Jake Locker will return to Washington for senior season

Quarterback Jake Locker announced Monday he would return to Washington for his senior season, quickly putting to rest any lingering questions about his future.

In a statement released through the university, Locker said he would not make himself available for the 2010 NFL draft and instead would return to the Huskies for one more shot at restoring the program to prominence.

“After a great deal of careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to return to Washington and play my senior year,” Locker said. “I am very excited about this team’s opportunities and potential for the upcoming season and I am looking forward to being a part of it.”

NFL draft pundits have raved about Locker’s raw skills -- his running back speed combined with the bulk of a linebacker and an arm capable of making all the throws the NFL requires -- with some believing he could be one of the first picks in the April draft if he made himself available.

But there was a sense of unfinished business for Locker, who helped the Huskies to a 5-7 record in 2009 that could have been much better if not for close, last-second losses to Notre Dame, Arizona State and UCLA that kept the Huskies from a bowl trip. Locker led the Huskies to a 16-13 upset of USC early in the season.

In his first season in Coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense, Locker thrived, throwing for 2,800 yards and 21 touchdowns, completing 58% of his throws. He also added nearly 400 yards rushing.

The University of South Florida plans to look into a report that Coach Jim Leavitt struck one of his players in the face during halftime of a game last month.

Citing the player’s father, high school coach and five South Florida players who were not identified, AOL FanHouse reported that Leavitt grabbed Joel Miller by the throat and hit him in the face twice because he was upset about a mistake the sophomore walk-on made on special teams against Louisville on Nov. 21.

“I’m appalled at it. It’s absolutely not true,” Leavitt told the St. Petersburg Times.

Fresno State Coach Pat Hill will get a contract extension to stay at the school beyond the 2010 season.

BASKETBALL

Ariza suspended for one game

Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza was suspended for one game by the NBA after he was ejected from a game in Toronto for throwing a forearm at Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan. Ariza will sit out tonight’s game against Detroit.

Ariza missed all nine shots he took and scored only one point before he was ejected in the third quarter of Sunday’s game for swinging his arm at DeRozan following a steal.

Former New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott is rejoining ESPN as an NBA analyst. Scott was fired last month.

ETC.

Watch maker assessing Woods

Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer said it will spend the next few weeks assessing its relationship with golfer Tiger Woods.

The statement from the company Monday afternoon marked a less enthusiastic stance about the world’s richest athlete, who endorses the company’s watches, than earlier in the day.

That’s when a spokeswoman told the Associated Press the company would continue with Woods, whom she called “the best in his domain.”

The luxury watchmaker’s new statement said that because of Woods’ indefinite leave from golf, it is examining its long-term relationship with him.

Woods announced Friday he is taking the leave to work on his marriage after allegations of infidelity surfaced in recent weeks.

A Belgian court suspended the one-year doping bans given to tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse.

Wickmayer and Malisse were suspended by a Belgian court Nov. 5 for breaking World Anti-Doping Agency rules by failing to report their whereabouts for drug testing three times.

Two-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh is pregnant for a second time. Walsh is due at the end of May and her agent says she could be back as early as the end of the 2010 season.

Bobsledder Todd Hays has been forced to retire with a head injury sustained in a crash in Germany that was more serious than originally expected. Hays returned to the U.S. for treatment following the crash Wednesday during training for a World Cup race. An MRI exam revealed blood in his brain after he was originally thought to have a concussion.

The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said that Hays, a three-time Olympian, was advised to retire because additional brain trauma could cause irreversible damage.