HOCKEY Women inducted into hall Cammie Granato, Geraldine Heaney and Angela James became the first female players inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame, along with former NHL great Mario Lemieux, Russian great Igor Larionov and the first French player ever to skate in the NHL, Philippe Bozon. The 37-year-old Granato, was the top American player during her 15-year career and played on the first Olympic gold medal team in 1998. She holds women’s hockey records with 54 goals and 96 points. The 40-year-old Heaney, a defenseman, was on seven consecutive world championship teams in the 1990 s, played in the first Olympics with women’s hockey in 1998 in Nagano and won Olympic gold in 2002 in Salt Lake City. James was the first real star of women’s hockey, scoring 22 goals in 20 games at the first four world championships, including 11 at the inaugural worlds in Ottawa. FOOTBALL Paterno treated Penn State Coach Joe Paterno spent several hours at a hospital being treated for dehydration before returning home late Thursday. The 81-year-old coach had been working at home late in the morning when he began feeling nauseated and was taken by ambulance to Mount Nittany Medical Center, team spokesman Guido D’Elia said. Paterno had tests at the hospital but was not admitted. Paterno was released and back home Thursday evening, and doctors determined he suffered from dehydration, team officials said. The Hall of Fame coach was still expected to travel to Austin, Texas, today, where he was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a dinner honoring Longhorns Coach Mack Brown, the university said in a statement. Paterno’s son and Penn State quarterbacks coach, Jay, said that his father was OK. Paterno is about to embark on his record 43 rd season as head coach. With 372 victories, he’s second to Florida State’s Bobby Bowden (373 ) among major college coaches.
BASEBALL Owners ratify drug rules Baseball owners unanimously ratified tougher drug testing rules Thursdays. Players have until May 23 to ratify the testing agreement, which will increase the frequency of tests and the authority of the program’s independent administrator BASKETBALL Ex-coach settles Indiana University has reached a settlement with former interim coach Dan Dakich, paying him the $ 185, 000 he was scheduled to earn next school year. School spokesman Larry MacIntyre said Dakich was owed a base salary of $ 110, 000 with a supplemental bonus of $ 75, 000. Dakich replaced Kelvin Sampson after the NCAA accused Sampson of five major rules violations in February. The university gave Sampson a $ 750, 000 buyout. Dakich, who played for former Indiana Coach Bob Knight and later was an assistant under Knight, went 3-4 in the Hoosiers’ final seven games and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arkansas. Mike Dunlap is leaving his job as a Denver Nuggets assistant coach to serve on Lute Olson’s staff at the University of Arizona. Dunlap served on Coach George Karl’s staff the past two seasons after a stint at Metro State College of Denver. He went 248-50 and won two NCAA Division II national titles, in 2000 and 2002.
Former NBA star Charles Barkley, 45, now a basketball analyst for Turner Network Television, acknowledged he owes a $ 400, 000 gambling debt to a Las Vegas Strip casino and promised to repay it after a prosecutor said he faced criminal charges. “My mistake,” Barkley said. “I’m not broke, and I’m going to take care of it.” Barkley was responding to comments by Clark County (Nev. ) District Attorney David Roger, who said prosecutors would file a criminal complaint if he did not pay the debt cited by the Wynn Las Vegas resort. The casino alleged in a civil complaint that Barkley failed to repay four $ 100, 000 casino markers, or loans, received Oct. 18 and 19.
HORSE RACING Eight Belles had no diseases Eight Belles had no diseases nor preexisting bone abnormalities that caused the filly to break down after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. Autopsy results reviewed by The Associated Press on Thurs day confirm compound fractures of both front legs at the fetlock joints. They also describe lacerated skin on both legs, an absence of joint fluid in the damaged areas and congested lungs. The filly also experienced a bruised head and hemorrhaging in the left thyroid gland, which the report blamed on her fall after the initial injuries. “No pathology was found to indicate the occurrence of any other catastrophic event beside the fractured legs,” wrote Kentucky chief veterinarian Lafe Nichols, who performed the tests at the University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in Lexington. Eight Belles was euthanized on the track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., after collapsing while jogging about a quarter-mile past the finish line. Stewards found no evidence she was injured during the race. There also will be routine postrace drug-testing and further medication tests requested by Eight Belles trainer Larry Jones. Jones has said he wants the extra scrutiny to prove the large, muscular filly wasn’t on steroids at the time. A lab at Iowa State University is conducting the drug examination on behalf of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority. MOTOR SPORTS Vickers’ pit crew wins Brian Vickers’ team won NASCAR’s Sprint Pit Crew Challenge on Thursday night in Charlotte, N. C., beating Denny Hamlin’s team in a battle of Toyotas in the final round. Vickers’ crew filled the car with fuel and pushed it 40 yards in 22. 902 seconds to collect the $ 70, 000 first prize. Hamlin’s team crossed the line in 23. 011 seconds.
TENNIS Sharapova to become No. 1 Maria Sharapova will assume the No. 1 ranking in tennis because of Justine Henin’s retirement. The 25-year-old Henin, who retired Wednesday, asked to be removed from the rankings, the WTA Tour said Thursday. Sharapova will automatically become No. 1 when the next rankings are released Monday. It will mark the fourth time the Russian has held the top ranking. She has been No. 1 for a total of 14 weeks in her career, the last in 2007. Henin, winner of seven Grand Slam titles, is the first woman to retire while holding the No. 1 ranking. This is the Belgian’s 117 th nonconsecutive week in the top spot, the sixth-longest reign at No. 1 since the computer rankings began in 1975. After an injuryplagued 2007, Sharapova started 2008 by winning the Australian Open for her third Grand Slam title. She was 24-2 this year.
Maria Sharapova rallied from a four-game deficit in the second set to beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 7-6 (3 ), advancing to the quarterfinals in the Italian Open in Rome along with sisters Serena and Venus Williams. Seventh-seeded Venus Williams won the first three games of each set in a 7-5, 6-2 victory over No. 10 Vera Zvonareva. Serena Williams overcame some erratic moments before eliminating Italian wildcard entrant Sara Errani 6-4, 6-3. Second-ranked Rafael Nadal had no 21 st birthday gift for Andy Murray, winning 6-3, 6-2 to join top-ranked and defending champion Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Hamburg (Germany ) Masters. Federer beat Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2. Federer is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg and will play Fernando Verdasco, who upset fifth-seeded David Ferrer 7-6 (2 ), 6-2. Djokovic defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3 ), 6-3 to stay on course for back-to-back titles after winning last week’s Rome Masters.
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