SEATTLE - The National Amateur Athletic Union is taking steps toward conducting criminal background checks on its 65,000 coaches and volunteers after discovering some have committed crimes including murder, incest, delivering drugs and theft.
The AAU, one of the largest nonprofit, volunteer sports organizations in the country, currently doesn't conduct such checks nationally. The association recently completed a pilot program in Washington and Idaho after the Seattle Times found several AAU coaches had felony convictions.
The AAU and the paper recently checked the roster of 4,236 coaches and volunteers in both states and found 38 felons. Little League and the Boys & Girls Club of America conduct criminal background checks, but the AAU and hundreds of other athletic organizations do not, citing cost and difficulty in tracking convictions.
GOLF: Miller's talk peeves Parry
Craig Parry complained to the PGA Tour about TV analyst Johnny Miller describing the Australian's swing as enough to make Ben Hogan "puke."
Parry said his swing wasn't "pretty," but was effective enough to hole a 6-iron from 176 yards for eagle Sunday to win the Ford Championship at Doral on the first playoff hole against Scott Verplank.
"I've rung up the tour today and said, "Can we sort this out? Because there's no need for it,"' Parry said in an interview with Australia's Nine television network.
DALY WITHDRAWS: John Daly injured his hand by getting it caught in a car door and withdrew from this week's Honda Classic, his agent said. "It was a freak accident," said Bud Martin of SFX Sports, who did not say which hand Daly injured, only that it is not considered a serious injury.
COLLEGES: C-USA honors USF pitcher
South Florida senior Leigh Ann Ellis was named Conference USA softball player of the week for the second time this season. Ellis had four wins and one save in the Speedline tournament, which the Bulls won.
GOLF: Florida was fourth, USF tied for ninth and Central Florida 15th after two rounds at the women's Gator Invitational in Gainesville. Duke led Ohio State by 10 strokes. UF's Aimee Cho was seventh at 150, tops among state players.
BASEBALL: Host Eckerd defeated Division I Pennsylvania 4-3 after falling behind 3-0 in the second inning. In the seventh inning, Nick Byrd scored the tying run on a balk and Chris Rosende scored on a sacrifice fly to win for the Tritons.
IDITAROD: Four-time winner leads
Four-time winner Doug Swingley led the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after Day 2, with three-time winner Jeff King second and Anna Bondarenko third at the checkpoint in Rainy Pass, Alaska, 224 miles from Anchorage.
SAILING: '03 champ strong again
Defending champion Peter Bromby won the second race of the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta. Fredrik Loof and crew Anders Ekstrom finished third and held the overall lead. Bromby and crew Lee White were tied for seventh place overall, alongside Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan, who finished second in Monday's race off of Miami. The event continues through Friday on Biscayne Bay.
ET CETERA
SOCCER: Veterans Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Cindy Parlow were among 20 women chosen to the U.S. team for the Algarve Cup, which starts Sunday in Portugal. ... One man was killed and at least 27 people were hurt by an explosion at a stadium Sunday in San Salvador, El Salvador. The dead man apparently mishandled chemicals used to create smoke, authorities said.
TENNIS: Fifth-ranked Jennifer Capriati of Wesley Chapel has withdrawn from this week's Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif., with a recurring back problem.
HORSES: Leading British jockey Kieren Fallon was suspended for 21 days for failing to ride out a victory after leading a race by a big margin. The Irish jockey apparently eased up on his horse in the final eighth of a mile and lost by a head, squandering a 10-length lead.
