WAC chief calls Fresno State, Nevada ‘selfish’ for leaving conference

Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson Thursday called Fresno State and Nevada’s announcement that they were leaving the WAC for the Mountain West “selfish actions.” The departures threw a monkey wrench into the BYU deal to join the WAC in all sports except football.

The WAC is already losing Boise State to the Mountain West after the 2010 season. The departures of Nevada and Fresno State will leave the league with only six football-playing members.

Benson made clear he was holding Fresno State and Nevada to the $5-million exit fee, payable “within 60 days” even though Nevada hadn’t yet signed a formal agreement. Benson said Nevada made an oral agreement, which the WAC thinks is legally binding.

“I wish at this time I would have made it $20 million,” Benson said.

Also, Benson said Nevada and Fresno State failed to meet the July 1 exit deadline for leaving next year, meaning they technically can’t leave for two years.

“Only if it’s in the WAC’s best interests for there to be an early out would there be an early out,” Benson said.

Benson said the WAC will now seek out membership from other conferences, but he made clear that the WAC will survive. He went through this more than a decade ago, when the football members of the 16-team league broke off to form the Mountain West.

He said the move then was made “under the shadow of behind closed doors,” and that this move “had that same element.”

Benson thought he was above board, however, in his dealings with BYU once the school said last month it was exploring options to leave the Mountain West and become a football independent. Benson said the WAC would be willing to absorb BYU’s 19 other sports.

Benson thought the deal was in place until the Mountain West countered Wednesday by nabbing Fresno State and Nevada, which makes the BYU-to-WAC deal much less attractive.

Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said the moves weren’t related to BYU, but Benson said he doesn’t believe that.

“In my opinion, it was very clear to me and to the WAC membership that the Fresno and Nevada invitations were a direct result of BYU’s interest in going independent and going to the WAC,” he said.

Soccer: Beckham tops MLS money list

Even though he has not played a single second for the Galaxy this season, midfielder David Beckham still tops Major League Soccer’s money list with a guaranteed salary of $6.5 million a year.

But Beckham, who is recovering from an Achilles’ tendon injury and is unlikely to play a game before next month at the earliest, now has company at the top of the MLS heap, with the recently signed New York Red Bulls pair of Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez not far behind him.

French forward Henry, a 1998 World Cup winner and 2000 European champion, earns $5.6 million, while Mexican defender Marquez makes slightly less, at $5.56 million. Galaxy forward Landon Donovan is fourth on the list released by the MLS Players Union, with a guaranteed annual income of $2.12 million.

The top-earning Chivas USA player is Mexican midfielder Rodolfo Espinoza at $218,500.

— Grahame L. Jones

Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA on Thursday announced that it would play Chivas de Guadalajara at Petco Park in San Diego at 8 p.m. on Sept. 14.

The so-called ChivaClasico is being jointly presented by Soccer United Marketing, an MLS offshoot, and the San Diego Padres.

Guadalajara, an 11-time champion of the Mexican league, features such Mexico World Cup 2010 players as Jonny Magallon, Adolfo Bautista, Alberto Medina and Luis Michel. The game will be the second edition of the ChivaClasico. The teams played at the Rose Bowl last year, with Chivas de Guadalajara winning, 2-0.

— Grahame L. Jones

GOLF: Woods enters Barclays Classic

Tiger Woods has entered this month’s Barclays Classic, the first of the PGA Tour’s four lucrative FedExCup playoff events, where he needs to perform well to advance.

The American world No. 1 lies 108th in the FedExCup standings and is likely to drop lower after this week’s Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, which he has opted to skip.

Only the top 100 players in the standings after the Aug. 26-29 Barclays Classic in Paramus, N.J. qualify for the second playoff event, the Sept. 3-6 Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.

Woods, who officially entered the Barclays on Thursday, needs to remain in the top 125 to retain his place in the field for the Barclays.

Arjun Atwal shot a tournament record 61 Thursday and grabbed a two-stroke lead at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Brandt Snedeker shot a 63. Six players were at 64 and six were tied at 65.

BASKETBALL: Stephen Curry is day-to-day

Guard Stephen Curry remains day-to-day for Team USA with an ankle injury suffered in practice. The U.S. must still trim one player from its 13-man roster before the world championships begin in turkey on Aug. 28.