Sports briefs 11/5/04

Baseball

• Charlie Manuel's thick Southern drawl, down-home charm and folksy nature make him an odd fit for gritty Philadelphia. He'll be a perfect choice as manager if he leads the Phillies to the playoffs.

Manuel was hired Thursday to replace Larry Bowa, taking over a talented but underachieving club that hasn't reached the playoffs since 1993. The 60-year-old Manuel managed the Cleveland Indians from 2000-02. He beat out seven other candidates, including finalists Jim Leyland and Jim Fregosi.

Colleges

• St. Louis University announced Thursday it has signed a new five-year contract with head men's basketball coach, Brad Soderberg. The agreement means Soderberg will coach the Billikens through the 2008-09 season. Terms were not announced.

Soderberg is entering his third year as coach of the Billikens with a 35-27 mark (.565). He has a 10-year career head coaching record of 166-100 (.624). Soderberg became the third Billikens coach to guide the university into the postseason in his first two seasons.

East Carolina quarterback James Pinkney and two other players are listed as questionable for Saturday's game at Houston after they were injured in a single-car accident.

The others involved were center Hunter Wood and reserve guard Trey Magee, who was driving Wednesday night. He was cited for having an open alcoholic beverage container that was discovered during a search of the vehicle. The school said Magee passed a road breathalyzer test, and Pirates coach John Thompson planned to punish Magee through the team.

Pinkney, who the school said had an unspecified leg injury, was named Conference USA offensive player of the week after leading East Carolina to a 38-28 victory over Army last Saturday. He was 26-for-36 for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

Tulane women's basketball's leading scorer and rebounder from last season will miss the first seven games of the season.

Lakethia Hampton was suspended for those game for violating team and athletic department policies, Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson announced Thursday.

• Steve Spurrier felt his time with the Florida Gators had passed. After spending more than a week thinking about it, Spurrier decided Thursday to remove his name from consideration to replace Ron Zook.

"He said he's done his thing here and he just thinks it's better for us to go find a coach who will be here for the next 10 or 15 years," athletic director Jeremy Foley said.

The Gators won six Southeastern Conference championships and the 1996 national title under Spurrier. He posted 122 victories over 12 seasons, tormented opponents with his offensive flair and witty one-liners, and left town with the best winning percentage in league history.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops, Utah's Urban Meyer and Cal's Jeff Tedford are considered other possible candidates.

Motorsports

• General Motors will stop supplying Chevrolet engines to the Indy Racing League after the 2005 season, citing the circuit's falling television ratings and expensive competition from Honda and Toyota.

GM Racing director Doug Duchardt said the value of the IRL "no longer met our business objectives." He mentioned the open-wheel league's decreased television ratings - down about 20 percent from 2003 - and attendance that he described as "flat or down." GM has been an IRL engine supplier since 1997.

Tennis

• Top-seeded Andy Roddick and defending champion Tim Henman were upset in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.

Roddick lost 7-6 (2), 6-2 to qualifier Max Mirnyi, while Henman was beaten 7-5, 6-1 by unseeded Mikhail Youzhny.

In other action, second-seeded Lleyton Hewitt reached the quarterfinals when No. 14 Nicolas Massu quit with a thigh injury while trailing 4-3 in the first set, No. 13 Guillermo Canas beat Tommy Haas 7-6 (4), 6-2, and Feliciano Lopez defeated No. 11 Andrei Pavel 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Pavel was last year's runner-up.

-- From wire reports