ABC Proposes Adding Extra Game to the BCS

Loren Matthews, ABC’s senior vice president for programming, said that his network had presented bowl championship series commissioners a proposal that would include five major bowl games and an additional game, the so-called “five plus one” concept.

The proposal, made Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., would match college football’s top two teams after the major bowl games had been played.

“I don’t know how it’s going to go,” Matthews said after daylong meetings with Division I conference commissioners.

Early indications, however, strongly suggest that the Pacific 10, one of the six BCS conferences, will not accept the proposal, which would go into effect in 2006.

“The Pac-10 presidents are very strongly and unanimously opposed to any extension of the bowl season into January later than the current schedule,” Commissioner Tom Hansen said.

In February, college presidents endorsed a plan to add a fifth BCS bowl game to the rotation that includes the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange bowls.

ABC’s contract with the BCS expires after the 2005 season. The network has an exclusive window to work out a deal before the BCS can solicit bids on the open market.

BCS coordinator Michael Tranghese said the plus-one concept was not “a dead issue,” but added, “I don’t want to give the impression this is where we’re headed.”

-- Chris Dufresne

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The University of Washington released an internal report examining the practices of a former team physician and athletic trainer assigned to the softball program. Although the report determined no one intended to harm the players, investigators found that athletes’ health was indeed at risk.

Dr. William Scheyer and former trainer Craig Moriwaki routinely provided painkillers and muscle relaxants before games, according to the report. Players gave Scheyer nicknames such as “Dr. Feel Good” and “The Candy Man.”

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The Auburn men’s basketball program was put on two years’ probation, with the NCAA cutting one scholarship but clearing the university of major rules violations.

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Duke freshman center Luol Deng has made himself available for the NBA draft but is not ruling out a return to school.

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Sue Gunter, 62, retired as the Louisiana State women’s basketball coach because of respiratory problems.

Soccer

Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the president of FIFA, said he would like to eliminate ties in the sport.

“Every game should have a winner,” Blatter told SID, a German sports news agency.

Games that end with a tie score have been an integral part of soccer since the sport was organized on a competitive basis more than 130 years ago. Earning a tie on the road has long been viewed as a positive result by coaches and players.

But Blatter suggested that tied games be settled by penalty kicks, long despised by coaches and players.

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Jorge Vergara, the Mexican businessman who owns Chivas de Guadalajara and its American offshoot, Chivas USA, said that the latter club would be up and running by August and would be based either in Los Angeles or Chicago.

Vergara said he was in negotiations with Major League Soccer and the Anschutz Entertainment Group.

“If we play in L.A., it will be at the Home Depot Center,” Vergara said, “and if we play in Chicago it will be at Soldier Field.”

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Former U.S. national team striker Joe-Max Moore will be lost to the New England Revolution for at least six weeks after he sprained a medial collateral ligament in his right knee.... San Jose Earthquake defender Eddie Robinson will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a ruptured tendon in his left hamstring and is expected to miss the rest of the season.... Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona, 43, hospitalized in Buenos Aires for more than a week in intensive care, began taking liquids and is breathing on his own.... The U.S. women’s national team will play Canada on July 3 in Nashville.

Pro Football

The San Diego City Council has approved a Qualcomm Stadium lease proposal for the Chargers that would eliminate controversial elements of the team’s lease, put an end to the team’s lawsuit against the city and possibly clear the way for the franchise to put a new stadium concept on the ballot by 2006.

The proposed lease would also allow the Chargers to leave the city after the 2008 season, provided the team paid off the $57.7 million in bonds issued for stadium upgrades.

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Cincinnati cornerback Dennis Weathersby was upgraded to fair condition two weeks after injuring his head in an automobile accident and is ready to begin rehabilitation.... Quarterback Drew Bledsoe renegotiated his contract, giving Buffalo nearly $4 million in salary cap relief.... Former Miami running back Jarrett Payton, the son of the late Walter Payton, signed with Tennessee.... Atlanta released quarterback Kurt Kittner.... The New York Giants signed former Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen.

Miscellany

Tony Stewart, the 2002 Winston Cup champion who will drive his regular Nextel Cup car for Joe Gibbs in Sunday’s Auto Club 500 at California Speedway, announced that he also would drive the No. 29 Chevrolet for owner Richard Childress in the NASCAR Busch series race Saturday.

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The jury deciding the manslaughter case against Jayson Williams deliberated for 4 1/2 hours, then went home for the day after asking to have testimony about the former NBA player’s instructions to witnesses read back.

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The Kings exercised a club option on center Esa Pirnes and will retain him for one more season. Pirnes, 27, had three goals and eight assists in 57 games last season. He will make $475,000 next season.

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UC Riverside Coach Jack Smitheran and USC assistant Dave Lawn were named assistant coaches for USA national baseball team that will compete from July 22-Aug. 1 in Taiwan. Loyola Marymount’s Frank Cruz is the coach.

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Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player will return as captains for the Presidents Cup in 2005.

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Eighth-seeded Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi defeated Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian, 6-3, 6-2, at the J&S; Cup in Warsaw.... Gustavo Kuerten edged Thomas Johansson, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), in a second-round match at the Open Seat Godo in Barcelona, Spain.