Pro
AYERS DIES AT 42: John Ayers, a lineman who spent 10 years with the San Francisco 49ers and played on two Super Bowl teams, died of liver cancer. He was 42.
Ayers played at West Texas State and joined the 49ers as an eighth-round draft pick in 1976. He became a starting guard two years later and helped the 49ers to their first Super Bowl victory in 1981. He also was a member of San Francisco's 1984 title team.
College
PULSIPHER HONORED: Utah kicker Dan Pulsipher was named Western Athletic Conference special teams player of the week Monday.
Pulsipher, a junior from Carlsbad, Calif., kicked fields goals from 42 and 52 yards and was 4 for 4 on extra points in Utah's 34-21 victory over Texas-El Paso. It was the second time this season that Pulsipher has won the WAC special teams honor.
Hawaii quarterback Glenn Freitas and San Diego State strong safety Julis McChristian were named offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively.
MARTIN HONORED: Weber State quarterback Bryan Martin, who threw for 502 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Wildcats to victory in their conference opener, is the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the week.
Martin, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound senior from Chatsworth, Calif., was 29-of-40 in passing Weber State to a 40-30 victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday.
Martin, who leads the NCAA Division I-AA in total offense with an average of 414 yards per contest, is also seventh in the country in passing efficiency. In Saturday's game, he also rushed for 14 yards, giving him 516 yards in total offense.
The league also announced Monday that Idaho State's Josh Hays was the week's top defender and Northern Arizona's Kevin O'Leary won the weekly award for special teams play.
TROJANS INELIGIBLE: The University of Southern California declared three players ineligible following the start of an investigation into whether the players took money and gifts from an agent, the Los Angeles Times reported today.
USC's leading rusher Shawn Walters, defensive end Israel Ifeanyi and linebacker Errick Herrin are the subjects of NCAA and Pac-10 investigations.
Southern California will seek to restore the players' eligibility through the appropriate NCAA committee, Robert Lane, the university's general counsel, told the Times.