briefly 6/22/02

AREA

CAPE JUNIOR LEGION WINS TOURNEY OPENER

Cape Junior Legion defeated Imperial 4-2 as the eight-team Cape Junior Legion Tournament opened Friday.

Mark Johnston allowed just four hits as Cape improved to 17-10. Lee Essner and Mitch Craft each had two hits as Cape had five overall.

In other games: Ballwin routed Anheuser-Busch 17-4; Sikeston edged Jackson 4-2; and Festus stopped Paducah 8-5. Play continues today and concludes Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. championship game at Central High School.

ELSEWERE BASEBALL

Dave Van Horn, who resurrected the struggling program at Nebraska and thrust it into national prominence was lured away by the University of Arkansas as the Razorbacks naming him head coach on Friday.

He led Nebraska to the College World Series the past two years and was honored by Baseball America as the NCAA Coach of the Year in 2001.

Basketball

West Virginia University has submitted to the NCAA a report of alleged rules violations involving the men's basketball program and will declare four players ineligible, school officials announced Friday.

As a result of the university's internal investigation, one of the four players involved in the alleged infractions will be effectively banned from West Virgnia athletics.

The names of the four players were not released Friday.

"These violations center on NCAA legislation governing amateurism and recruiting," the report said.

Football

The St. Louis Rams and second-round draft pick Travis Fisher have agreed on a five-year contract, the Rams said Friday. Terms were not disclosed.

Fisher, a cornerback from Central Florida, was the 64th overall pick. The Rams' first-round choice, UCLA linebacker Robert Thomas, remains unsigned. Only two first-round picks -- Houston's David Carr and the New York Jets' Bryan Thomas, have signed with their teams.

Fisher, 5-9 and 189 pounds, had 130 tackles, four interceptions and 35 passes defended in three seasons at Central Florida.

Unable to reach a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, tight end Tony Gonzalez plans to work out with the NBA's Miami Heat early next month, The Kansas City Star reported Friday.

About 15 players are expected at the tryout camp. From that group of free agents, draft players and those who did not play much during the regular season, coach Pat Riley will select about 12 to perform in a summer-league camp in Orlando set to start July 9.

The summer league in Orlando could overlap with the beginning of Chiefs training camp, which starts July 25.

Gonzalez, a three-time All-Pro, is demanding he be paid as a wide receiver and not a tight end, which is one of the lowest-paid positions in the NFL.

Another year, another change to the formula that decides who plays in the Bowl Championship Series' national title game.

BCS coordinator Mike Tranghese has informed the operators of the computer polls that make up one-fourth of the BCS formula that unless they eliminate the margin of victory element they won't be part of this year's rankings.

The request was made in an e-mail sent by Tranghese to those who run the eight computer polls, four of which include margin of victory in their calculations. The e-mail asked for a decision by Monday.

Motorsports

Tony Stewart took the first step toward defending his title in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 by winning the pole on the road course at Sears Point Raceway.

Stewart had not won a pole in 58 races, dating back to Martinsville Speedway nearly two years ago.

-- From wire reports