Track & fieldOWENS AWARDS: Marion Jones is getting pressure from all around.
There's the pressure to break world records in the 100 and 200 meters, the pressure to be the savior of track and field and the pressure from promoters to compete at their meets.
The 23-year-old Jones is not letting the pressure affect her.
"I think the world records are possible, but I'm not going to say they're going to happen," Jones said in a conference call Tuesday, after being chosen winner of the Jesse Owens Memorial Award as the outstanding woman athlete in the United States this year.
Florence Griffith Joyner owns the 100 and 200 records of 10.49 seconds and 21.34. This year, Jones ran 10.65 and 21.62, making her the No. 2 performer behind the late FloJo.
Because of her sensational, albeit brief, career -- Jones has been competing full-time for only 18 months. She, along with men's Owens Award winner John Godina, and some other young athletes, are being counted on to resurrect the sport in this country.
Hockey
SABRES RE-SIGN WILSON: Defenseman Mike Wilson re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres, agreeing to a three-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. Wilson, 23, played for Las Vegas of the IHL during negotiations.
Basketball
EX-JAZZMAN ORTIZ SUSPENDED: Jose Ortiz, the Puerto Rican center who spent two seasons with the Utah Jazz, has been suspended for two years by basketball's world governing body after testing positive for steroid use.
Ortiz, 35, a former Oregon State player, tested positive for the steroid stanozolol during the world championship this summer in Greece.
FIBA confirmed the sanctions Tuesday, saying Ortiz was banned "from all national and international competitions for two years."
Olympics
CANADA'S CHOICE: Vancouver and the nearby ski resort of Whistler were chosen today to represent Canada in a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The Vancouver-Whistler entry beat out Quebec City and Calgary, Alberta, host of the 1988 Winter Games.
Auto racing
FORMULA ONE COMING TO INDY: Tradition used to be a part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For years, the Indianapolis 500 was the only racing event contested on the 2 1/2-mile oval. Then NASCAR arrived in 1994 with the Brickyard 400 Winston Cup race. Last year, the International Race of Champions brought its series here for the first time.
Formula One was expected to officially join the program at a news conference today, with the first race expected in 2000.
The international series hasn't held a race in the United States since 1991.
Baseball
TRYOUTS: Ninth- and 10th-grade players are invited to tryout for team Utah that will participate in the 1999 Junior Olympic Championships this summer. The tryout will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the BYU Smith Fieldhouse in Provo. Preregistration is required. For information contact the Baseball Academy, 561-1700.