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By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 2, 2001
A Florida football player failed a random drug test, the athletic department said Friday.
Florida officials declined to name the player, but the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday that All-America cornerback Lito Sheppard tested positive for marijuana and would be suspended for at least the Sept. 1 season opener against Marshall.
UF said it would not release the names of suspended players until August.
UF athletes are tested randomly up to four times a year, with first-time offenders required to miss one-tenth of the season, though they could sit out longer at the discretion of athletic department officials.
Sheppard shared the SEC lead with six interceptions last season and led the league with a 14.0-yard punt return average, including two touchdowns.
FAMU: Coach Billy Joe said he wants out of a scheduled 2002 game with Miami, which has drubbed the Division I-AA Rattlers by a combined 106-6 in their past two games. "A game like that doesn't help a Division I-AA program one bit," Joe said. Miami wants to keep the game.
DURHAM, N.C. -- UF completed eight holes before the third round of the NCAA Championships was suspended because of rain. It remained in second place.
Arizona led at 14-under-par 569, five strokes ahead of UF.
The round was to resume this morning. The fourth round was to start later in the morning, allowing the 15 teams and nine at-large golfers 30 to 60 minutes of rest between rounds at the Duke University Golf Club.
Arizona's Ricky Barnes remained in the individual lead at 11 under. Arizona's Chris Nallen and UF's Nick Gilliam were three behind. Nallen birdied five straight holes and seven of the front nine before play was halted.
KENTUCKY: Tayshaun Prince will withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his senior season, his mother, Diane, said.
EUGENE, Ore. -- A lean Kim Collins, running anchor for TCU, overcame burly Tennessee football player Leonard Scott and the Horned Frogs won the men's 400-meter relay at the NCAA outdoor championships Friday.
TCU was timed at 38.58 seconds, fastest by a college team this year.
The women's 400 relay also won on the anchor leg. LSU's Muna Lee whipped past Southern California's Kinshasa Davis to give the Tigers the win in 43.54. UF was fifth in 44.29.
Bayano Kimani led a 1-2 Baylor finish in the men's 400 hurdles, running 48.99. UF's Rickey Harris was seventh in 50.59.
Slovakian Olympian Brigita Langerholc of USC took command with 200 meters remaining and won the women's 800 in 2:01.61, the fastest collegiate time of the season. UF's Erin Merten was sixth in 2:06.68.
DESTIN -- Reaping the benefits of lucrative TV contracts and bowl games, the conference will distribute a record $78.1-million to its 12 schools this fiscal year.
Commissioner Roy Kramer made the announcement at the end of the annual SEC meetings. The total is a 6 percent increase over last year.
Also, school presidents took no action on the 2006-08 men's basketball tournaments. Tampa was the front-runner for 2006. SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said he expected those sites to be announced this summer.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.