Sports briefs 10/23/03

Basketball

Jason Richardson of the Golden State Warriors has been suspended for three games without pay for being convicted of domestic violence over the summer in Michigan, the NBA announced Wednesday.

Colleges

Missouri has been picked as the Big 12's preseason favorite in a poll by the league's coaches. The Tigers return four starters and seven lettermen from their NCAA tournament team last season. Missouri received eight first-place votes from the coaches, who weren't allowed to vote for their own team. Texas finished second in the poll with three first-place votes. Kansas was third with the final first-place vote. The rest of the poll was Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Nebraska and Baylor.

Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch will be Fox Sports Net's game analyst for its pay-per-view telecast of Saturday's Iowa State-Nebraska game. Crouch won the Heisman two years ago as a quarterback at Nebraska. He signed a one-year contract in August as a football analyst with Omaha television station KETV.

Football

Rams offensive tackle Kyle Turley plans to play this week, although he was still feeling the effects of a concussion. Turley, in his sixth season, sustained the first concussion of his career when he was accidentally kicked in the back of the head on the last play of the third quarter of Sunday's 34-24 victory over the Packers. Coach Mike Martz said a Packers player had been trying to jump over a prone Turley. He also was still experiencing headaches but was listed as probable.

Rookie Arlen Harris will start at running back Sunday for the Rams, even though there's a chance Lamar Gordon could play and Marshall Faulk could return from a broken hand and knee surgery. Harris had 85 yards on 18 carries and a 3-yard touchdown run in last week's 34-24 victory over the Packers. He played most of the game after Gordon, the backup to Faulk, sustained a high ankle sprain in the first quarter.

The Bears are shuffling their lineup, giving quarterback Chris Chandler a second straight start and demoting cornerback R.W. McQuarters. Chandler will start Sunday against Detroit in part because Kordell Stewart's left leg injury isn't completely healed. But coach Dick Jauron also said Chandler is now the team's No. 1 quarterback, and will be as long as the offense continues to run well.

Hockey

Colorado left wing Paul Kariya will be out indefinitely with a sprained right wrist, so the Avalanche acquired left wing Steve Konowalchuk in a trade with the Capitals. Kariya was injured midway through Colorado's 4-1 loss to Boston on Tuesday night. He did not have any broken bones. The Avalanche acquired Konowalchuk and a third-round selection in the 2004 draft for Bates Battaglia and the rights to forward Jonas Johansson.

Motorsports

IRL driver Tony Renna was killed in a wreck during testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after he lost control at nearly 220 mph, went airborne and crashed into a fence. The accident ended the promising career of the 26-year-old Renna, who joined the Indy Racing League as a substitute driver and moved up to major auto racing with an impressive performance in the Indianapolis 500. Renna signed earlier this month with Target/Chip Ganassi Racing, one of the elite IRL teams, and he was making his first track appearance for Ganassi.

-- From wire reports