Montana a candidate for WAC expansion
MISSOULA, Mont. — The commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference says the league is seriously considering Montana as it looks for new members.
Commissioner Karl Benson told the Missoulian, "that as the WAC goes forward with its plan for future membership, the University of Montana is high on our list. And the assets that Montana could bring to the WAC are very significant," including the university's academic profile and its successful football and men's and women's basketball teams.
Benson spoke to the newspaper Tuesday, the same day Montana athletic director Jim O'Day was in Dallas attending a 90 minute "information gathering" meeting with the WAC presidents and athletic directors.
"It was just to basically answer questions from us, if we had any," O'Day said. "Nothing really came out of it other than the fact that they have a real interest in the University of Montana."
O'Day has said he expects Montana will receive an invitation to join the WAC, and some tough decisions will have to be made about whether to leave the Big Sky Conference and move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
"We fit a lot into their mold. But we're also in a good spot where we're at," in the Football Championship Subdivision, O'Day said. "It's complicated, and it's going to get much more so in the coming months."
Contador suspended after steriod found
PARIS — Cycling's governing body says only a "very small concentration" of a banned steroid was found in the urine of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, but that he has still been suspended. The UCI says a lab in Germany found clenbuterol in Contador's urine sample on July 21 at the Tour de France. But the amount was only 50 picograms, which the UCI says "is 400 time(s) less than what the antidoping laboratories accredited by WADA must be able to detect."
It says that both Contador's A and B samples tested positive and that Contador has been "formally and provisionally suspended." It says that the case is still being investigated and that this may take some time.
Jimmy Johnson booted from 'Survivor'
LOS ANGELES — Jimmy Johnson won't be adding the title of sole "Survivor" to his winning resume. The silver-haired 67-year-old former coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins was the third person voted off the Nicaragua-set 21st edition of the CBS reality TV competition Wednesday. Johnson, the oldest member of the Espada tribe, declared himself the weakest castaway at Tribal Council and was unanimously booted by his fellow mature tribemates.
"I had fun, but I was miserable the whole time," he said. "I still love the game, and it's been a great adventure. This is the most stressful time I've ever gone through in my life, and I'm including Super Bowls and collegiate national championships. I initially said, 'Keep your strongest members.' I obviously wasn't one of the strongest members."
Wizards owner fined for salary-cap comments
FAIRFAX, Va. — The NBA has fined Washington Wizards majority owner Ted Leonsis hours after he told local business leaders he expects the league soon will have a hard salary cap similar to the NHL's model. The NBA says in a statement that Leonsis was fined $100,000 for "unauthorized public comments regarding the league's collective bargaining negotiations."
Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Capitals, spoke to a group of Northern Virginia business leaders before the Wizards' daily training camp session Wednesday.
Appeal by a NASCAR driver is denied
CONCORD, N.C. — An appeals committee denied Richard Childress Racing's request to have Clint Bowyer's championship-ending penalty reversed, and the team owner vowed Wednesday to fight the decision to NASCAR's highest level. Richard Childress emerged from NASCAR's research and development center after a nearly 5-hour hearing fighting the 150-point penalty levied against Bowyer after the car he drove to victory Sept. 19 at New Hampshire failed inspection.
"After so many hours of whatever you want to call this, the ruling stood," the team owner said. "I gave them the check and an appeal notice to the commissioner. We're very disappointed. Nothing unexpected the way this thing works."
Childress said he paid the fee and made a formal request to appeal Wednesday's decision to NASCAR chief appellate officer John Middlebrook, a former General Motors executive.
U.S. women hoops team advances
OSTRAVA, Czech Republic — Diana Taurasi scored 24 points to help the United States beat Australia 83-75 on Wednesday night and earn the top seed in the quarterfinals of the women's basketball world championship.
NBDL experimenting with rules
NEW YORK — The NBA Development League will use international goaltending rules and shorter overtime periods this season, experiments that could someday make their way into the NBA. The league said Wednesday that overtime will last three minutes instead of five. The new goaltending rule follows the standard used in the international game, which allows a player to knock the ball away when it is on the rim. NBA rules prohibit players from touching the ball when it is on the cylinder.
Executive vice president for basketball operations Stu Jackson says one of the benefits of the NBA's minor leagues is "it allows us to look at the rules of play and experiment with ways we can make the game more competitive."