National Spirts Briefs
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Associated PressBATTLE CREEK, Mich. ó Move over Tony the Tiger, here comes Olympic champion Michael Phelps.
The record-setting swimmer will soon be appearing on boxes of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.
Kellogg Co. made the announcement Tuesday. The winner of eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics will be featured on Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes boxes expected to be in stores by mid-September.
Battle Creek-based Kellogg says the images of Phelps that will be used will highlight some of the most memorable moments of the games.
The 23-year-old Phelps is a Baltimore native who has lived and trained in Ann Arbor in recent years as part of the University of Michigan-linked Club Wolverine.
NASCAR
MOORESVILLE ó Travis Geisler replaced Chris Carrier as crew chief for rookie Sam Hornish Jr. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Tuesday.
Geisler, a 27-year-old mechanical engineering graduate from Vanderbilt, has been the race engineer for Ryan Newman’s No. 12 Dodge. He played a key part in that team’s Daytona 500 victory in February.
COLLEGE HOOPS
HILLSBOROUGH ó North Carolina basketball player Ty Lawson has pleaded guilty to underage drinking and driving.
The 20-year-old Lawson appeared in court Tuesday after completing community service and other terms of his plea agreement. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of violating a noise ordinance and driving with a suspended or revoked license.
Lawson said he had learned his lesson and promised it wouldn’t happen again.
– INDIANAPOLIS ó New Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean got the job security he wanted, signing a 10-year contract worth at least $23.6 million.
– NEW YORK ó Stephen Curry will lead Davidson against James Madison in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Wildcats are one of seven teams from last season’s NCAA tournament in the field of 16. Purdue and Oklahoma both reached the second round of the NCAA last season while Cornell, Arizona, Mississippi Valley State and Georgia all lost first-round games.
Curry, a junior. who averaged 25.9 points last season and is the nation’s leading returning scorer.
YAZ
BOSTON ó Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, the last player to hit for the Triple Crown, was resting comfortably Tuesday night after having triple bypass heart surgery.
Yastrzemski, who turns 69 on Friday, had the operation at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he underwent tests after experiencing chest pains in the morning.