Football
SHARPE SENTENCED: After years of second chances, three-time Pro Bowl lineman Luis Sharpe was sentenced Friday in Phoenix to one year in prison for violating probation by using cocaine and methamphetamine.
"I don't know what else to do here," Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael D. Ryan said after ticking off Sharpe's lengthy history of drug use and police run-ins.
Noting Sharpe twice has been wounded in drug-related shootings, the judge added: "I hope you understand and reach the realization while you're in prison that you have to make a dramatic change in your life. . . . If you appear in front of me again, it's consecutive terms in prison."
The 6-foot-5 Sharpe, handcuffed and dressed in a light blue prison outfit and sandals, nodded agreement. He couldn't speak because his jaw, broken last month when he was shot in the neck, was wired shut.
The judge also ordered Sharpe to spend 35 months under house arrest once he's released from prison. He must undergo long-term drug treatment upon release, perform 40 hours of community service a month and pay more than $3,000 in fines.
Sharpe, 36, played 13 seasons with the St. Louis and Phoenix Cardinals until a knee injury ended his career in 1994. He was picked for the Pro Bowl three consecutive years starting in 1987. In '83 and '84, he was an alternate.
Basketball
SLCC ACADEMIC AWARDS: SLCC point guards Johnny Robison and Shelly Karren have been honored as NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-Americans for 1996-97. Both players ended their careers at SLCC as two-year starters with 3.98 GPAs.
Robison, an all-stater from Viewmont High, was an honorable mention All-Conference. He finished his career as SLCC's all-time assist leader and was among the top five in steals and free-throw shooting.
Karren, an all-stater from Alta High, was selected to the All-SWAC second team. She ranks among SLCC career leaders in scoring and 3-point shooting.
Hockey
CANUCKS END GRETZKY CHASE: So much for The Great One landing in Vancouver.
The Vancouver Canucks say they have ended negotiations with free-agent Wayne Gretzky following reports that the NHL's all-time leading scorer was set to return to Canada.
Gretzky is an unrestricted free agent after finishing last season with the St. Louis Blues. The 35-year-old center was traded to St. Louis in March by the Los Angeles Kings.
Gretzky became a free agent on July 1 after rejecting a two-year offer from the Blues worth more than $6 million a year.
Tennis
LEGG MASON CLASSIC: Richey Reneberg marked his reluctant Olympic promotion by winning one and losing one Friday at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington.
Sixth-seeded Reneberg defeated Lionel Roux 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 in a third-round match in the afternoon session before losing to No. 4 Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals in the evening.
Reneberg, named to the Olympic singles draw after Pete Sampras withdrew earlier this week with an Achilles tendon injury, expressed regret that his good friend Todd Martin wasn't chosen to replace Sampras.
Friday's other quarterfinal winner was eighth-seeded Renzo Furlan, who defeated No. 15 Patrick Rafter 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. The other quarterfinal matches, No. 2 Michael Chang vs. No. 7 Paul Haarhuis and Neville Godwin vs. Kenneth Carlsen, were postponed to Saturday because of rain.
Highlights from the third round early Friday included Chang's 6-3, 5-7, 6-0 victory over No. 16 Vince Spadea, and Ferreira's 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 14 Chris Woodruff.
MERCEDES CUP: Thomas Muster moved into the semifinals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, with a 6-2, 6-4 victory Friday over Francisco Clavet of Spain.
The top-seeded Austrian dominated the match, in contrast to his struggles earlier in the week through two tiebreakers. Muster had taken off for two weeks to recover from a pulled thigh muscle.
Second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov also won Friday, beating Felix Mantilla of Spain 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
In the other two matches, Alex Corretja of Spain beat Alexander Volkov of Russia, 6-4, 6-3, and sixth-seeded Alberto Berasategui of Spain defeated Marc Goellner of Germany 6-4, 6-2.
Muster will play Berasategui on Saturday and Kafelnikov, the new French Open champion, plays Corretja.
PALERMO GRAND PRIX: Second-seeded Sabine Hack of Germany beat Henrieta Nagyova of Slovakia on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the $107,500 Palermo Grand Prix women's tennis tournament at Palermo, Sicily.
Hack advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over the eigth-seeded Nagyova.
Romania's Irina Spirlea, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, was ejected from the tournament on Thursday for insulting a referee.
In other quarterfinal matches, Jana Kandarr of Germany defeated Belgium's Stephanie De Ville 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
No. 4-seed Barbara Schett beat fellow Austrian Sandra Dopfer 6-4, 6-1.
In the late match, third-seeded Silvia Farina of Italy faced Sarah Pitkowski of France.
Boxing
MORRISON SUFFERS SEIZURE: Legally prescribed drugs caused former heavyweight boxer Tommy Morrison to suffer a seizure and receive brief hospital treatment, his promoter says.
Morrison, 27, retired from boxing in February after announcing he had contracted the virus that causes AIDS.
Tony Holden said Morrison was back at home in Jay, Okla., and doing well despite his reaction to the medication on Wednesday. Holden declined to say whether the medication was related to Morrison's treatment for the HIV virus.
Jay police said Morrison stopped at an intersection Wednesday afternoon and slumped over the steering wheel. The 6-foot-2, 234-pounder was taken to the Grove hospital.
Horse racing
CHALLENGE RACE: Katies Victory, a racing quarter horse owned by David J. Payne and Gerald Davenport of Salt Lake City, has qualified to the $18,990 American Airlines California Juvenile Challenge at Los Alamitos Race Course on Aug. 4 in Amarillo, Texas.
The winner of the 350-yard race will advance to the $100,000 AACJC Championship in November.
Katies Victory won the second of two trial divisions on Thursday. The filly has now finished in the top three in all five of her races.