Bing, Justice Are Leaving USC Early for Pro Careers

The exodus of USC’s draft-eligible players concluded Sunday when safety Darnell Bing and offensive lineman Winston Justice informed coaches they would forgo their final seasons of eligibility and turn pro.

Bing and Justice, both juniors, joined running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White and offensive lineman Fred Matua, who said last week that they would make themselves available for the NFL draft. Sunday was the deadline for undergraduates to petition for inclusion in the April draft.

“I thought maybe the information would be compelling enough that a couple of those guys wouldn’t go, particularly Darnell and Winston, because they had upside opportunities to make a lot more money in next year’s draft if they stayed,” Coach Pete Carroll said. “I thought we presented enough history and statistics to try and make them realize there was a chance to make millions more if they stayed another year.

“With that thought, it’s interesting the emotion outweighs the monetary. ... We wish them luck and we move on.”

USC must now replace seven offensive players, not including White, and five defensive players who started in the Rose Bowl against Texas.

Justice’s father, Gary, said Sunday that his son submitted paperwork to the NFL last week. Justice and Bing relayed their decisions to USC on Sunday, according to Tim Tessalone, USC’s sports information director.

Neither player could be reached for comment, but both are expected to speak to the media today.

Bing, 21, signed a letter of intent with USC in 2002 but did not qualify for admission. He enrolled in the spring of 2003 and became a three-year starter.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Bing made 50 tackles and had four interceptions this season and was selected to the Associated Press All-America team.

Justice, 21, was a starter by the second game of his freshman season in 2002.

Two off-the-field incidents, however, clouded his career.

In 2003, Justice received probation after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of solicitation of prostitution in Long Beach in 2003.

In 2004, he pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of exhibition of a replica firearm and was sentenced to 60 days of electronic monitoring and three years of probation. USC suspended Justice for two semesters after the incident, and he missed the 2004 season.

Justice, 6-6, 305 pounds, considered turning pro in 2005 but returned last spring and regained his starting position. He started every game last season.

-- Gary Klein

Florida State junior quarterback Wyatt Sexton decided to quit football after sitting out this season because of illness. Sexton was committed to a psychiatric facility in June after being found disheveled and disoriented on a Tallahassee, Fla., street. There was no comment from Coach Bobby Bowden.

The Green Bay Packers hired former tight ends coach Jeff Jagodzinski as offensive coordinator. He spent the last two seasons in Atlanta.

Quarterback Drew Olson and linebacker Spencer Havner were selected winners of UCLA’s Henry R. “Red” Sanders Award for most valuable player at the annual awards banquet.

WINTER SPORTS

Kostelic Makes Skiing History

Janica Kostelic won her first World Cup super-G in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria, and became the first woman to win six disciplines on the circuit.

Kostelic finished in 1 minute 9.41 seconds, .10 ahead of Austrians Michaela Dorfmeister and Alexandra Meissnitzer, who tied for second place.

Among her 24 World Cup wins, the 24-year-old Croatian has won all five main disciplines, the giant slalom, downhill, slalom, super-G and combined. She also has a victory in the new super-combi race.

Giorgio Rocca of Italy rallied from fourth place after the opening run to extend his perfect season record with a fifth straight World Cup slalom victory on Sunday in Wengen, Switzerland.

Rocca, who had 0.30 seconds to make up on the second run, won with a combined time of 1:42.28 to join compatriot Alberto Tomba and Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark as the only men to have won five consecutive World Cup slalom races.

Kalle Palander of Finland finished second in 1:42.48, and Alois Vogl of Germany was third in 1:42.79. Americans Ted Ligety finished fifth (1:42.93), and Bode Miller finished eighth (1:43.67) after the fastest second run.

Roar Ljoekelsoey of Norway led his country to a second consecutive team ski flying world championship in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria. The team of Ljoekelsoey, Bjoern Einar Romoeren, Lars Bystol and Tommy Ingebrigtsen scored 1,497.9 points to fight off Finland’s Janne Happonen, Tami Kiuru, Matti Hautamaeki and Janne Ahonen, who finished second with 1,477.2.

Enrico Fabris became the first Italian to win a men’s title at the European Speedskating Championships, finishing ahead of Norway’s Eskil Ervik and Havard Bokko in Hamar, Norway.

Claudia Pechstein of Germany beat the Netherlands’ Renate Groenewold and Ireen Wust in the women’s race.

Christian Zorzi of Italy edged World Cup leader Tobias Angerer of Germany and Tore Ruud Hofstad of Norway to win the men’s 40-kilometer relay race in 1 hour 39 minutes 16.5 seconds in Val di Fiemme, Italy.... Pierre Lueders of Canada won his second straight World Cup bobsled event in Koenigsee, Germany, setting a track record in the four-man race. Lueders teamed with Ken Kotyk, Morgan Alexander and Lascelles Brown to finish in a combined time of 1:37.26.... Philipp Schoch of Switzerland beat younger brother Simon in the final of the men’s parallel giant slalom in Plan de Corones, Italy, for his third World Cup snowboarding win this season. World Cup leader Daniela Meuli of Switzerland beat Julie Pomagalski of France in the women’s parallel GS.... Liv Grete Poiree of Norway finished 0.10 seconds ahead of Kati Wilhelm in a photo finish to win a World Cup women’s 10-kilometer biathlon pursuit race in 34:41.8 in Ruhpolding, Germany.... Andre Florschuetz and Torsten Wustlich of Germany celebrated their first World Cup luge victory this season, winning a doubles race in 1:19.704 on the Olympic track in Igls, Austria.

MISCELLANY

Gebrselassie Smashes Half-Marathon Record

Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia shattered the world half-marathon record by 21 seconds in 58 minutes 55 seconds in Tempe, Ariz., while running the last half of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Arizona marathon.

He also broke the 20K world mark (55:48) en route. It marked the 19th and 20th times Gebrselassie has broken world records.

Gebrselassie’s half-marathon time eclipsed the mark of 59:16 set by 18-year-old Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Sept. 11. His 20K time broke the record held by his longtime rival, Paul Tergat of Kenya, of 56:18 set in the Stramilano, Italy, half-marathon on April 4, 1998.

Avoiding arbitration, the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a one-year, $1.25-million contract with outfielder Wily Mo Pena and a one-year, $1.15-million deal with catcher Javier Valentin.

French driver Luc Alphand won the Dakar Rally in 53 hours 47 minutes 32 seconds. He was 17:53 ahead of Giniel de Villiers of South Africa and 1:50:38 ahead of Nani Roma of Spain.

Beginning Feb. 1, German police officers have been banned from sporting ponytails, stubbly beards and earrings in order to tidy up their appearance ahead of this summer’s World Cup.