FanFare 6/10/03

Briefly

Baseball

Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel allowed six runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings Monday in the Double-A Tennessee Smokies' 6-1 loss to Greenville. Ankiel (1-4), trying to overcome control problems that began in the 2000 playoffs, walked three and struck out six.

Basketball

The first chance to see high school phenom LeBron James play in a Cavaliers uniform could come in Boston at the Celtics' summer league. The Celtics announced that they will welcome the Cavs to their summer league at UMass-Boston from July 14-20. James, who is expected to go to Cleveland as the first pick in the NBA draft, will attend, general manager Jim Paxson said.

Former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy has accepted an offer to become the Rockets' next coach, a Houston television station reported. NBA sources told KRIV that Van Gundy called the Rockets Monday morning and said he will be their next coach pending successful contract negotiations, which are already under way.

Tim Floyd was picked as coach of the Hornets after one of the worst three-year stretches in NBA history with the Bulls, a team source told The Associated Press. Floyd, who lives in the city and used to coach the University of New Orleans, reached agreement with the Hornets earlier in the day.

Charlotte's NBA expansion team will be called the "Bobcats," a nod to the owner who spent $300 million for the franchise, The Associated Press has learned. Bob Johnson selected Bobcats over "Flight" and "Dragons," a source familiar with the process told the AP on condition of anonymity.

The Kings completed a complicated trade of first-round draft picks with the Pistons. Detroit got Sacramento's rights to the Hawks' pick in one of the next two drafts. In return, the Kings reclaimed a first-round pick they traded to Detroit two years ago. The Kings acquired the Hawks' pick last summer for the rights to Dan Dickau. Sacramento owed one of its first-round picks before 2008 to the Pistons after a 2001 trade involving Jon Barry and Mateen Cleaves.

Boxing

Vitali Klitschko is getting his chance to fight Lennox Lewis earlier than expected. Lewis will defend his heavyweight title against Klitschko on June 21 at Staples Center. Lewis' scheduled opponent, Kirk Johnson, dropped out of the fight after tearing a chest muscle in training. That accelerated the Lewis-Klitschko bout that was planned for later this year.

Colleges

University of Connecticut Athletic Director Lew Perkins is expected to step down by the end of this month to become the athletic director at the University of Kansas. An announcement that Perkins has accepted the Kansas job is expected in Lawrence, Kan., today, two sources at UConn told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Atlantic Coast Conference expansion is shaping up to be a lot tougher to pull off than expected. The leadership at Duke and North Carolina now have serious concerns about adding Miami, Syracuse and Boston College and might vote against the plan. The ACC needs the approval of at least seven schools in the nine-team league. Duke president Nan Keohane, in an e-mail to her colleagues obtained by The Associated Press, said the Blue Devils were prepared to vote against expansion unless additional issues about student welfare, travel costs and divisional alignment were addressed by the league.

Florida A&M has submitted its application to the NCAA for Division I-A status for football. The university made the announcement on Monday. The school expects to learn the NCAA's decision on the application by August 1. If approved, Florida A&M would start Division I-A play in football in the 2004 season. By applying for Division I-A status for football, the Rattlers are ineligible for the 2003 Division 1-AA playoffs.

Cycling

Four-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was in fourth place after the first stage of the Dauphine Libere race. Bulgaria's Plamen Stoianov won the stage, a 123-mile run from Meaudre to Vaison-la-Romaine. The event started Sunday with a prologue against the clock. Overall, Iban Mayo of Spain was in first place, followed by David Miller of Britain and Bradley McGee of Australia. Armstrong was 11 seconds off the leader.

Golf

Credit the impatience of youth for one of golf's newest phenoms landing a berth in the U.S. Women's Open. Thirteen-year-old Michelle Wie birdied the first hole of a playoff at a sectional qualifying event, giving her one of the last bids to the upcoming major tournament. She struggled early at the Country Club of Heathrow, north of Orlando, with three straight bogeys in her first six holes, but rallied with an even-par final round to reach the playoff.