Sports

Colleges

Emmitt Smith is among 84 on Hall of Fame ballot

By wire services
Published March 10, 2006

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MORRISTOWN, N.J. - Emmitt Smith, Bruce Smith and Ahmad Rashad will be eligible for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame for the first time.

The National Football Foundation announced Thursday the names of 77 players and seven coaches who will be on the Division I-A ballot.

Emmitt Smith played for Florida from 1987-89 before becoming the NFL's career rushing leader. Bruce Smith played defensive line for Virginia Tech before becoming the first overall NFL draft pick 1985.

Rashad was known as Bobby Moore when he played running back for Oregon from 1969-71.

Also appearing for the first time are quarterback Randall Cunningham from UNLV and Air Force defensive lineman Chad Henning.

Troy Aikman, who played quarterback for Oklahoma (1984-85) and UCLA (1987-88) and will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, also is on the ballot.

The Class of 2006 will be announced May 16 and inducted at the National Football Foundation's awards dinner in December.

To be eligible, players must have been a first-team All-American by one of the national selectors used by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams, last played college football 10 years ago, played within the last 50 years and be retired from professional football.

Coaches must have coached at least 10 years and 100 games, won at least 60 percent and be retired.

Baseball

TAMPA 19, NORTHERN KY. 3: The host Spartans (15-3) won their 13th straight.

In the third the Norse took a 1-0 lead when Tampa committed two errors and allowed two pass balls. UT scored four runs on three hits in the third. Orlando Rosales hit his fourth home run in two games to left.

In the fourth the Spartans batted around and scored nine, highlighted by Billy Wimberly's three-run home run.

MIAMI 9, MICH. STATE 4: Jon Jay hit a home run for the host Hurricanes (13-6) in Wednesday's late game.

With the score tied at 3, Miami surged ahead with a five-run sixth.

Miami's Eddy Rodriguez had two hits, two RBIs and two runs, and Dennis Raben had two hits, two runs and one RBI. Yonder Alonso had two hits and two runs, and Blake Tekotte and Gus Menendez each had two hits, one run and one RBI.

Andrew Lane was the winning pitcher.

Track and field

Florida State coach Bob Braman expects his team to contend at this week's NCAA Indoor championships in Arkansas.

At the same time, he's being realistic.

"You are here in Fayetteville," Braman said. "And 18 of the last 22 went to the Razorbacks."

Arkansas will try for its 19th men's indoor title - and 42nd overall track and field championship - when it hosts the competition today and Saturday. LSU's women will try for their 12th national title.

Arkansas outlasted Florida to win last year's title, but sprinting stars Wallace Spearmon, Tyson Gay and Omar Brown are gone.

Texas might have the best chance of dethroning Arkansas' men.

Florida State hopes to improve on last year's eighth-place finish.

"This is by far the best group we've ever had," Braman said.

Softball

USF SPLITS: The Bulls opened the Adidas Tournament in Clearwater by splitting games against Boston University and Georgia Tech. In Game 1, USF defeated BU 11-0 in five innings. Bree Spence (5-3) picked up her fifth win, pitching four shutout innings. In Game 2, Georgia Tech took an early 3-0 lead and held off several Bulls rallies for a 7-5 victory.

Tennis

TAMPA WINS AGAIN: Coming off a victory over Limestone, the Spartans men (2-7) won their second straight match 6-3 over host Pfeiffer. Tampa recorded four singles victories, including wins by Lindsay Pine, Claire Darling, Caitlin Scudder and Heather Eli in the three through six singles matches. The No. 2 doubles team of Eli and Pine and the No. 3 doubles team of Scudder and Katie McCabe also pulled out victories.

Volleyball

USF: Freshman Kate Verhoff, who was the Bulls' primary setter last season and led the team in aces, is changing schools and changing sports.

Verhoff, a first-team all-state basketball selection in Ohio as a high school senior, is transferring in the summer so she can play basketball.

"She just really missed playing the game," said her father, Charles, who said Verhoff is considering Kent State, Bowling Green and Indiana State, where her sister Jessica played and where another sister, Lisa, is a senior guard this season.

- GREG AUMAN, Times staff writer

Lafayette to award first scholarships

Lafayette College, which plays sports in the Patriot League, will award athletic scholarships for the first time this coming school year.

The men's and women's basketball teams will each have three scholarships for athletes entering school this fall, athletic director Bruce McCutcheon said. In 2007, women's field hockey and men's soccer will give scholarships, McCutcheon said.

The school in Easton, Pa., has 2,346 students, all undergraduates.

[Last modified March 10, 2006, 02:00:16]

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