Basketball
MINNESOTA OUT OF POSTSEASON: Minnesota will hold its men's basketball team out of postseason play for one year because of alleged academic cheating in the program.PENNY, CHAPMAN SUSPENDED: The Phoenix Suns will be without two of their top three guards in the season opener against Denver.
Penny Hardaway won't play because of his altercation with Miami Heat's Rex Walters at the Great Western Forum on Thursday night. And the club learned Tuesday that Rex Chapman will be out because he left the bench during the confrontation.
STARZZ APPEARANCE: The Utah Starzz mascot, Fox, will make the next stop on his "Read to Succeed" tour at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, at Thomas Bacchus Elementary (5925 S. 5975 West). The 1999-2000 program features Fox in the Old West traveling through Tumbleweed, Texas, teaching elementary students the value of reading. The 40-minute assembly involves both teachers and students.
COLEMAN CHARGED: Charlotte Hornets forward Derrick Coleman could lose his driver's license for one year for refusing to allow a breath or blood sample after a traffic accident.
Coleman, 32, was charged with driving while impaired after his 1996 Range Rover collided with a tractor-trailer early Wednesday. Teammate Eldridge Recasner, 31, and another passenger in Coleman's vehicle were injured.
Golf
TOURNAMENT REFORMATTED: Competition in two PGA Tour events will be postponed Friday because of a memorial service for Payne Stewart, the U.S. Open champion killed Monday in a plane crash.
The Tour Championship in Houston, a $5 million event for the top 30 players on the money list, will start Thursday with 27 holes. Another 27 holes will be played on Saturday, with the 18-hole final round on Sunday.
BORICH WINS MATCH PLAY: Mike Borich, pro at Meadowbrook GC, beat Glen Spencer of Rose Park GC, 4-and-3, in the finals of the Utah Section PGA Match Play.
In the senior division Ken Cromwell of Mulligan's North defeated Bob Betley, 2-up.
Baseball
BREWERS RELEASE NOMO: Hideo Nomo, the Japanese right-hander who rejuvenated his career with the Milwaukee Brewers, can now shop for a bigger salary offer elsewhere. IRVIN'S RETURN STILL UNKNOWN: Michael Irvin's return to the Dallas Cowboys from a spinal injury earlier this month was clouded as the team announced that Irvin was born with a spinal condition that increases his risk of further injury.
The condition, known as cervical stenosis, is basically a narrowing of the spinal canal. The congenital defect is relatively safe, team officials said, but the condition puts Irvin's spinal cord at greater risk because serious trauma can increase pressure and damage to the injured area.
In 1986, Green Bay cornerback Tim Lewis and Houston Oilers linebacker Frank Bush retired finding out they had narrow spinal canals.
Boxing
COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING TYSON: A member of the Nevada Athletic Commission wants the panel to take a tough stand and fine Mike Tyson for his punch after the bell ending the first round Saturday night.
The fight was declared a no contest, and Tyson's $8.7 million purse is being withheld pending a commission hearing Friday.
The former heavyweight champion and his advisers also should get a "strong" letter from the commission condemning Tyson's actions against Orlin Norris, commissioner Luther Mack said.