Sports briefs 4/26/06

Colleges

• Connecticut point guard Marcus Williams said Tuesday he will forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NBA draft.

The 6-foot-3 Williams is considered one of the nation's top playmakers. He appeared in 47 games at UConn, starting 31 and averaging 7.3 points and 6.6 assists.

He becomes the third underclassman to leave UConn early this year, joining junior forward Josh Boone and sophomore swingman Rudy Gay.

* Texas sophomore point guard Daniel Gibson said he plans to declare for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent, meaning he could keep his college eligibility.

Gibson ranked third on the team in scoring (13.4) and set a school record for most three-point field goals made in a season (101).

Gibson is the third Longhorns player to declare for this year's draft, joining LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker. Only Aldridge is hiring an agent, making him ineligible to return.

* Oklahoma athletic officials have not decided whether they will grant requests from three players reportedly seeking releases from the national letters of intent they signed to play with the Sooners, new coach Jeff Capel said.

Guard Scottie Reynolds, forward Damion James and forward Jeremy Mayfield have each asked to be freed from the national letters of intent they signed with Oklahoma in November, according to newspaper reports.

Capel and athletic director Joe Castiglione must decide whether to grant a full or partial release to the students or no release at all.

Capel said he had met with all five of Oklahoma's signees, including forward Keith Clark and guard Tony Crocker, but would not talk about any of their individual situations.

* Oklahoma State self-imposed a reduction of scholarships for its baseball team because of a misinterpretation of NCAA rules regarding academic tuition waivers, the school said Tuesday.

To make up for exceeding the NCAA limit by 5.27 scholarships between 2000 and 2004, the university agreed to reduce its available scholarships by the same number during a four-year period, beginning with the current school year.

Football

• The Seattle Seahawks acquired veteran safety Mike Green from the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick.

Green had 437 total tackles (282 solo), six sacks, four interceptions and 27 pass breakups in six seasons with the Bears.

Green was second on the team to linebacker Brian Urlacher with a career-high 138 tackles in 2002 and 132 in 2004.

High school

• Members of Centralia High School's football team are being credited with using their hustle and muscle to help save a tire shop worker by lifting the pickup truck that had pinned him after it fell of a hydraulic lift.

The victim, Ed Marsh, underwent surgery Monday on his left arm and suffered injuries to his back, hip and pelvis. He was listed in serious condition Tuesday at St. Louis University Hospital.

The accident happened shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, when the football players heard a summons for help while helping unload a truck during a tire-collection effort at Centralia Expert Tire. The athletes scrambled to the shop's garage area and found Marsh pinned beneath a pickup truck. They lifted the vehicle until emergency personnel could remove Marsh.

Motorsports

• The one thing a NASCAR driver never wanted to see was the black No. 3 Chevrolet closing on his rear bumper. It was enough to send tremors through any competitor.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes to achieve that same effect this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, where he'll mark his late father's birthday by driving a replica of the famed car.

Junior's trademark red Chevy will be painted predominantly black, with white lettering and silver and red stripes. The car mimics the design the late Dale Earnhardt made famous. Junior will still use his No. 8 -- his father's No. 3 has not been on the track since his 2001 death.

"The car looks good, it's a cool way to honor my dad," Earnhardt said Tuesday. "It's going to be a lot of fun to be behind the wheel of that car, and see the reaction it gets from other drivers on the track."

-- The Associated Press