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Sports Briefs: Burress expected to face charges after accidentally shooting himself
By The Associated Press
Monday, December 1, 2008 11:56 AM PST
NEW YORK — Plaxico Burress arrived at a police station early today, where he was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.
The New York Giants star wide receiver arrived in a black Cadillac Escalade wearing jeans and a black coat. Burress, who was not visibly limping, did not speak to the media.
Burress plans to plead not guilty to a weapon possession charge during an afternoon court appearance, his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said outside the police station. Conviction on the charge could result in at least 31⁄2 years in prison.
Burress shot himself Friday night and was released from a hospital early Saturday, the Giants said.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Number of black coaches decreases as Croom resigns
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Of the 65 coaches leading programs affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series, Miami’s Randy Shannon is about to stand alone.
A week from now, he’ll be the only black man in the group.
After Sylvester Croom resigned Saturday from Mississippi State, along with the recent firings of Kansas State’s Ron Prince and Washington’s Tyrone Willingham — who’ll coach his final game with the Huskies on Saturday — Shannon is one of three black coaches left in major college football, and the only one at a BCS school.
“It’s sad that we keep talking about the same things,” Shannon told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Maybe Sylvester was tired. I know a year or two ago he had surgery on his hip or back. But after a while, you say to yourself, how much longer can we keep going just talking about this? We can’t keep talking about the same issues every year.”
Tennessee will name Lane Kiffin as Phillip Fulmer’s replacement today, and Clemson is expected to promote interim coach Dabo Sweeney sometime this week.
One of the few black candidates believed to have legitimate interest from a BCS school that’s changing coaches is Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who has been mentioned as a replacement for Greg Robinson at Syracuse. Buffalo’s Turner Gill — who, along with Shannon and Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, is one of the three black coaches who have jobs for ’09 — is also thought to be a Syracuse candidate.
The only other prominent black assistant to be mentioned so far is Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, who reportedly was interviewed by Washington to replace Willingham.
GOLF
International team wins at Lexus Cup
SINGAPORE — Christina Kim gave Annika Sorenstam a big victory in her second-to-last event before retiring, birdieing the par-5 18th Sunday for a halve and the deciding half-point for the International team in the Lexus Cup.
Kim’s halve with Namika Omata in the last match to finish gave the Sorenstam-captained International team a 121⁄2-111⁄2 victory over Asia. The International side evened the series at 2-2 after losing the last two years.
Sorenstam won the opening match, waiting out a lightning delay to finish off Asian captain Se Ri Pak 3 and 2. Sorenstam will end her Hall of Fame career next week in the Ladies European Tour’s Dubai Ladies Masters.
Angela Stanford, Helen Alfredsson, Natalie Gulbis and Katherine Hull also earned full points, while Suzann Pettersen and Karen Stupples halved their matches.
Sarah Lee, Na Yeon Choi, Song Hee Kim and Candie Kung won matches for Asia.
The teams were tied after each of the first two days, splitting the opening alternate-shot matches and Saturday best-ball matches.
Sweden wins World Cup
SHENZHEN, China — Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson gave Sweden its second World Cup title, shooting a 9-under 63 on Sunday in alternate-shot play to beat Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal by three strokes.
Karlsson and Stenson, four strokes behind the Spaniards after the third round, finished at 27-under 261 on Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course.
Sweden’s only other victory in the event came in 1991 when Per-Ulrik Johansson and Anders Forsbrand edged Wales in Rome.
Jimenez and Larrazabal finished with a 70 in their bid to give Spain its fifth title and first since 1984. Australia’s Richard Green and Brendan Jones (76) and Japan’s Ryuji Imada and Toru Taniguchi (68) tied for third at 18 under. Americans Ben Curtis and Brandt Snedeker (73) finished ninth, 14 strokes back at 13 under.
HOCKEY
Burke new president for Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO — Brian Burke took over as president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
He got a six-year deal, worth a reported $3 million annually, to replace interim GM Cliff Fletcher — who took over after John Ferguson was fired in January.
Burke spent the past three-plus seasons managing the Anaheim Ducks, leading them to a Stanley Cup title in 2007. He stepped down from the post Nov. 13 after declining to sign a contract extension that would take him beyond this season.
During previous management stops in Hartford, Vancouver and Anaheim, the 53-year-old has been unafraid to make bold moves, though he has no plans to make any immediately with the Leafs.
There was no timetable offered for turning around a club that hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2004 or specifics on how he planned to bring the city its first Stanley Cup championship since 1967. |