BCS Wants to Make Itself More Inclusive

Bowl championship series officials are working on a new standard for guaranteed inclusion available to all Division I-A conferences.

Only the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific 10 and Southeastern conferences now have automatic qualification in the BCS.

Under BCS guidelines, a league’s champions over a four-year period must have an average final ranking in the BCS standings of 12 or better to keep its automatic qualification with no questions asked. If the average falls below 12, the league’s automatic qualification comes under review.

Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese said Tuesday that BCS officials wanted to change that system.

“What we’re talking about now is something more expansive,” said Tranghese, the outgoing BCS coordinator. “Something that will be applied to all the conferences.”

The BCS has already taken steps to give schools in the other five Division I-A conferences more access to the big-ticket bowls by adding a fifth game. Starting in the 2006 season, the BCS will include 10 teams instead of eight, doubling the wild-card spots to four.

Pro Football

The New England Patriots signed second-round draft pick Marquise Hill.

The 6-foot-6, 297-pound lineman from Louisiana State started every game at defensive end as a junior in 2003 when LSU won the national championship.

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Sixth-round draft pick Jammal Lord, the quarterback at Nebraska the last two seasons, signed with the Houston Texans. Lord will be converted to play safety.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneer receiver Sylvester Morris will sit out his fourth consecutive season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during practice.

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The Avengers have fired defensive coordinator Doug Kay after a season in which the team gave up an Arena Football League-high 291.6 yards a game.

“Doug Kay is a tireless worker who possesses a great defensive mind, but I felt it was time to go in a new direction,” Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss said.

Miscellany

Deanna Nolan scored four of her 17 points on free throws in the closing seconds to lead the Detroit Shock (7-4) to a 65-60 victory over the Charlotte Sting (6-6) in front of 3,488 at Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte had won four in a row.

Ruth Riley had 13 points and Swin Cash 11 for the Shock, which is in first place in the Eastern Conference. Detroit ended a five-game losing streak against Charlotte.

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Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon has been put on probation for 12 months after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in Milton, Fla.

McMahon, 44, who led the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl victory in 1986, was also ordered to perform 50 hours of community service and pay about $850 in fines and costs, Assistant State Attorney Andy McGraw said. McMahon’s driver’s license was suspended for six months.

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A pair of North American Boxing Organization titles will be on the line tonight at the UC Irvine Bren Events Center in a five-bout Golden Boy Promotions/Boxeo de Oro card.

In the main event, super middleweight Tito Mendoza (31-5, 24 knockouts) of Santiago, Panama, will meet Librado Andrade (18-0, 13) of La Habra, and featherweight Adan Hernandez (13-2, 4) of El Paso will face Ivan Valle (21-5-1, 18) of Los Mochis, Mexico. Doors open at 6 p.m. with first bout at 7 p.m.