Leinart Has Surgery on Elbow

USC quarterback Matt Leinart had arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow Tuesday and probably will sit out all or most of spring practice.

Leinart, the Heisman Trophy winner, underwent a procedure that was performed by Dr. James Tibone, the Trojans’ team physician. Leinart, a left-hander, has been plagued by tendinitis in his left elbow since the end of the 2003 season.

The condition prevented him from throwing passes last summer and limited his practice repetitions during the first part of last season.

“We removed the tendinitis on the inside of Matt’s elbow through a small incision,” Tibone said in a statement released through USC. “The surgery went fine, and there were no problems. We found what we expected, a small degenerative part of his tendon.”

Tibone said Leinart would wear a splint for 10 days and throw again “in several months.”

USC begins spring practice March 6.

Leinart announced Jan. 14 that he was staying at USC for his final season of eligibility rather than making himself available for the NFL draft.

Coach Pete Carroll has said that Leinart’s condition will not affect spring practice, because redshirt sophomore John David Booty and redshirt freshman Rocky Hinds are scheduled to take the majority of snaps.

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As expected, USC quarterbacks coach Carl Smith was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as offensive coordinator.

“It’s a good fit for what I’m looking for,” Jaguar Coach Jack Del Rio told Jaguars.com.

Smith was offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints from 1986 to 1996. Del Rio is a former All-American linebacker at USC.

Smith joined the Trojan staff last season when Steve Sarkisian departed to become quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders.

-- Gary Klein

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Testifying in the federal trial of an Alabama booster, Memphis defensive tackle Albert Means said his high school coach picked the college he would attend.

Logan Young is charged with paying a $150,000 bribe to high school coach Lynn Lang to get Means to sign with Alabama.

Means said he signed with the Crimson Tide because Lang told him to, but he never met Young, a millionaire from Memphis, Tenn.

Means signed with Alabama in 2000 but transferred to Memphis in 2001 after reports of a payoff to Lang became public.

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Mississippi State suspended offensive tackle Richard Burch after he was charged with selling marijuana.

Miscellany

Austria’s Manfred Pranger won his second World Cup slalom in three days, overcoming a timing error that relegated him to fourth instead of second after the opening run at Schladming, Austria.

Pranger won in a combined 1 minute, 47.13 seconds. Benjamin Raich, was second in 1:47.17, while Sweden’s Andre Myhrer finished third in 1:47.37.

American Bode Miller, the World Cup overall leader, straddled a gate on his second run. Miller has failed to finish six of seven slaloms this season.

Pranger stormed down the opening run to finish second. However, he was dropped to fourth after video replays showed the clock had stopped before he crossed the finish line.

Colorado Avalanche forward Peter Worrell identified himself as another NHL player and former teammate when he was arrested last month on a traffic violation, according to a police report in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Worrell was driving a sport utility vehicle owned by Andreas Lilja when he was pulled over Dec. 6 in Pompano Beach for driving with an expired tag, according to an arrest report from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

Worrell, who is 6 feet 7 and black, repeatedly identified himself as Lilja, a 6-foot-3 Swede who is white, Deputy Lionel Davis wrote in his report.

The two were teammates with the Florida Panthers in 2002-03. Worrell is scheduled to be arraigned today. He lives in Coral Springs, Fla.

An English sports commentator was fired for making a joke about the tsunami disaster.

Former English soccer player Rodney Marsh made the comment Monday night during a phone-in program on Sky Sports.

In his comments Marsh jokingly said Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham turned down a transfer to the English club Newcastle after hearing of trouble with the “Toon Army in Asia.”

Newcastle fans are called the “Toon Army,” which sounds similar to “tsunami.”

U.S. bobsled star Todd Hays is expected to sit out the final two events of the World Cup schedule after injuring his right foot on the track that will be used at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

Hays was a silver medalist at the 2002 Olympics.

Passings

Charles Martin, the former Green Bay Packer defensive end who body-slammed Chicago Bear quarterback Jim McMahon into the turf and ended his season in 1986, has died. He was 46.

Martin, who played in the NFL for five years, died of kidney disease Sunday at Memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, a hospital spokesman said.