Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL ó North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell has withdrawn her name as a candidate for the same position at South Carolina.
Hatchell had been mentioned as a candidate to replace Susan Walvius, who announced her resignation last month.
iNorth Carolina is my home, and I am convinced that the support is here for us to continue as one of the top programs in the country,î Hatchell said Thursday. iI have the best staff in America. I am excited about our future and look forward to the challenge of winning more championships.î
Athletics director Dick Baddour said the school is evaluating Hatchellís contract to ensure she is paid in line with other top coaches. He will propose changes to her contract to the schoolís board of trustees this month.
Hatchell is 16 wins shy of 800 for her career. She led the Tar Heels to the national championship in 1994. This yearís team went 33-3 and won the ACC tournament for the fourth straight season.
NCHSAA
CHAPEL HILL ó Students who lie about where they live to play on preferred prep sports teams will face tougher penalties under changes approved by North Carolina athletic officials.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the N.C. High School Athletic Association decided students found guilty of the offense will be suspended for a calendar year.
Before, violators sat out for the same number of games in which they illegally participated.
The groupís board also will clarify what it expects schools to do to double-check eligibility. Officials will also send schools a checklist of measures the board expects them to take.
HOCKEY
DENVER ó Johan Franzenís second hat trick in three games fueled Detroitís 8-2 rout of Colorado that completed a sweep of the injury-riddled Avalanche.
Franzenís nine goals in the series matched Coloradoís total, and his three goals in Game 4 made him the first player with two hat tricks in one series since Jari Kurri did it for Edmonton in 1985.
The Red Wings advance to the Western Conference finals against the winner of the Dallas-San Jose series which the Stars lead 3-1.
* NEW YORK ó Jaromir Jagr scored two goals and the New York Rangers staved off elimination with a 3-0 victory over Pittsburgh.
The Penguins lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal 3-1. They will try again to finish off the Rangers in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
* NEW YORK ó Rangers forward Sean Avery remained in an intensive care unit two days after his spleen was lacerated during a playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
The internal bleeding that has kept Avery in intensive care stopped Thursday. If that improvement continues, he could be moved out of the unit this morning, Rangers spokesman John Rosasco said.
COLLEGE HOOPS
INDIANAPOLIS ó Freshman center Eli Holman threw another potential wrench into Indianaís rebuilding project, telling coaches he intended to transfer before apparently throwing a tantrum in their office that required a call to the campus police.
The meeting, which coach Tom Crean described as cordial initially, certainly did not end that way.
iHis behavior took me, along with the other people in the office, by surprise,î Crean said in a statement released by the university. iWe saw him as a danger to himself and wanted to take precautionary measures to help him. We felt bad for Eli and, hopefully, were able to help him.î
* KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ó Former Tennessee guard Chris Lofton underwent treatment for testicular cancer after a failed drug test at the 2007 NCAA tournament revealed he potentially had a tumor.
Lofton revealed to ESPN.com in a story that he underwent surgery in March 2007 and had four weeks of radiation starting in May.
According to the ESPN report, Lofton was randomly picked during the 2007 NCAA tournament for a drug test, which revealed high levels of hCG, a hormone that serves as an indicator of pregnancy in women, steroid use or cancer.
* MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Coach John Calipari added another top recruit to his incoming class when 6-foot-8 guard Wesley Witherspoon announced his intention to play for the Tigers.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
NEW YORK ó Lou Holtzís first big break in his Hall of Fame career came when he got dumped by his girlfriend.
With no good reason to stay in Ohio, he left a job coaching high school football and became a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1960.
In the end, the scrappy, little coach with the lisp got the gig and the girl. Beth soon had a change of heart ,and she and Holtz have been married for 47 years.
iHad it not been for my wife, Iíd still been in high school,î Holtz said Thursday after a news conference to announce that he was one of 15 newly elected College Football Hall of Famers.
The other players chosen were UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman; LSU tailback Billy Cannon; Virginia offensive tackle Jim Dombrowski; Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald; Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall; Washington State running back Ruben Mayes; Arizona State guard Randall McDaniel; Syracuse quarterback Don McPherson; Wyoming tight end Jay Novacek; Texas Tech split end Dave Parks; Florida State nose guard Ron Simmons; Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas, and Army quarterback Arnold Tucker.
John Cooper is the other coach selected for induction.
* DOVER, Del. ó Delaware State has granted an extension to coach Al Lavan through the 2012 season.
* BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ó The Papajohns.com Bowl could feature a SEC team the next two seasons.
The NCAA approved recertification of the bowl, and the Dec. 29 game now has a tie-in with the hometown SEC. The 2-year-old bowl had matched teams from Conference USA and the Big East. Conference USA moves to a new bowl against the Big East in St. Petersburg, Fla.
NFL
SHERMAN, Texas ó A convicted steroids dealer was sentenced in federal court and told the judge that the drugs he sold ended up in the hands of NFL players.
David Jacobs, 35, was sentenced to three years probation and fined $25,000.
Jacobs said he sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of performance-enhancing drugs to former Dallas Cowboy Matt Lehr in 2006 and 2007. Lehr has also played for Tampa Bay and Atlanta.
* DENVER ó Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, his business manager Marty Garafalo confirmed.
The 25-year-old Cutler found out about two weeks ago that he was diabetic and needed daily insulin injections, Garafalo told The Associated Press. He said Cutler was managing his disease and iin no way is his football career jeopardized.î
GOLF
Michelle Wie was among 1,236 players who have entered the U.S. Womenís Open, the first time she will go through open qualifying for a major since she was in the eighth grade.
TENNIS
BARCELONA, Spain ó Rafael Nadal defeated Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals, posting his 100th win on clay in his last 101 matches.