Assistant Basketball Coach Leaving USC

Kurtis Townsend became the second USC basketball assistant to leave Coach Henry Bibby’s staff in just over a month on Wednesday. Townsend is headed for Miami.

Townsend, who joined Bibby’s staff before the 2001-02 season, served primarily as a recruiter for the Trojans and is expected to assume the same duties with the Hurricanes.

“Miami’s a new challenge for me with them going to the [Atlantic Coast Conference],” Townsend said. “It’s a little bit more money but I’m always looking for a new challenge in my pursuit to be a head coach.”

Bibby said he is in no hurry to fill the vacancy.

“I’m fine right now,” Bibby said. “I have Eric Brown and Mike Johnson on staff right now and we don’t miss a beat.”

Among the candidates to eventually replace Townsend: current USC administrative assistant Bob Cantu; former Montclair Prep girls’ coach Bob Webb, who played at UCLA from 1973 to ‘74; former Northeastern assistant Julius Allen and former NBA player Reggie Theus. Theus interviewed for the spot eventually taken by Johnson when Damon Archibald left for Iowa State on June 5.

-Paul Gutierrez

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College Football

Despite Nebraska’s worst season in 41 years, the university paid its football coaches $156,163 in incentive bonuses in the 2002-03 fiscal year.

According to figures released Wednesday, the university paid $459,450 in bonuses to coaches and athletic department staff. After country club memberships and honorariums are added in, the total is $541,637.

Last year, the university paid a total of $769,000, and two years ago it paid a record $1.02 million.

This year’s football bonuses were based on the team’s appearance in the Black Coaches Assn. preseason game and the Independence Bowl. Nebraska finished the season 7-7.

Missouri defensive end Nick Tarpoff was dismissed from the team after he pleaded guilty to felony possession of an illegal weapon at Columbia, Mo.

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Tennis

Bob Bryan advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame championships with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dusan Vemic before the rest of Wednesday’s matches were rained out at Newport, R.I.

Top-seeded Magui Serna was eliminated at the Palermo International at Palermo, Sicily, losing to Ludmila Cervanova of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-1, in the second round.

Third-seeded Jiri Novak recovered from a weak first set to defeat France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, and advance to the Swiss Open quarterfinals at Gstaad, Switzerland. Novak will next play Juan Ignacio Chela, who edged Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3).

Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal reached the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open at Bastad, Sweden, beating countryman Albert Portas, 6-0, 6-4.

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Miscellany

Houston Comet forward Tina Thompson will not play in Saturday’s WNBA All-Star game after spraining her left ankle in practice this week. San Antonio’s Marie Ferdinand was selected as her replacement.

Nikki Serlenga scored her first goal of the season in the 73rd minute, leading the Atlanta Beat to a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Spirit in a WUSA game at Atlanta.... Abby Wambach scored twice in the first half and Washington went on to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Charge at Washington.

New York Ranger forward Roman Lyashenko wrote a suicide note, then apparently tried to cut his wrists before hanging himself, a Turkish police officer said at Istanbul.

Lyashenko’s body was found hanging Sunday by a belt in the bathroom at a beach resort in Antalya.

In the note, Lyashenko apologized for killing himself, according to the paramilitary police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prosecutors at Miami dropped a charge of resisting arrest against Philadelphia Eagle first-round pick Jerome McDougle.

In exchange, McDougle agreed to donate a total of $500 to the Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Florida Mental Health Trust Fund.

NASCAR fined three teams $25,000 each and docked driver and owner points for various infractions found last week at Daytona International Speedway.

Michael Waltrip lost 25 driver points, car owner Teresa Earnhardt lost 25 owner points and crew chief Richard Labbe was fined $25,000 for unapproved carburetor modifications.