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In brief
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 3, 2003
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida State defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, facing a felony grand theft charge, is not expected to accept a plea offer today made by the State Attorney's Office.
That does not necessarily mean the case will go to trial, however. Both sides still could agree to a deal, but the 21-year-old football player out of Burtonsville, Md., is not likely to plead to a felony. According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, Dockett is a first-time offender.
Tallahassee police say Dockett received $1,000 worth of sports apparel for about $100, a 90 percent discount. He was suspended for the Sugar Bowl last season once FSU learned of the investigation and was later charged. The third-degree felony has a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
Stacy Dragila cleared 15 feet, 81/4 inches at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Boston to break the world record she held until Svetlana Feofanova took it away 13 months ago. Dragila holds the outdoor mark at 15-91/4.
Former Florida and Hernando High standout John Capel ran 20.69 in the 200 to beat defending U.S. champion Shawn Crawford. The two share the American record of 20.26.
Ai Sugiyama put in more than a full day's work at the State Farm Women's Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and her reward was two titles. Sugiyama played four matches at the rain-delayed tournament, winning her semifinal match, then beating Kim Clijsters 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Sugiyama and Clijsters then turned around and won their doubles semifinal before beating Lindsay Davenport and Lisa Raymond. Sugiyama, a 27-year-old Japanese player ranked 25th, played 10 sets Sunday.
Former Bloomingdale High standout Travis Brown led a 12-hit barrage with three doubles as USF (8-4) ripped Central Michigan 13-2 in baseball at Red McEwen Field in Tampa.
MORE BASEBALL: FSU (14-1) defeated visiting Charleston Southern 10-7, completing a doubleheader sweep. ... Tampa (13-4) fell to Florida Tech 5-2.
SOFTBALL: USF completed a three-game series sweep against East Carolina with a 10-2 victory. The Bulls are 21-4 and 3-0 inC-USA. ... FSU beat visiting Pittsburgh 7-1, completing a sweep at the Seminole Challenge Tournament.
TENNIS: USF men defeated Tulane 4-2 in a rain-shortened C-USA match in Tampa.
Canada's Jeremy Wotherspoon broke the speed skating 500-meter outdoor world record and clinched his fifth World Cup title in Inzell, Germany. Wotherspoon finished in 35.20 seconds, beating the previous mark of 35.24.
SKIING: Brady Canfield beat teammate Chris Soule to win the men's national skeleton championships in Lake Placid, N.Y. ... Finland's Kalle Palander won his third World Cup title in the slalom in Yongpyong, South Korea. American Bode Miller was sixth.
Swiss sailing enthusiasts shed their reputation for reserve, celebrating wildly as Alinghi claimed the America's Cup. More than 500 crowded the Geneva Nautical Society in the early hours of the morning to watch the Swiss yacht complete a 5-0 sweep of two-time defending champion Team New Zealand, bringing sailing's biggest prize to Europe for the first time in the trophy's 152-year history. Alinghi's victory was greeted with deafening cheers, ringing of ship's bells and the spraying of champagne by club officials.
Sprint champion Ben Awhile defeated Solitary Cal in preparation for the upcoming $100,000 stakes beginning March 15 at Derby Lane. Greys Missileman also posted a long-distance win.
BOXING: Former IBF featherweight champion Johnny Tapia says he has successfully completed a drug rehabilitation program and wants to return to the ring.
MARATHON: Mark Yatich surged past Stephen Ndungu to win in Los Angeles by two seconds.
HORSES: Mineshaft gave trainer Neil Howard his second consecutive victory in the New Orleans Handicap with a 31/2-length victory over Olmavador in the $500,000 Grade II race.
OBITUARY: Former Bucknell football coach Tom Gadd, who took over a struggling program in 1994 and posted seven straight winning seasons, died Saturday of brain cancer in Lewisburg, Pa. He was 55.