OMAHA — Former football coach Tom Osborne is sticking around as Nebraska’s athletic director.
The 72-year-old Osborne had indicated he would step down when his contract expires in summer 2010. But the Big 12 university said Wednesday that Osborne has agreed to stay.
Osborne became athletic director in 2007 on an interim basis after Steve Pederson was fired. The interim tag was removed a few months later after Osborne hired football coach Bo Pelini.
Osborne was head coach for 25 years, winning national titles in 1994, 1995 and 1997. He was 255- 49-3, retiring after the 1997 season.
“I enjoy working with student- athletes, coaches and other athletic department personnel and hope that together we can serve the people of Nebraska and the university well,” Osborne said.
Griffith injured
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever forward Yolanda Griffith has suffered what might be a career-ending tear of her left Achilles tendon.
The Fever said the 39-year-old former all-star and Olympic gold medalist would miss the rest of the WNBA season, a day after she was injured in a game against Seattle.
Griffith said before training camp this would be her final pro season.
Griffith ranks No. 2 in WNBA history in rebounds and ranks in the league’s all-time top 10 in points, steals, blocked shots and free throws. She is expected to have surgery within the next week.
• Alana Beard scored 15 points, Crystal Langhorne added 14 and the Washington Mystics improved to 3-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 75-69 victory over the hosting Detroit Shock (1-2).
• Seimone Augustus scored 30 points, helping the Minnesota Lynx beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 87-76.
• The Phoenix Mercury (2-0) outscored the visiting New York Liberty (0-2) 48-40 in the second half in a 91-84 win.
Footnotes.
More than 500 doping tests, including targeted checks, will be conducted before and during the Tour de France, the head of the cycling union said Wednesday.
A group of 50 targeted riders, considered as race favorites or whose biological passport data have raised suspicion, will be under more scrutiny, International Cycling Union chief Pat McQuaid said.
“From the numbers of tests, in my opinion, it will be the most tested event in the history of sports,” McQuaid said. “It’s enormous.”
Last year’s Tour de France was marred by a string of doping charges. Six riders tested positive during the race or in retroactive checks.
• Southern Mississippi baseball coach Corky Palmer announced that shortstop Brian Dozier, who has been out since April because of a broken collarbone, would be added to the team’s roster for the College World Series in Omaha.
The Golden Eagles play their CWS opener Sunday against Big 12 champion Texas, the No. 1 seed.
• In MLS action, Stuart Holden scored in first-half stoppage time, and the Houston Dynamo (7-2-3) extended its winning streak to four games with a 1-0 victory over visiting Chivas USA (8-3-3).
The Associated Press
