Sports briefs 8/9/05

College

• Iowa State athletic director Bruce Van De Velde resigned Monday but said he would stay on until a successor is found, or until the end of the year.

Van De Velde, who has held the job since Nov. 15, 2000, said he felt he had accomplished all he could at Iowa State and the fact his contract was not renewed on July 1 had no bearing on his decision. And he insisted he was not forced to resign.

Football

Ty Law agreed to a contract with Jets on Monday, giving New York a Pro Bowl cornerback who helped the New England Patriots win three Super Bowls.

The deal for the free agent was contingent on a physical, scheduled for the afternoon at the team's training camp.

The 31-year-old Law was in the final season of a seven-year, $51 million contact with the Patriots, and was due $12.5 million this season, but the team would have taken a big hit on its salary cap. Law reportedly wasn't willing to restructure his contract, so New England released him in February. He was sought by a number of teams, including Detroit, Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

Horse racing

Trainer Nick Zito was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame Monday, the latest milestone in a career that started with a two-horse stable and includes four wins in Triple Crown races.

Zito was elected in May in his eighth year of eligibility. Three steeplechase standouts, jockey Thomas Walsh, trainer Sidney Watters Jr. and five-time champion Lonesome Glory, also were inducted during the ceremony across from Saratoga Race Course.

At the time of his induction, Zito had saddled 1,420 winners and horses he trained had earned $71,119,670.

Track

Olympic silver medalist Lauryn Williams won the gold in the 100 meters at the world track and field championships Monday, beating favorite Christine Arron in torrential rain.

The victory gave the United States a sweep of the 100 at the worlds, with Olympic champion Justin Gatlin winning the men's 100 on Sunday.

Williams capitalized on a good start and dipped across the line to win in 10.93 seconds, finishing 0.02 seconds ahead of Veronica Campbell of Jamaica. Arron was third in 10.98.

And one year after ripping her Achilles' tendon, Sweden's Kajsa Bergqvist completed an amazing comeback by winning the high jump at 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches, the best in the world this year. American Chaunte Howard won the silver with a personal best of 6-6 3/4.

In the medal standings, Williams gave the United States the lead with three golds and four overall. Ethiopia was second with two gold and five overall, just ahead of Sweden with two gold and three overall.