National Sports Digest

Published 12:00 am Saturday, January 31, 2009

Associated Press
From pink whistles to pink warm-up shirts, Kay Yow was honored at women’s college basketball games around the country Saturday, the day she was laid to rest.
Yow, the longtime North Carolina State coach, died last Saturday after battling breast cancer for more than two decades. Pink is commonly used by groups that try to raise awareness of the disease and raise funds to help search for a cure.
Kansas and No. 11 Texas A&M wore pink shirts before their game at College Station, Texas, and officials at the Rutgers-South Florida, Oklahoma-Missouri, and Cincinnati-Notre Dame games all used pink whistles.
GOLF
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. ó After erasing a four-stroke deficit in five holes, Kenny Perry wanted to be alone atop the FBR Open leaderboard.
All it took was a 33-foot putt on the 18th hole Saturday. When the putt dropped into the cup, it brought a roar from the massive TPC Scottsdale gallery and gave Perry a one-stroke lead over Scott Piercy through three rounds.
FOOTBALL
EL PASO, Texas ó Florida Atlantic’s Frantz Joseph returned an interception 26 yards and a fumble 32 yards to set up scores and the national team won the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star Game 27-24 on Saturday.
Buffalo’s Drew Willy threw a 5-yard third-quarter touchdown pass to East Carolina’s Davon Drew in the third quarter for the Nation.
VICK
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. ó A lawyer for Michael Vick told a federal bankruptcy judge that the imprisoned NFL star could be transferred to a halfway house in Virginia any day.
The judge also approved procedures to sell some of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback’s property.
BASEBALL
WASHINGTON ó The country’s leading doping lab is testing syringes and vials Roger Clemens’ former personal trainer gave federal investigators to determine whether the items contain traces of performance-enhancing drugs, a person close to the case told The Associated Press.
– NEW YORK ó Pitcher John Maine and the New York Mets avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a $2.6 million, one-year contract.
– PITTSBURGH ó Left-hander Paul Maholm avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a $14.5 million, three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also finalized a $1.5 million, one-year deal with free-agent utilityman Eric Hinske.