Fanfare 12/30/02

College

Illinois women's basketball coach Theresa Grentz logged her 600th career victory Sunday with an 80-68 win over previously undefeated Auburn.

Grentz becomes the eighth active women's coach with 600 wins.

"These girls have given me a gift," Grentz said after the game. "It's an incredible gift from a very special group, and I appreciate it."

In a career that began in 1975, Grentz has had 16 20-win seasons, a 30-win season.

Texas women's track and field coach Bev Kearney was in fair condition in a Florida hospital Sunday as she continued to recover from a traffic accident that killed two friends on Interstate 10 near Sanderson, Fla.

Kearney, 44, suffered serious lower back injuries when she was thrown from the sport utility vehicle in which she was riding.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the vehicle driven by former world indoor champion hurdler and Olympic medalist Michelle Freeman crossed the median, swerved back and rolled several times Thursday morning.

UT academic counselor Ilrey Sparks, 40, and Freeman's mother, Muriel Wallace, 63, both of Austin, died in the crash. Freeman, 33, and Sparks' 3-year-old daughter, Imani, were not seriously injured.

Football

The group promoting the hiring of black coaches by NFL teams says Dallas owner Jerry Jones violated the spirit of a new league policy by speaking to former Vikings coach Dennis Green on the phone and not in person.

Jones, expected to fire coach Dave Campo after the Cowboys' final game, met with Bill Parcells twice in the last two weeks.

Jones spoke with Green, believed to be a leading candidate for several of the vacancies that may come up.

A group headed by Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Cyrus Mehri said that wasn't enough.

"Simply talking to a minority candidate in a phone interview is not comparable to a several-hour, face-to-face meeting between candidate and owner," Mehri said Sunday.

All 32 NFL teams agreed this month to interview minority candidates when they have openings for a coach or key spots in the front office.

The Dallas Cowboys or any other team wishing to talk to Bill Parcells about a coaching job must first get permission from Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers said Sunday night.

"Reports that Bill Parcells signed a contract to be head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after our elimination from the playoffs last season are accurate," Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay said in a statement during the Bucs' regular-season finale against the Chicago Bears.

Parcells, who last January decided not to take the Bucs' job, has talked recently with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

"We have put Bill Parcells and his representatives on notice that any team that wishes to speak with him must first receive our permission in accordance with the NFL anti-tampering rules and we will require compensation to grant such permission," McKay said.

The NFL said it would look into the matter today.

Joel Buschbaum, the college draft expert for Pro Football Weekly, has died at the age of 48, the magazine said.

No other details on his death were immediately available.

Buschbaum, who worked out of his home in Brooklyn, was a contributing editor for the magazine based in Riverwoods, Ill.

Buschbaum made the NFL draft his life's work and compiled preview guides that were highly regarded in football circles.

Often seen at draft-related functions and the NFL scouting combine, Buschbaum regularly did a Sunday night radio show on KMOX in St. Louis.

Tennis

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, Britain's top two players, have withdrawn from next month's Australian Open because of injuries.

Henman, the British No. 1, said his shoulder has not fully recovered since undergoing arthroscopic surgery in November.

Henman had been scheduled to return to action in the Commonwealth Bank International, which starts on Jan. 8, before moving on to Melbourne a week later.

Rusedski has not recovered from an operation on his right foot.

Verbatim

Scott Bordow of the East Valley (Mesa, Ariz.) Tribune offered up his 12 days of Christmas for Arizona Cardinals fans: "On the 12th day of Christmas the Cardinals gave to me: 12 losing seasons, 11 first-round holdouts, 10 top-10 picks, nine numbing losses, eight home-game blackouts, seven missing starters, six coaches a-failing, FIVE STINKING WINS, four injured wideouts, three Monday nights, two stadium votes -- and a team I'd rather not see."