Unlimited hydroplane driver George Stratton died late Sunday from injuries sustained when his U-5 hydroplane flipped during a test run on San Diego's Mission Bay.

Stratton, 44, of Las Vegas, was coming out of the first corner of the course, the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association said in a statement.

No further details were available on his injuries.

Dave Villwock, driving Miss Budweiser, won the Bill Muncey Cup, the seventh and last race of the Unlimited Hydroplane Series.

GOLF: Tiger Woods stayed atop the world rankings for the 57th straight week. Woods, who didn't play in the Pennsylvania Classic over the weekend, leads Ernie Els by 17.59 points. Woods is the first golfer to win nine U.S. PGA Tour events in a year since Sam Snead in 1950. ... Phil Knight did not tell Nike shareholders whether he paid Woods $100-million for his latest endorsement contract. Knight did say Woods is "worth it." The chairman and co-founder of the athletic shoemaker, responding to written questions from the audience at the annual shareholder meeting, was asked whether the money could have been better spent. "No, it couldn't," Knight said. ... The American Express Championship will be Sept. 13-16 at the Bellerive Country Club in west St. Louis (Mo.) County. The tournament is part of the World Golf Championships, a series of events that features the best golfers from the PGA and five other major tours. The locations change each year, so the event is not a permanent stop in St. Louis, which has LPGA and Senior PGA events.

BASKETBALL: From 1966-69, the FBI investigated rumors that Wilt Chamberlain bet on basketball. A file contained two dozen documents, mostly full of rumor, but no evidence ever emerged that implicated the NBA Hall of Famer, who died in October. Sacramento named Elston Turner an assistant to Rick Adelman. Turner replaces New Jersey's new coach, Byron Scott. ... Minnesota traded guard Grace Daley to New York for the Liberty's 2001 first-round draft pick. Daley was Minnesota's first-round pick, fifth overall, in this year's WNBA draft. She averaged 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 30 games.

AWARDS: Pat Rummerfield, a quadriplegic who established the world land speed record for electric vehicles, will receive ESPN's Arete Award Oct. 20 in Chicago for displaying courage in sports while overcoming odds. Rummerfield was nearly killed in a highway accident in 1974 that injured his spinal cord. He set the mark of 251.322 mph last year.

JURISPRUDENCE: Russell Erxleben, the former Texas and NFL kicker, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for bilking investors out of $50-million. Erxleben, 43, pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy and securities fraud involving hundreds of investors in his Austin (Texas) Forex International, which traded in foreign currency. ... The former tutor in the Minnesota basketball academic scandal will be arraigned Monday on one count of felony fraud. Jan Gangelhoff, who admits she wrote more than 400 pieces of course work for as many as 20 players, could enter a plea at that time.

COLLEGES: Forward Sara Reading scored both goals as visiting Brigham Young defeated Florida 2-0 in soccer. Reading scored in the 49th and 69th minutes. ... Florida State middle hitter Norisha Campbell was named ACC Player of the Week in volleyball... The Florida men's golf team was tied for seventh, Florida State ninth, Central Florida tied for 10th and North Florida 12th after two rounds of the Tournament of Champions in Knoxville, Tenn. Virginia, at 563, led LSU by a stroke.... USF (7-3) dropped three matches at the Inntowner Invitational volleyball tournament in Madison, Wis., over the weekend. The Bulls lost to Rice 3-0, Wisconsin 3-0 and Dayton 3-1.

HORSE RACING: A filly by multimillionaire Siphon brought a top price of $190,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling sale. Bruce Headley bought the filly out of Miss Represented. Siphon earned $2,294,810 in North America after racing in his native Brazil.

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