FanFare 7/2/02

Briefly

Basketball

Gunmen attacked three people outside the home of Magic point guard Troy Hudson, fatally shooting a 20-year-old man and pistol-whipping a 15-year-old boy, police said. Hudson wasn't home late Sunday when a car pulled into his driveway, two men got out and opened fire, police in this wealthy Orlando suburb said.

It was the second time in three days the home was targeted, said Bill Neff, Hudson's agent. He said robbers broke into the home Friday night, taking several hundred dollars and attacking some guests after being unable to find Hudson's car keys.

Donnie Nelson, the son of Mavericks head coach and general manager Don Nelson, has been promoted to president of basketball operations with the team. He had been director of player personnel and interviewed with Denver over the weekend to be their new coach.

Colleges

Keith Kessinger, a former professional baseball player and the son of baseball great Donnie Kessinger, is the new baseball coach at Arkansas State University, school officials announced. Keith Kessinger, 35, previously the head coach at Carson-Newman College, replaces Bill Bethea, who retired last month.

The hiring came just three days after athletic director Paul Griffin resigned, saying one of his reasons was that he didn't like the way the state thwarted school attempts to erase athletic department deficits.

Jean Lenti Ponsetto, an administrator in DePaul's athletic department for the past 20 years, was appointed athletic director.

Mike Slive, the head of Conference USA who used to defend schools against NCAA investigations, is set to become the new commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. The announcement is expected to be made today.

Randy Mazey, an assistant coach at Tennessee for the past four seasons, was hired as baseball coach at East Carolina.

Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Tom Pagnozzi will be a volunteer coach for Arkansas under new Razorback coach Dave Van Horn. Pagnozzi, who was an All-Star and played 12 years for the Cardinals, spent a year at Arkansas under former coach Norm DeBriyn, who retired June 11 after 33 years.

The University of Kansas hired Ritch Price as its baseball coach. Price coached the past eight seasons at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Football

The Chiefs have agreed to terms with linebacker Maurice Rodriguez, the team's seventh-round pick in the NFL draft. The three-year deal leaves defensive tackle Ryan Sims -- the Chiefs' first-round pick -- as the only draft choice yet to agree to terms.

Golf

Nick Faldo withdrew from this week's European Open because of a stomach ailment. Faldo, 44, said he hoped to recover in time for the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond next week in preparation for the British Open later this month.

Soccer

Brazil's 2-0 victory over Germany in the finals of the World Cup on Sunday produced an overnight rating of 3.9 and a 16 share for the live telecast on ABC. The network's live telecast ran from 5:30 a.m.-8 a.m. CDT. A taped replay from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. had a rating of 2.8 and a 7 share. Four years ago, the Brazil-France World Cup final shown live in the afternoon had a 6.9 rating and 17 share.

People

Of course, they'll be back

A world-class competitive boomerang thrower faces a criminal charge after trying to bring boomerangs through a security checkpoint at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport.

Betsylew Ross Miale-Gix, 43, of Brier, Wash., was arrested Sunday after arguing with a security screener at the airport, state police said.

The screener had noticed the boomerangs inside Miale-Gix's carryon luggage at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday and told her the items would have to be checked, state police said.

Miale-Gix became irate, began cursing, and then grabbed her bags from the screener, state police said. She continued to curse and use obscenities as she left the screening area, state police said.

She was arrested on a breach of peace charge, and released after posting a $500 bond.

Verbatim

Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune, commenting ruefully on the struggling Chicago major league teams, the Cubs and White Sox:

"Both teams appear to be going down together, as is usually the case during a Chicago baseball season. It's what's called shared experience. Of course, death in the family is a shared experience too. ...

"To say that both teams have come up short of expectations is like saying Mike Tyson has come up short of sainthood. ... Which team is the bigger disappointment? Which member of the Capone gang had the nicest personality?"

Richie Whitt of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Like him or not, analyst Charles Barkley helped breathe life into TNT's coverage of the otherwise unwatchable NBA draft.

"When cameras showed a collage of mothers crying backstage, anchorman Ernie Johnson melodramatically said, 'Ah, the tears of joy.'

"Barkley quickly interjected, 'Yeah tears of joy because they're thinking, "Damn I ain't poor no more.'"

-- From wire reports