NBC’s Olympic Coverage Will Total 1,210 Hours

NBC announced Wednesday that there would be 1,210 hours of coverage from the Athens Olympics in August, more than for the last five Summer Olympics combined.

The U.S. coverage for the Games in Los Angeles; Seoul; Barcelona, Spain; Atlanta; and Sydney, Australia, totaled 1,133 hours.

The 1,210 hours are about 350 more than previously announced. The increase is the result of 49 hours on the USA Network, a recent NBC acquisition, and 399 hours of taped high-definition coverage to be carried on separate NBC HD channels in 124 NBC markets. These channels, however, reach only about 1.3 million homes nationally.

NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol said the plan was to have full high-definition coverage in place for the 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin, Italy.

For the Athens Games, there will be seven carriers -- NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo, Telemundo and NBC’s HD channels -- offering 70 hours of coverage a day in the U.S.

Telemundo will provide 169 1/2 hours of Spanish-language coverage, nearly equal to the 171 1/2 hours of coverage on NBC from Atlanta eight years ago.

Ebersol also said that Athens coverage would begin two days before the opening ceremony Aug. 13.

On Aug. 11, MSNBC will televise an Olympic women’s soccer match between the United States and Greece.

The following day, MSNBC will show men’s soccer between Iraq and Portugal. This event marks the return of Iraq to the Olympics. Iraq has not competed in an Olympics since 1988.

Larry Stewart

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Pro Football

Quarterback Tim Couch will be released after five stormy seasons with the Cleveland Browns, a league source told Associated Press.

The Browns are set to cut the former No. 1 overall draft pick after a grievance Couch recently filed with the NFL Players Assn. against the team is resolved, the source said.

The Browns would not comment, and Couch, who filed the grievance against the Browns after they banned him from working out at their training facility, was unavailable for comment.

Dallas receiver Antonio Bryant was removed from practice by security officers after a confrontation with Coach Bill Parcells, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The incident started when Bryant complained about being the team’s third receiver and his lack of repetitions during a drill. When Parcells told Bryant to stop, the player took off his jersey and pads and started to leave the field, the paper said.

Parcells picked up the jersey and threw it at Bryant, who tossed it back in the face of the coach. Bryant was escorted out of practice by security officers.

San Diego acquired offensive tackle Roman Oben from Tampa Bay for a fifth-round draft pick in 2005.

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Track and Field

UCLA suffered a setback when it failed to make it to the finals of the women’s 400-meter relay before rain and lightning wiped out nearly all of the opening day of competition in the NCAA championships at Austin, Texas.

Texas Christian edged UCLA for the ninth and last berth in Saturday’s 400 relay finals, 44.503 to 44.509.

The International Assn. of Athletics Federations said Stacy Dragila’s pole vault of 15 feet 10 inches Tuesday at Ostrava, Czech Republic, wouldn’t count as a world record because the organization recognizes the best indoor or outdoor effort as the record.

Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia cleared 15-11 1/4 in March in the world indoor championships at Budapest, Hungary.

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Miscellany

Bob Knight agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep the basketball coach at Texas Tech until 2009.

Athletic Director Gerald Myers told AP the agreement probably would be signed next week. Knight’s contract pays him $250,000 a year and runs through May 2006.

USC basketball assistant Bob Cantu, 30, has emerged as a potential candidate for the coaching job at Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills, which was 60-125 in seven seasons under Larry Hauser.

Utah State basketball Coach Stew Morrill, whose teams have posted five consecutive 20-win seasons, signed an eight-year contract that includes a raise in his base salary from $214,000 to $267,000 and a $30,000 radio package.

Brothers Justin and Troy Dumais of Ventura scored 330.33 points to take a lead of 35.58 points in the three-meter synchronized competition in the U.S. Olympic diving trials at St. Peters, Mo.

Sara Hildebrand and Cassandra Cardinell led Laura Wilkinson and Kimiko Soldati, 326.97 points to 304.02, after the prelims of the women’s platform synchronized.

Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil said through a publicist he would sit out Wimbledon to recover from his ailing right hip. His next scheduled event is the Masters Series tournament in Toronto, starting July 26.

Wimbledon, which begins June 21, already had lost Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne in the women’s draw because of injury and illness.

The Kings signed goaltender Barry Brust to a three-year contract for an undisclosed amount of money.

Brust, 20, played last season with Calgary and Spokane of the Western Hockey League.

First baseman and outfielder Kendry Morales, 20, one of Cuba’s top young baseball players, has defected to the United States, said immigration officials in Miami.

USC officials were presented with the Lexus Gauntlet trophy, awarded annually to the winner of a yearlong all-sports competition between USC and UCLA.

USC finished with 57.5 points to UCLA’s 52.5.