William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry in serious condition

Former Chicago Bears defensive lineman William “ Refrigerator” Perry is in serious condition at a South Carolina hospital, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

Perry, 46, was hospitalized to deal with complications from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a chronic inflammation disorder of the peripheral nerves, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported.

Aiken Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Melissa Summer declined to give additional details Tuesday.

Perry’s nephew, Purnell Perry, told the Sun-Times his uncle was admitted more than a week ago but was expected to recover.

“They were making sure he was in pretty good health before they started treating him,” Perry said.

A woman who answered the telephone at Purnell Perry’s home said William Perry had improved. “He’s doing fine, much better,” she said. She declined to give her name.

Perry was a 300-pound plus defensive tackle for the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl team and became famous when then-coach Mike Ditka used him as a short-yardage fullback on goal-line plays. Perry crashed into the end zone for a touchdown in the Bears’ victory over New England in the 1986 Super Bowl.

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COLLEGES

Reynolds will test NBA draft

Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds, the Wildcats’ 6-foot-2 point guard, made himself eligible for the NBA draft but said he will not hire an agent and could decide to return to the Wildcats for his senior season.

Reynolds is projected as a second-round pick by most mock draft boards.

Olympic gymnast Samantha Peszek has made a commitment to attend UCLA in 2010.

The 17-year-old junior at Indianapolis Cathedral High School was a U.S. team silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics last summer and plans to compete in the U.S. and world championships this year.

Peszek also was a member of U.S. gold medal teams at the 2007 world and Pan American championships.

The NCAA approved “sand” volleyball as an emerging sport for women and cleared the way for varsity competition in 2010-11.

The organization will spend the next year developing rules that will govern intercollegiate play, including regulations on financial aid, playing dates and recruiting.

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TENNIS

Prize money good for pound

The Wimbledon champions are getting a big increase in prize money this year, at least when it comes to the British pound.

The prize for each of the men’s and women’s champions went up by 13.3% to $1.24 million, organizers said Tuesday, but the pound’s weak exchange rate means that translates to a reduction in dollars of 17% from last year’s $1.49 million.

Former French Open champion Gaston Gaudio won his first match in nearly two years by defeating Argentine countryman Diego Junqueira, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, at the Barcelona Open.

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HOCKEY

U.S. loses in warmup

The United States lost to host Switzerland, 5-2, in their final warmup before the ice hockey world championships.

The 16-nation world championships begin Friday. The United States opens play Saturday against Latvia in Group C, which also includes Sweden and Austria.

Kings captain Dustin Brown gave the Americans the lead at 8:17 of the first period, taking advantage of space in the Swiss defense to guide a shot into the unguarded net. Brown then scored at 14:30 with teammates Colin Wilson and Drew Stafford in the penalty box.

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MOTOR RACING

Earnhardt, Mears on probation

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears have been placed on probation by NASCAR for intentionally hitting each other after the race at Phoenix International Raceway.

NASCAR has put both drivers on probation for the next six races. Neither driver was fined or lost any points.

Contact between the two caused Earnhardt to crash with 11 laps to go in Saturday night’s race.

After, Earnhardt intentionally spun Mears on the cool-down lap. Mears retaliated by bumping into the back of Earnhardt’s car on pit road.