In brief

N.O. teams intend to calm fears

By wire services
Published October 27, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - The city's two major league sports teams are making moves to calm fears about their future in New Orleans, which they were forced to abandon due to Hurricane Katrina.

Saints owner Tom Benson published a full-page letter in area newspapers and also sent it to season-ticket holders on Wednesday, the same day Saints officials announced they would donate more than $500,000 to New Orleans-area charities.

A day earlier, Hornets owner George Shinn launched a community relations initiative that he said would start the process of returning his team to New Orleans.

The bold-faced introduction to Benson's letter read: "Tom Benson wants to return to New Orleans."

"After reviewing the reports about our team and the abundance of wide-sweeping negative media commentary and columns, I offer this: No decision has been made about the future of the team," the letter said. "We have continued to operate and represent the city and fans of New Orleans. When the time is right and the factors that are yet unresolved are resolved, a decision of the future of the team will be made."

Newberry College plans to stick with its Indians nickname even though the NCAA turned down the schools' request to be removed from a list of colleges whose American Indian mascots, logos and nicknames will be banned in postseason play starting next year. The playoff and tournament ban shouldn't affect Newberry, school president Mick Zais said, since the school has uniforms without "what the NCAA deems "offending' or "offensive' marks."

If asked by the International Olympic Committee - a move expected to come this week - American cyclist Erin Mirabella has decided to relinquish the bronze medal she was awarded in controversial fashion from the Athens Games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Maria Luisa Calle should be restored as the bronze medalist. She was disqualified after testing positive for a banned stimulant, but that result was found to be erroneous.

SKIER'S SPONSOR MIFFED, BUT SUPPORTIVE: Bode Miller's primary sponsor is unhappy about the American ski champion's comments that doping in sports should be liberalized, but will continue to back him. Italian pasta manufacturer Barilla said it would allow the overall World Cup champion to continue expressing himself.

Two weeks after it was widely reported, USA Basketball made Mike Krzyzewski coach of the U.S. national team at next year's World Championships and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The man who led Duke to three championships will be the first college coach to lead the national team since NBA players started playing in 1992.

VIRGINIA TECH: Sophomore Wynton Witherspoon broke a bone in his left foot in practice and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. Witherspoon, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound sophomore, had earned the starting small forward job, coach Seth Greenberg said. He will undergo surgery today.

TENNIS: Kveta Peschke pulled another surprise, ousting second-seeded Elena Dementieva to advance to the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies Open in Austria. ... Tim Henman lost to 18-year-old Andy Murray in the opening round of the Swiss Indoors at Basel.

BOXING: Hasim Rahman predicted Vitali Klitschko won't make it past the ninth round of their WBC heavyweight title fight Nov. 12, saying the 6-foot-8 champion, who is favored, will take an unprecedented beating before being forced to quit. Klitschko faces Rahman in 12-round bout in Las Vegas. It will be Rahman's most important fight since he lost the WBC and IBF heavyweight title to Lennox Lewis.

HORSES: Saint Liam was a 3-1 early favorite to win the $4.7-million Breeders' Cup Classic. ... America Alive rallied from last place to win the $58,200 Roseglade Purse by a head at Keeneland. America Alive finished in 1:36.45 and paid $3.60, $2.60 and $2.20.

[Last modified October 27, 2005, 01:28:19]