In brief

Hayes, Ashford, Brooks on U.S. Olympic Fame list

By wire services
Published October 13, 2005

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Track stars Bob Hayes and Evelyn Ashford, 1980 hockey coach Herb Brooks and the 1984 U.S. men's gymnastics team highlight this year's class for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Gymnast Shannon Miller, figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, swimmer Rowdy Gaines and speedskater Jack Shea also were selected, as were paralympian Diana Golden-Brosnihan and NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol. Selections were announced during the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit, and induction will be Dec. 8 in Chicago.

Hayes, the only man to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring, was dubbed the "World's Fastest Human" after he won a pair of gold medals at the 1964 Olympics. He also was part of Dallas' Super Bowl win after the 1971 season. Hayes died of kidney failure in 2002.

Ashford won five Olympic medals, four of them gold.

Brooks, who died in a car accident in 2003, led a team of college players to the "Miracle on Ice" victory over the mighty Soviet machine in the 1980 semifinals and then to the gold medal.

Led by Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar and Mitch Gaylord, the 1984 men's gymnastics team won eight medals, including the United States' first gold in the team competition. Miller is the most decorated American gymnast with seven Olympic medals, two of them gold.

Gaines won three golds at the 1984 Games. Yamaguchi was the gold medalist at the Albertville Games and the world champion in 1991 and 1992.

Shea, patriarch of the United States' first three-generation Olympic family, won two golds at the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. He died in 2002.

BASKETBALL: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski was picked to coach the U.S. team for the 2006 world championships and 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Associated Press reported. Official word is supposed to come Oct. 29.

BASEBALL: Former major-league manager Davey Johnson will manage a U.S. team of minor-leaguers in a regional Olympic qualifying tournament Nov. 15-19 in Phoenix.

German authorities plan to check the validity of 22 national records held by athletes from the former East Germany because of suspicions many used banned drugs. Ines Geipel prompted the investigation by asking that her name be erased from a record-holding East German 400-meter relay team from 1984. Geipel, now a professor and author of a book on the subject, said the record is tainted because it has been shown since German unification in 1990 that the East used systematic doping to turn a country of 16-million into an Olympic power. A commission will examine documents and intends to nullify records where a strong link to doping can be established.

Top-ranked Maria Sharapova avoided losing her homeland pro debut when Anna-Lena Groenefeld retired with an ankle injury while controlling play Wednesday in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Groenefeld won the first set 6-1 and was leading 4-2 in the second when she had to quit. "I know that I did not win this match fairly," Sharapova said. "I do not like such victories." She has six career victories due to an opponent's retirement, but this was the first in which she was trailing. Earlier, two-time defending champion Anastasia Myskina and former winner Mary Pierce staged winning comebacks.

ELSEWHERE: Defending champion and top seed Thomas Johansson beat Vincent Spadea 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open. ... Top-seeded Nadia Petrova routed Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

BOXING: Former WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel was sentenced in Madison, Wis., to two years in prison in the 2002 sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He also was ordered to serve two years of probation and have no contact with minors after his release unless he gets the approval of his probation officer.

WEIGHTLIFTING: China's Li Liyin set a world record in the 152-pound snatch division with a lift of 275.5 pounds. She is the third female weightlifter to break a record this week at her country's national games.

HORSES: The Meadowlands Racetrack canceled Wednesday and Thursday night thoroughbred racing because of heavy rains.

[Last modified October 13, 2005, 01:11:19]