Sports digest 11/15/01

Lisa Millham signs with Central Missouri State

Notre Dame senior guard Lisa Millham signed a letter of intent Wednesday -- the first day of the early signing period -- to play basketball at Central Missouri State University, an NCAA Division II school in Warrensburg, Mo.

Millham averaged 14.6 points per game last year in helping the Lady Bulldogs take second in the Class 2A state tournament. She shot an impressive 43 percent from 3-point range.

"I'm really happy for her," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said. "She was wanting to go somewhere where she can play and I think she can step right in there and play."

Millham is Notre Dame's all-time 3-point leader with one more season left to play. She has hit 88 of her 206 career 3-point attempts.

Jackson football tickets on sale

Tickets for Jackson High School's Class 5A semifinal football game against visiting Hazelwood East Saturday can be purchased in advance at SEMO Specialties & Sports and Bank of Missouri, both in Jackson, along with the senior high, junior high and middle schools in Jackson.

Admission is $5 per person, with children 6 and under admitted free. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. for the 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

McGwire's retirement boosts ratings

NEW YORK -- ESPN's scoop on Mark McGwire's retirement helped "SportsCenter" draw its largest audience of the year.

The highlights show drew a 3.1 cable rating Sunday night, reaching about 2.7 million TV homes -- and more than 3 1/2 times the program's average viewership in 2001.

ESPN was first with the news that McGwire was quitting after a 16-year career that saw him set a record with 70 home runs in 1998 and 583 overall, fifth on the career list.

"SportsCenter" started that night at 11:37 p.m. EST, after the network's broadcast of the NFL game between Seattle and Oakland -- a broadcast filled with promos promising a big baseball story.

While the rating for "SportsCenter" dropped sharply from the 6.7 rating for the football game, it was still 141 percent higher than the show's average rating Sundays at 11 p.m., and 36 percent higher than that figure since the NFL season started.

ESPN is available to 85.3 million homes.

Duke, Krzyzewski agree to contract

DURHAM, N.C. -- Mike Krzyzewski has agreed to a new contract that will keep him at Duke for the rest of his coaching career.

Atheltic director Joe Alleva said in a news release Wednesday that Krzyzewski's deal extends through at least 2011. The release did not indicate what Krzyzewski would do after that.

Alleva's statement said the deal covered "the rest of his (Krzyzewski's) coaching career."

University officials and Krzyzewski would not discuss details of the deal, but the coach said he feels "well-compensated."

Missouri signs Vashon's McKinney

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Guard Jimmy McKinney of Vashon High School in St. Louis, one of the top prep prospects in the country, on Wednesday signed a national letter of intent to attend Missouri.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound McKinney averaged 23.4 points, four assists and four rebounds last season for Vashon, which has won consecutive Class 4A state championships. He is a preseason candidate for the McDonald's All-American Game.

--From staff, wire reports