New Cowboys stadium gets 2011 Super Bowl

It was by secret ballot Tuesday that NFL owners awarded North Texas with the 2011 Super Bowl. But a compelling reason why the game will be played in the soon-to-be-constructed home of the Dallas Cowboys is really no mystery.

The new stadium will be able to accommodate more than 100,000 spectators, at least 25,000 more than competing venues in Indianapolis and Glendale, Ariz.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones said size “played a significant role” in the decision of his fellow team owners, who chose the planned retractable-roof stadium in Arlington, pitched by a bid committee headed by former Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach.

The league intends to sell at least 10,000 tickets to fans who will sit in the plazas at each end of the stadium and will see the Feb. 6, 2011 game only on television, Jones said. Capacity inside the venue will be about 93,000.

The five biggest Super Bowl crowds -- four of more than 100,000 -- attended games at the Rose Bowl.

-- Sam Farmer

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NFL owners reviewed recommendations that include encouraging whistle-blowers to protect players from being pressured to play with a concussion.

Commissioner Roger Goodell reviewed a system at the spring meeting that would allow anyone to anonymously report when doctors are pressured to clear players or when players are pressured to play.

TENNIS

UCLA falls short of the NCAA title

Georgia Tech rallied past UCLA, 4-2, to wins its first women’s NCAA tennis championship at Athens, Ga.

Senior Alison Silverio clinched the title with her 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Tracy Lin.

UCLA (21-8) lost in its fifth trip to the finals. Georgia Tech (29-4) had never advanced past the round of 16.

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Georgia (32-0) claimed its fifth NCAA men’s championship with a 4-0 victory over Illinois (23-9) at Athens to complete the first perfect season since 2003.

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Top-seeded Maria Sharapova beat Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-4, 7-6, and fourth-seeded Venus Williams defeated Tatiana Poutchek, 6-1, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinals of the Istanbul Cup in Turkey.

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Bob and Mike Bryan clinched the U.S.’s first victory in three years at the ATP World Team Championship in Duesseldorf, Germany, helping topple Argentina, 2-1.

The Bryans defeated Agustin Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela, 6-2, 6-1, to end the Americans’ eight-match losing streak.

GOLF

Wie will try again in a PGA Tour event

Michelle Wie, who hasn’t made a cut in six attempts on the PGA Tour, will try again July 12 when she plays the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Ill., for the third time after accepting a sponsor’s exemption.

Wie, 17, shot a 77 in the first round last year and withdrew in the second round because of heat exhaustion.

-- Thomas Bonk

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Senior Veronica Felibert shot a one-under 71 to help the USC women’s team to the first-round lead at seven-over 295 in the NCAA golf championships at Daytona Beach, Fla.

USC, the 2003 champion, is two strokes ahead of North Carolina and Louisville. UCLA (303) was tied for seventh, UC Irvine (304) was tied for 11th and Pepperdine (306) was tied for 14th.

Irvine’s Selanee Henderson was the individual leader at 69.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UCLA’s Williams quits because of concussions

UCLA tailback Derrick Williams decided to end his career because of concussion problems. Williams, who would have been a senior this fall, suffered a concussion, his third since coming to UCLA, during spring practice.

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Louisiana State backup quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, 20, was suspended from the team indefinitely after he was cited for trying to illegally enter a riverboat casino in Baton Rouge.

MISCELLANY

Bruins forward Wright leaving for Oklahoma

Sophomore forward Ryan Wright plans to transfer from UCLA to Oklahoma, Sooners Coach Jeff Capel said.

Wright played in 28 games last season, averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds.

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When Bernard Hopkins fights for the first time in 13 months against Winky Wright on July 21, he will have a new face in his corner. Freddie Roach will prepare Hopkins for his bout at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center. Roach replaces Nazim Richardson, who is recovering from a stroke.

Hopkins is a business partner in Golden Boy Promotions, whose owner, Oscar De La Hoya, was trained by Roach for his loss earlier this month against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

-- Steve Springer

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The Louis Vuitton Cup semifinal between Emirates Team New Zealand and Desafio Espanol was called off because of high winds at Valencia, Spain. Racing is scheduled to resume today.

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June Daugherty, the current Washington State women’s basketball coach and former University of Washington coach, was hospitalized in critical condition late Tuesday.

KIRO-TV in Seattle reported that Daugherty, 50, suffered a heart attack.

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The Kings signed defenseman Patrik Hersley, 20, to a multiyear entry-level contract.

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Former Villanova forward Howard Porter, a 58-year-old probation officer, was found severely beaten in a Minneapolis alley, and remained hospitalized. Police said no one had been arrested and they had no suspects.