Former USC, Arizona coach Larry Smith dies

Larry Smith, who led USC to Rose Bowl appearances in his first three seasons coaching the Trojans, has died. He was 68.

Smith died Monday in Tucson, Ariz., following a lengthy illness, two newspapers reported. Smith had been diagnosed with leukemia, the Tucson Citizen and the Arizona Daily Star reported on their Web sites. He died at a Tucson hospital.

Smith also coached at Tulane, Arizona and Missouri and had a 143-126-7 record. His teams appeared in 10 bowls, in which he was 3-6-1.

Hockey

Selanne rejoins Ducks

Teemu Selanne returned to the Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks on Monday after missing the first half of the season while contemplating retirement.

The unrestricted free agent signed a one-year deal and then practiced with the team before it departs today for an eight-game, 15-day road trip.

Selanne followed Stanley Cup MVP Scott Niedermayer in returning to the team. Niedermayer came back in December after pondering retirement, and he scored a goal in Sunday’s All-Star game in Atlanta.

Selanne, a 37-year-old right wing, had 48 goals and 46 assists last season, when he ranked third in the NHL in goals, led the league in power-play goals with 25 and tied for first in game-winning goals with 10.

College basketball

Memphis holds at No. 1

Memphis made it to a second week as No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll with 46 first-place votes and 1,774 points from the 72-member national media panel.

The Tigers (19-0) beat Tulsa and Gonzaga last week. Kansas (20-0), the only other unbeaten team in Division I, held second for a second straight week with easy wins over Iowa State and Nebraska. The Jayhawks had the other 26 No. 1 votes and 1,754 points.

Washington State dropped three places to ninth following a road loss at Arizona and one-point win at Arizona State. Georgetown, Tennessee, Michigan State and Texas were the other top-10 teams.

Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference moved up to No. 21. •Illinois State, winner of 13 in a row, entered the AP women’s poll at No. 24 – the first time it has appeared since Dec. 5, 1988. Connecticut remained the unanimous No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week, with Tennessee and North Carolina again ranked second and third, respectively.

•Connecticut guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins were ticketed by campus police last week for having alcohol, a day before their indefinite suspension from the basketball team.

•Missouri guard Stefhon Hannah remained hospitalized with a broken jaw after a weekend brawl outside a Columbia, Mo., nightclub. The Tigers’ leading scorer is expected to miss at least four to six weeks and could be out for the rest of the season.

Miscellany

Wie to play women

Michelle Wie will begin the golf season in Hawaii for the fifth straight year, this time against the women.

Wie, 18, accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in The Fields Open at Ko Olina at Kapolei, Hawaii, hopeful of getting her career back on track after a troublesome season of injuries, missed cuts and withdrawls.

•Joseph Okoh, the 40-year-old head coach of Howard University’s men’s soccer team, was arrested after Louisa, Va., police said he used the Internet to solicit a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sexual purposes.

•The WNBA players union neared ratification of a new six-year contract with the league in a deal that includes increases in wages and a dual salary-cap system.

•Jacques Villeneuve has parted ways with longtime manager Craig Pollock, who guided most of the former world racing champion’s career. Villeneuve, who has left open wheel to pursue a career in NASCAR, said he no longer needed a manager to handle his affairs.