Sports digest 4/16/02

AREA

SOUTHEAST BASEBALL PLAYERS SWEEP OVC HONORS

Southeast Missouri State University won both weekly baseball awards handed out by the Ohio Valley Conference Monday.

Brice Nicholas is the OVC Player of the Week. The sophomore outfielder batted .529 (9-for-17), with six extra-base hits, 11 runs batted in and nine runs scored. Against Evansville, he homered twice and had seven RBIs.

Tim Alvarez is the OVC Pitcher of the Week. The junior left-hander picked up his first two wins of the season, working 11 2/3 innings. He allowed nine hits, struck out eight, walked two and posted a 1.54 earned-run average.

Short, Hopkins among ATPR winners

BENTON, Mo. -- Steve Short of Farmington, Mo., dashed past leader Jimmy Kite on the 13th lap and led the rest of the way for a season-opening win in the sprint class Saturday at Auto Tire and Parts Racepark.

Short made his move on a restart after Bryce Vowan slowed and prompted a caution flag. Short raced around Kite, of Stockton, Ga., and led Daron Clayton of Sikeston to the finish. Kite was third.

Billy Hopkins started seventh and worked his way to the front after early race leaders fell out with mechanical problems and flat tires. Hopkins, of Caruthersville, Mo., led from there with Nathan Higgins of Farmington second and Pat Davidson of Jackson, Mo., third.

Cline Myers Jr. of Scott City, Mo., won the opening-night pure stock event, leading Mike Burnett of Benton, Mo., and David Shepard of Bernie, Mo.

The cruiser class event was rained out and will be held Saturday.

Oklahoma racers rule in Spring Shootout sprints

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Oklahomans Kevin Bayer (Tulsa.), Scott Sawyer (Broken Arrow) and Montie Frey (Owasso) made up the top three Saturday in the Coca Cola Spring Shootout for micro sprints at SEMO Motor Speedway.

Bryan Clausen of Nobleville, Ind., won the A-class micro feature. Robert Collins of Vienna, Ill., won the main event for the restricted sportsman micro sprints.

Norman fires first ace at Kimbeland Country Club

JACKSON, Mo. -- Don Norman of Jackson carded his first hole in one recently at Kimbeland Country Club.

Norman used a 5-iron on No. 6, a par 3 playing 165 yards. Witnesses were Gene Galnore, Jim Evans and Ron Cook.

ELSEWHERE

FOOTBALL

The St. Louis Rams acquired wide receiver and kick returner Terrence Wilkins from Indianapolis for a sixth-round draft pick.

Wilkins, who had played his previous three season with the Colts, replaces the departed Az-Zahir Hakim in the Rams' lineup. Last year, Wilkins caught 34 passes for 332 yards and returned 21 punts for an average of 10.4 yards and 44 kickoffs for a 22.9-yard average.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Wilkins was undrafted out of Virginia in 1999. As a rookie, he scored a touchdown as a receiver, punt returner and kick returner. He posted career highs in 2000 with 43 receptions and 569 yards, while also scoring three touchdowns.

Wilkins was a restricted free agent.

Hockey

The New York Rangers fired coach Ron Low after missing the playoffs in his two seasons.

The Rangers had the highest payroll in the NHL but went only 36-38-4-3 this season and finished 11th in the Eastern Conference. It was the fifth straight year that they failed to reach the postseason.

The Rangers led the conference standings in early December and were atop the Atlantic Division as late as Jan. 5.

-- From staff, wire reports