Twin 125 will shed light on Daytona field
The Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races today should shedsome light on who the favorites really should be for Sunday'sDaytona 500.
Dale Earnhardt, whose failure to win NASCAR's biggest event in15 tries eats away at his pride, is among the favorites, as always.
Ernie Irvan, the 1991 Daytona winner and now running for theteam for which Davey Allison won this race in 1992, is considered areal possibility.
Rookie Loy Allen Jr. beat all the favorites to win the pole forthe 36th Daytona 500, turning a lap of 190.158 mph to relegateEarnhardt's 190.034 to the outside of the front row.
Jacksonville paper says Jaguars will interview Holtz
Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, who was once fired as an NFL coach,will meet with the NFL expansion Jacksonville Jaguars to discussthe head coach's job, the Jacksonville Times-Union reported today.
Jaguars president David Seldin flew to White Plains, N.Y., onWednesday to meet with Holtz, the newspaper reported, citingunidentified team sources.
In 1976, Holtz was fired after 13 games as coach of the NewYork Jets, who struggled to a 3-10 record.
Meanwhile, former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs told thenewspaper he would like to meet with the Jaguars when his contractstatus is made clear.
Sutton takes early lead in Bob Hope Classic
Hal Sutton, again playing golf his way, shot a 9-under-par 63to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the 90-holeBob Hope Classic at Indian Wells, Calif.
'That's the best I've played in a long, long time -- probablythree years,' Sutton said after his bogey-free effort.
Sutton needed some help from Ronnie Black to gain thefirst-round lead in the $1.1 million tournament. Black went10-under through the first 15 holes at La Quinta, but made adouble-bogey after hooking his tee shot on the final hole anddropped back to second at 64.
Jay Delsing, Donnie Hammond and Clark Dennis, all at La Quinta,shot 65.
Baseball provides break from Winter Games
Forget the skiing and skating. On Wednesday, it was time tothink about sunshine and spring. Pitchers and catchers beganreporting across Florida and Arizona.
'No doubt, everyone is excited to be here,' White Soxoutfielder Michael Huff said as his team gathered in Sarasota, Fla.
Toronto, the first team to repeat as World Series championssince the 1977-78 New York Yankees, won't start working out untilTuesday, five days after the voluntary reporting date. Other clubswanting to catch them didn't waste time getting started.
Elsewhere, Hall of Famer Joe Morgan and Milwaukee Brewersbroadcaster Bob Uecker were hired by NBC as their analysts. Morgan,an ESPN analyst since 1990, will be paired with Dick Enberg andUecker will work with Bob Costas.
Ban on New York schools is rescinded by state group
A ban that would have kept New York City schools from competingin several high school athletic championships has been rescindedunder an agreement that creates new tournament set-ups.
The New York State Public High Athletic Association voted lastmonth to ban New York City athletes from its championships in fivesports. The association, which represents upstate and Long Islandschools, said it wanted to crown titlists from among its members.
Under the agreement between the four athletic associations,statewide competitions will be organized under the direction of theNew York State Federation of Secondary Schools AthleticAssociation. It is comprised of groups representing Catholic highschools, independent schools, upstate and Long Island publicschools and New York City's Public School Athletic League.
Gordiouk caps comeback by Amerks from 4-1 deficit
Todd Simon and Viktor Gordiouk scored in the final 3:45,capping Rochester's rally from a 4-1 deficit, to give the Americansa 5-4 victory over the Springfield Indians in an American HockeyLeague game at Rochester.
Simon converted Jason Young's pass to the goalmouth at 16:15 totie the score and Gordiouk scored the winner at 18:12 byredirecting Dean Melanson's shot from the right point.
Rochester goalie Markus Ketterer was pulled after giving upfour goals on 10 shots. Bill Horn stopped the eight shots he facedin relief to get the victory.
James Black, Doug Macdonald and Kelly Sorenson had the otherRochester goals.
Around and About
Doug Kent of Canandaigua and Ron Palombi Jr. of Erie, Pa., weretied at 2,820 pins after two rounds of the Professional BowlersAssociation Hall of Fame Championship. . . . Laing E. Kennedy,athletic director at Cornell since 1983, announced that he isresigning to explore other professional opportunities. TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL American League
CALIFORNIA--Agreed to terms with IF Ernest Riles on aminor-league contract.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX--Agreed to terms with P Terry Leach on aminor-league contract.
MINNESOTA--Agreed to terms with OF Alex Cole on a minor-leaguecontract.
NY YANKEES--Agreed to terms with IF Dave Silvestri on one-yearcontract.
TEXAS--Agreed to terms with P Kevin Brown on one-year contract. National League
MONTREAL--Agreed to terms with P Gil Heredia and OF GlennMurray on one-year contracts.
PHILADELPHIA--Named Dick Allen roving instructor.
SAN DIEGO--Agreed to terms with OF Phil Plantier on a two-yearcontract. BASKETBALL National Basketball Association CHICAGO--Placed F Toni Kukoc on the injured list. Activated C-FStacey King from the injured list.
DETROIT--Traded C Olden Polynice and F David Wood to Sacramentofor C Duane Causwell and second-round picks in the 1994, 1995 and1996 drafts.
PHOENIX--Activated F Charles Barkley and G Danny Ainge from theinjured list. Placed G Frank Johnson and F Jerrod Mustaf on theinjured list. FOOTBALL National Football League
NEW ORLEANS--Agreed to terms with LB Renaldo Turnbull on afive-year contract. HOCKEY National Hockey League
NHL--Suspended Tony Granato, Los Angeles LW, for 15 gameswithout pay and fined him $500 for slashing incident against D NeilWilkinson, Chicago, on Feb. 9.
WASHINGTON--Signed D Sergei Gonchar to two-year contract. ON AIR Television
OLYMPICS -- Men's Figure skating, hockey (U.S. vs. Canadareport), men's cross-country skiing, men's alpine skiing, 7 a.m.-9a.m.; men's figure skating, men's alpine skiing, women's speedskating, hockey, men's cross-country skiing, 8-11 p.m.; highlights,12:37 a.m.-1:37 a.m., Ch. 4. Men's alpine skiing, 6:30 a.m.-9 a.m.;Hockey (Canada vs. U.S.), men's figure skating, 1-5 p.m.;highlights, 8-11 p.m., Ch. 9. Hockey (U.S. vs. Canada), men'sfigure skating, men's and women's cross-country skiing, men'salpine skiing, women's speed skating, 1-6 p.m., TNT.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- Louisville at UNC-Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.,Empire; North Carolina at Clemson, 7:30 p.m., ESPN; Michigan Stateat Northwestern, 9:30 p.m., ESPN; UCLA at Arizona State, 10 p.m.,Empire, MSG; Stanford at California, midnight, ESPN.
NBA -- New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m., MSG;Atlanta Hawks at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m., TBS.
NHL -- Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.,ESPN2.
Radio
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL -- Lockport at Kenmore East(Niagara Frontier League final), 7:30 p.m., 1340.
AUTO RACING -- Gatorade Twin 125s, from Daytona, Fla., noon,1330.
