In brief: Invitations for Masters’ field sent out
The majority of the field for the 71st Masters was set on Monday when the final world ranking of the year was published.
The top 50 at the end of 2006 are eligible, and Bradley Dredge of Wales got the final spot by one-hundredth of a point over Justin Rose.
The list includes 17 players who will be competing for the first time at Augusta National, including Ryder Cup players J.J. Henry, Brett Wetterich and Robert Karlsson of Sweden.
The Masters will be held April 5-8. Phil Mickelson is the defending champion.
Criteria for the Masters range from major champions over the last five years to top finishes in the other three majors, although the bulk of players comes from the PGA Tour money list (top 40) and the world ranking (top 50).
College football
B.C. hires coach
Boston College is preparing to hire Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski as head coach, a school official told the Associated Press.
“Derek Dooley was hired as head coach by Louisiana Tech. Dooley has been an assistant coach for the Miami Dolphins the past two years.
“Arkansas added a year to coach Houston Nutt’s contract and intends to give him a raise as reward for leading the Razorbacks to the SEC championship game. The extension keeps Nutt under contract until 2012.
Skiing
American takes second
Markus Larsson of Sweden used a strong second run to win a men’s World Cup slalom and American Ted Ligety finished second at Alta Badia, Italy.
Bode Miller fell and failed to finish the first run. Miller hasn’t won a slalom since 2004, in Sestriere, Italy.
Miscellany
Gender test failed
An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women’s 800 meters at the Asian Games failed a gender test and was stripped of the medal.
Santhi Soundarajan, 25, took the test in Doha, Qatar, after placing second.
An official said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than are allowed.
“Anheuser-Busch will end its title sponsorship of NASCAR’s No. 2 series after the 2007 season. Busch beer cited A-B’s desire to reassess all its NASCAR marketing as its reason.
“One of British horse racing’s most successful jockeys, Kieren Fallon, was among 11 people charged by police in July in “Operation Crypton,” Britain’s biggest race-fixing investigation. Their trial date has been set for September in London.
“Radford basketball coach Byron Samuels received a one-game suspension for violating the Big South Conference’s ethical conduct policy. Samuels missed Radford’s game at Campbell because of unspecified actions during and after a 62-60 loss against George Mason on Dec. 6.
“South African yachtsman Bertie Reed, who sailed solo around the world three times, died Monday. He was 63. Reed, who had liver cancer, died outside Cape Town, South Africa.