.