Briefly

Court will hear appeal regarding Hamm’s Olympic gold medal

A month after the Olympic gold medal was draped around his neck, Paul Hamm is still fighting to make sure it stays there.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear an appeal Sept. 27 from the South Korean gymnast who lost the all-around title to Hamm because of a scoring error. Yang Tae-young is asking that international gymnastics officials be ordered to correct the results from the all-around, and adjust the medal rankings so he gets gold and Hamm gets a silver.

But the U.S. Olympic Committee is doing everything it can to make sure that doesn’t happen, spokesman Darryl Seibel said. The USOC’s general counsel has been working with Hamm’s attorneys, and both will appear at the hearing in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“We’re going to do everything in our power to make certain that his gold medal and that his status as Olympic champion are in no way jeopardized,” Seibel said Thursday.

Yang, who finished with a bronze, was wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his second-to-last routine, the parallel bars. He finished third, 0.049 points behind Hamm, who became the first American man to win gymnastics’ biggest prize. But add the extra 0.100, and Yang would have finished 0.051 points ahead of Hamm.

•The only two men convicted in the Salt Lake City Olympic bribery scandal were let off without penalty at their sentencings. Both cooperated with prosecutors in an unsuccessful attempt to bust two key officials in the city’s bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Salt Lake businessman David Simmons and former U.S. Olympic official Alfredo La Mont — who have been on probation since pleading guilty in 1999 — received no jail time, no fines and no probation.

Basketball

Carter demands trade from Toronto

Vince Carter wants out of Toronto, but the Raptors’ new general manager says he isn’t going anywhere.

“It doesn’t change anything with us,” Rob Babcock said. “He’s under contract with our team. We expect him to fulfill all obligations of the contract.”

The Raptors’ all-star guard told the Toronto Star: “It’s time for the truth: I want to be traded.”

Carter also said in a letter to fans posted on his Web site that he’s not eager to wait while the team rebuilds.

“My frustration comes from the fact that we have not been able to create an equation to win ballgames,” Carter wrote. “I am at the point in my career where I do not have time to wait two to four years for a team to mature.”

Carter remains one of the NBA’s most popular players because of his highlight-reel dunks, but he has lost some of his explosiveness over the last four years because of knee injuries.

Carter has four years remaining on his contract.

• The National Association of Basketball Coaches has dropped a proposal that would have allowed men’s college basketball players five seasons of NCAA eligibility.

“Although the committee still believes that such a proposal offers a viable solution to furthering its goal to increase graduation rates in the sport of men’s basketball,” a statement from the NABC read in part, “it recognizes that there are some potential unintended consequences that warrant additional consideration.”

The NABC’s Special Committee on Recruiting and Access said it would continue to review the proposal in the coming year.

College football

UM coach cuts spiritual adviser

University of Montana football coach Bobby Hauck has dismissed the team’s longtime spiritual adviser for refusing to celebrate a Saturday Mass for the team, the former team chaplain said.

“For various reasons, I consider that inappropriate and declined,” said the Rev. Jim Hogan, who serves Christ the King Catholic Church in Missoula. “Coach Hauck then informed me that I was no longer needed to minister as team chaplain.”

Hogan did not specify why he was uncomfortable.

Hauck declined comment and athletic director Don Read said he didn’t know anything more than what Hogan told him on Tuesday. UM President George Dennison was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Hogan said he’ll miss his relationship with the players and their parents. Hogan called game days a rich opportunity to support team members and said he encouraged them to strive for moral excellence both on and off the field.

Golf

Purdy pieces together pretty round

Ted Purdy closed his course-record 9-under-par 61 with an eagle and a birdie and held a three-shot lead over four players after the first round of the Texas Open at San Antonio.

Purdy hit all 14 fairways on a windless but hot day at the La Cantera Golf Club course. He reached all but one green in regulation, and needed only 26 putts in his best round as a pro.

“I hit the ball better today than I have maybe ever in my life,” said Purdy, who missed the cut in five of his last seven events since finishing second at the B.C. Open in July.

The 61 tied the course mark set in 2002 by Garrett Willis. It was the fourth 61 on the tour this year.

At 64 were Jim McGovern, Tim Clark, Dean Wilson and J.J. Henry, while five players had a 65, including two-time champion Justin Leonard.

Defending champ Tommy Armour III, who set a 72-hole scoring record last year, shot a 67.

MISCELLANY

Strike in Japan appears inevitable

The first strike in the history of Japanese baseball looked increasingly likely after representatives of the country’s pro baseball teams ruled out a key player demand.

Japan’s players threatened to strike this weekend unless a one-year freeze was placed on the merger of the Pacific League’s Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave.

But team officials told the Japanese baseball players’ association that a freeze on the merger was impossible.

• Elusive Quality, a half brother to 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones brought a top price of $850,000 during the fourth session of Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale.