Attorney General to Begin Colorado Probe

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens appointed the state attorney general Friday as a special prosecutor who will investigate the recruiting scandal at the University of Colorado, saying he wanted “no whitewash and no excuses,”

Owens said school officials supported the involvement of Attorney General Ken Salazar in a case that included allegations of rape and athletic officials looking the other way.

“The university’s reputation is being harmed by serious allegations against its football program and that program’s recruiting practices,” Owens said. “The reputations of this program and the university must be restored and this matter resolved quickly.”

The problems escalated a month ago, when details surfaced in federal lawsuits filed against the school by three women who said they were raped by players or recruits at or just after a 2001 off-campus party.

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A student video made in 2001 shows Colorado football players saying their coaches encouraged them to cultivate relationships with police in case the players ever needed special treatment, a Denver television station reported.

The videotaped interviews were conducted by then-journalism student Billi Hazle for a class project. Brandon Drumm, a starting fullback at the time, told Hazle their coaches encouraged them to ride with officers on patrol.

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Golf

Heath Slocum shot an eight-under-par 64 -- his second consecutive bogey-free round -- to take a two-shot lead in the rain-curtailed second round of the Chrysler Classic of Tucson.

Michael Clark shot a 65 and Geoff Ogilvy shot 66, leaving them two shots behind Slocum’s 13-under 131 among players who completed 36 holes. Seventy-two late starters failed to complete the round when play was suspended in late afternoon.

Annika Sorenstam birdied six of the first nine holes in shooting a seven-under 65 today that gave her a one-shot lead after three rounds of the ANZ Ladies Masters at Gold Coast, Australia.

Sorenstam has a three-round total of 12-under 204. Second-round leader Karen Stupples finished with a 70 that left her one shot back.

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Tennis

Top-ranked Justin Henin-Hardenne defeated Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Dubai Open in the United Arab Emirates. Henin-Hardenne will play Russian teenager Svetlana Kuznetsova today for the title. Kuznetsova, 18, upset fifth-seeded Ai Sugiyama, 6-0, 7-5.

Dominik Hrbaty advanced to the semifinals of the Open 13 in Marseille, France, upsetting fourth-seeded Max Mirnyi, 6-3, 7-6 (10). He will play Jonas Bjorkman, who beat Marc Rosset, 7-5, 6-3.

Robin Soderling defeated fifth-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Soderling, 19, will face seventh-seeded Arnaud Clement, who beat Alberto Martin, 6-3, 6-2.

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Pro Football

The Indianapolis Colts released five players to get under the NFL salary cap and help offset an $18.4-million obligation to quarterback Peyton Manning as their designated franchise player next season.

If the Colts agree to a long-term deal with Manning before March 17, they can remove the tag and still have room under the $80.5-million cap.

Released were offensive tackle Adam Meadows, defensive end Chad Bratzke, quarterback Brock Huard, running back Detron Smith and cornerback Walt Harris.

Receiver Terrell Owens said the NFL and the San Francisco 49ers were responsible for his contract predicament -- not David Joseph, his agent.

Owens remains under contract to the 49ers after Joseph missed the NFL deadline for notifying the team of his intention to void Owens’ deal.

John Dutton threw four touchdown passes to lead the Colorado Crush (3-1) to a 37-35 victory over the Austin Wranglers (2-1) in an Arena League game in front of 15,459 at Denver.

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Miscellany

Kaitlin Sandeno of USC won the 400 individual medley in a conference-record 4:05.74 at the Pacific 10 women’s swimming championships at Long Beach. Stanford leads with 952.5 points. UCLA is second at 844.

James Parker won the 35-pound weight throw to open the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships at Boston.

Parker, who specializes in the hammer, won with a throw of 76 feet, 3/4 inches.

Four-time NASCAR Winston West Series champion Roy Smith, 59, drowned when a commercial fishing trawler sank off Vancouver Island, rescue officials said.