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Posted on Wed, Oct. 14, 2009

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Volleyball

Newman defeated Friends 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-23) on Tuesday at Fugate Gymnasium. Angie Bennett had 14 kills and a .391 attack percentage to lead the Jets' attack, and Chelsey Potter added 13 kills. For Friends, Courtney McCune had 12 kills and Erin Cooper had 15 digs.

Administration

Wichita State announced the retirement of long-time equipment manager Roland Banks. Banks joined the staff at WSU in 1974 and took over as equipment manager in 1976. Athletic director Eric Sexton announced several new titles for staff members, including senior associate athletic director Rege Klitzke, associate athletic director for facilities/operations Brad Pittman, assistant athletic director for operations Roy Jacobson and director of equipment operations Jesse Torres. Senior associate athletic director Brian Pracht added supervisory responsibilities for men's basketball. Associate athletic director Brian Morris added supervisory responsibilities for women's tennis.

Soccer

U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies was in serious condition after a one-car accident that killed another passenger early Tuesday in Arlington, Va. Ashley Roberta, 22, from Phoenix, Md., was pronounced dead at the scene. Davies, 23, suffered a lacerated bladder, broke two bones in his right leg and also sustained facial fractures and a fracture in his left elbow. He required several hours of suregery at Washington Hospital Center, the U.S. Soccer Federation said. The team is in Washington for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. The U.S. has already clinched a spot in the World Cup. Davies, one of the American program's most promising young players, plays for the French first division club Sochaux. He is unlikely to recover in time for next summer's Cup in South Africa.

* Former Kapaun Mount Carmel goalkeeper Kait Loney of York College was named Midlands Conference women's defensive player of the week last week. Loney made five saves in York's 2-0 shutout over Central Christian last week.

Bowling

Former Wichita State bowler Ricki Williams-Ellison was named coach at Delaware State last week. Williams-Ellison was also a U.S. junior national team member.

Golf

The Newman women finished sixth at the 13-team Oklahoma Intercollegiate in Duncan, Okla. Linzi Allan and Megan Birdsey tied for 23rd at 160. St. Mary's won the team title with a 36-hole total of 614. Newman shot 636.

Baseball

The sale of the Chicago Cubs moved closer Tuesday as a bankruptcy court judge said the team can go to the family of billionaire Joe Ricketts in a $845 million deal. The judge had already cleared Tribune Co. to sell the team and Wrigley Field. But he gave his approval again Tuesday because the Cubs filed separately for Chapter 11 protection on Monday.

* Giants general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy each received two-year contract extensions with a club option after meeting with managing general partner Bill Neukom. Both men expected to return, but Neukom had said he would wait until the end of the season to make a decision after sitting down to debrief on the year.

Tennis

Andy Roddick was forced to retire with left knee pain while leading Stanislas Wawrinka 4-3 in the second round of the Shanghai Masters. "I just felt I pushed off, and then Michael (Novotny, ATP trainer) came on court and did some tests and advised that it probably wasn't worth the risk," Roddick said.

Basketball

Former coach Billy Gillispie and Kentucky have settled their cases over his firing for nearly $3 million, the school said. Gillispie was dismissed earlier this year and sued for breach of contract and fraud in May, seeking at least $6 million. The university countersued.

* Television viewership was up for the WNBA playoffs this season. ESPN said the five-game finals averaged 548,000 viewers, up 73 percent from 316,000 in 2008.

Gymnastics

Kohei Uchimura of Japan lived up to his favored status, cruising to the top spot after the first two sessions of qualifying at the world gymnastics championships in London. His score of 90.925 points was more than 1 1/2 points better than anyone else, with one session left. Maxim Deviatovski of Russia is second with 89.350 points and American Tim McNeill, competing at his first major international competition, is third with 88.775 points.

Horse racing

Sea The Stars was retired Tuesday after becoming the first horse to complete a sweep of three top European races in the same season. The 3-year-old Irish colt's victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe this month followed triumphs in the English 2000 Guineas and Derby to make it six Group One wins in a row. "We feel it is unfair to keep him going any further given his unprecedented record of achievement in the last six months," trainer John Oxx said.

* Magna Entertainment Corp. says in bankruptcy court filings it won't consider auction bids that would move the Preakness Stakes horse race from Maryland. The Ontario, Canada-based company, which owns Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, submitted auction plans Friday in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del. The race has been run each May since 1909 at Pimlico.

Skiing

Two-time Olympic champion Hermann Maier retired, ending a career in which he became one of Alpine skiing's most prolific racers and almost lost a leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001. The 36-year-old Maier cited surgery on his right knee in the offseason as the main reason for his retirement. The Austrian won two golds at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and earned three world championship titles.

Cycling

French prosecutors have launched a preliminary investigation to examine syringes found in medical waste containers during the Tour de France. Prosecutors said the investigation is not focusing on a particular team, contrary to earlier media reports.