Briefly
Washington guard Brandon Roy, who helped the Huskies to the Pac-10 men’s basketball tournament title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will return to school for his senior season.
“I wanted to give the team my total attention,” Roy said Monday at a news conference. “I knew to declare for the NBA draft, I’d have to be away from them to do some camps. I knew it would hurt the team, so I’ve decided to return.”
Roy, a 6-foot-6 swingman, initially applied for the NBA draft coming out of Garfield High School in Seattle.
With his decision to return, the Huskies will return three of their top five scorers from last season’s team.
•Shelden Williams will skip this year’s NBA draft and return for his senior year at Duke. Williams was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season.
•Freshman guard Justin Cerasoli has permission to leave the Seton Hall basketball program and transfer to another school, coach Louis Orr said.
•High school star Monta Ellis, from Jackson, Miss., will enter the NBA draft, his coach told the Associated Press.
College football
Commission urges no 12th game
The Knight commission in Miami urged the NCAA to oppose the addition of a 12th regular-season game for Division I football teams until the effects of recent academic reforms for players become clear.
The NCAA Division I Management Council has backed legislation that would allow Division I-A and I-AA schools to add a 12th game starting with the 2006 season. The NCAA Board of Directors on Thursday considers the legislation, which has the support of most athletic directors.
The Knight commission last week sent a memo to the NCAA Board of Directors. The commission is a privately funded group formed in 1989 to promote reforms and greater presidential control of college sports.
The NCAA’s latest academic reform movement is based on a points system that measures the retention and graduation rates of each team. Teams that fail to meet minimum standards – about a 50 percent gradation rate – are in danger of losing scholarships. Teams that persistently fall short of the NCAA’s minimum requirements could face postseason bans.
According to the report released in February, half the 328 Division I schools have at least one team that could face sanctions.
“This coming fall will be the first time juniors will be subject to the increased progress toward degree requirements, and the academic performance program will be in effect as well,” the Knight commission wrote in its letter. “The commission, by a substantial majority, urges the board to oppose the addition of a 12th football game until the impact of these academics reform is clear.”
Golf
Woman to captain British PGA
The British PGA in London broke with 104 years of tradition, appointing its first female captain.
Beverly Lewis, also a qualified referee with the Royal & Ancient Club, will be an ambassador for the PGA and represent the membership at all official functions and major golf events, including the four majors.
“This is an amazing honor and I couldn’t have been more surprised than if someone had asked me to be queen,” said Lewis, a founder member of the British women’s PGA and one of the first female professionals to gain PGA membership.
Soccer
Caution on buying tickets on eBay
World Cup organizers in Frankfurt, Germany, renewed their warning to soccer fans about buying tickets on eBay, saying they risk not getting into stadiums.
Tickets for the 2006 World Cup in Germany appeared on the eBay Web site a few days after organizers distributed the first batch made available to fans worldwide.
“We can only warn against picking up these offers because each fan that gets a ticket in this way has to take into account that he may not get into the stadium,” said Horst Schmidt, organizing committee vice president.
Tickets can be passed on to someone else, but only on legitimate grounds, such as illness, and with the approval of the organizing committee.
Each ticket bears the name of the purchaser and organizers will randomly check the identities of ticket-holders.
Horse racing
Rockport Harbor alters goals
Rockport Harbor, a former top contender for the Kentucky Derby, is off the Triple Crown trail.
Owner Rick Porter decided in Philadelphia not to run the injury-plagued 3-year-old colt in any Triple Crown races after a poor showing in the Lexington Stakes on Saturday, the final prep race for the Derby.