In brief: Bellotti will step down as Oregon A.D.
Colleges: Oregon athletic director Mike Bellotti is stepping down after less than a year in the position to become a college football analyst with ESPN.
Bellotti was head football coach of the Ducks for 14 seasons before he formally took over as athletic director last July. His resignation is effective April 5 and he’ll make his debut on ESPN on April 17.
Bellotti’s announcement Friday came as a surprise. At a hastily called news conference he said working in television was something he’d “thought about and maybe aspired to over the years.”
His tenure as A.D. has been tumultuous. Earlier this week, he dismissed men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent because of mounting losses and dropping attendance.
He’s also seen a spate of misconduct by players on the football team. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended for the upcoming season last week after pleading guilty to a second-degree burglary charge, and running back LaMichael James pleaded guilty to an unrelated harassment charge and was suspended by coach Chip Kelly last week for the season opener on Sept. 4.
•Iowa secures NCAA wrestling title: Iowa has locked up a third straight team title at the NCAA championships at Omaha, Neb., sending five wrestlers to the finals and building an insurmountable lead. The Hawkeyes go into today with 120.5 points. Cornell has 75, and Iowa State 67.
Oklahoma State senior Jared Rosholt of Sandpoint beat third-seeded Zachery Rey of Lehigh 4-0 to advance to the 285-pound final today, where he will face top-seeded David Zabriskie of Iowa State.
•Cornell beats Mercyhurst at women’s Frozen Four: At Minneapolis, Catherine White scored the game-winner 13:14 into overtime as Cornell beat top-seeded Mercyhurst 3-2 to advance to Sunday’s NCAA women’s hockey championship game for the first time in school history. The Big Red will face second-seeded Minnesota- Duluth, which beat Minnesota 3-2 in the other semifinal.
Cavaliers beat Bulls; James fastest to 15K
NBA: At Chicago, LeBron James became the youngest player to score 15,000 career points, breaking Kobe Bryant’s mark by about two years, and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away late to beat the Chicago Bulls 92-85 for their 12th win in 13 games. James scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, giving him 15,026 in his career.
•Granger leads Pacers past Pistons: Danny Granger scored 29 points in his return from a cheek injury, powering the Indiana Pacers’ 106-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Indianapolis. Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey returned to action for the first time since collapsing on the bench during a game two weeks ago. He led the Pistons with 25 points.
•Johnson lifts Hawks past Bobcats in OT: Joe Johnson sank a fallaway jumper over three Charlotte defenders just before time expired to lift the host Atlanta Hawks past the Bobcats 93-92 in overtime. Johnson had 18 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Raymond Felton led Charlotte with 25 points.
•Roy’s buzzer-beater bests Wizards: Brandon Roy rebounded from a cold spell to hit a 22-foot jumper with 0.9 seconds left and the Trail Blazers beat the Washington Wizards 76-74 at Portland. Roy finished with 14 points for the Blazers, who have won five straight. Mike Miller had 16 points for the Wizards.
Mississippi tops Memphis in NIT
Men’s basketball: Terrico White scored 21 points and sparked a decisive second-half run and Mississippi defeated Memphis 90-81 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament at Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels (23-10) had five players score in double figures, led by 19 from Zac Graham.
Memphis (24-10) was led by Angel Garcia’s 17 points.
Harrington takes lead at Transitions
Miscellany: Padraig Harrington shot a 6-under-par 65 and built a one-shot lead at the Transitions Championship going into the weekend at Palm Harbor, Fla.
Jim Furyk, Carl Pettersson, Bubba Watson and defending champion Retief Goosen all enter the weekend one shot back at 7-under 135.
Alex Prugh (University of Washington/Ferris High) shot an even-par 71 for a two-day total of 7-over 149, missing the cut by five strokes.
•Roddick, Jankovic advance at Paribas: Jelena Jankovic defeated Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-4 to reach the women’s final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif. In today’s final, Jankovic will face No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who beat fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-3.
Andy Roddick advanced to the men’s semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 18th-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain. Roddick will play No. 6 seed Robin Soderling in today’s semifinals. The Swede defeated No. 4 seed Andy Murray, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
•Klitschko says he’s in top shape for Chambers: IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KOs) says he is in the best shape of his life going into his defense against American challenger Eddie Chambers.
The 33-year-old Ukrainian hasn’t fought in nearly 10 months but says he won’t be rusty when he fights Chambers today in Duesseldorf, Germany.
•Logano wins first pole of career at Bristol: Joey Logano backed up his fast showing in practice by winning the first pole of his career at Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, Tenn. Logano posted a lap at 124.630 mph to earn the first starting spot for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race. Kurt Busch qualified second at 123.857.
•Chandler sets NCAA swimming mark: Arizona’s Ann Chandler set an NCAA record in the 100-yard breaststroke at the women’s swimming and diving championships at West Lafayette, Ind. She finished in 58.06 and beating the previous time of 58.10 by USC’s Rebecca Soni on Feb. 27, 2009.
Cardinals, Porter agree to deal
NFL: Free-agent linebacker Joey Porter agreed to a three-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, though terms of the deal were not immediately released. Porter spent the past three seasons with Miami.
•Laury signs with Jets: The New York Jets signed former Seahawks linebacker and special teams captain Lance Laury.
He was a restricted free agent who wasn’t tendered by Seattle, where he spent his first four seasons.