Fanfare 12/4/02

Basketball

Dikembe Mutombo will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, sidelining the New Jersey Nets center for at least two months.

Mutombo tore the ligament Thursday night when he was hit on the wrist by Eric Piatkowski of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mutombo started the Nets' first 16 games, averaging 7.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.

College

Brooke Armistead of Austin Peay was named Tuesday as the Ohio Valley Conference's player of the week.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard shot 56 percent from the floor and averaged 19 points a game as Austin Peay beat Evansville and Ohio. She committed one turnover and had seven assists and three steals.

Southeast Missouri's Yashika Sidbury was named newcomer of the week as she averaged 18.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games. She had career-highs of 36 points and 14 rebounds in a double-overtime victory against Quinnipiac that included an OVC record 15-of-15 at the free throw line.

The rookie of the week was Lori Trumblee of Murray State, who averaged 22 points in two games.

A federal commission studying Title IX, the law that requires gender equity in high school and university sports, is wrapping up its work and plans to issue recommendations today.

The Commission on Opportunity in Athletics is trying to determine whether the 1972 law discriminates against men while expanding athletic opportunities for women. A lawsuit pending in federal court makes that argument.

Nebraska athletic director Bill Byrne announced Tuesday night that he will leave the university to take the same position at Texas A&M.

The announcement came during a news conference that punctuated an already tumultuous week at Nebraska follwing the firing of three assistant football coaches after the team fell to 7-6 on the season.

Byrne, 57, replaces Wally Groff with the Aggies.

Hockey

The last-place Calgary Flames fired head coach Greg Gilbert and assistant Brad McCrimmon on Tuesday, after losing 11 of 12 games and enduring one of the worst months in team history.

General manager Craig Button said assistant GM Al MacNeil will serve as interim coach.

Calgary is in last place in the Northwest Division at 6-13-3-3; only three NHL teams have fewer points.

The Flames went 3-9-1-1 in November and had lost four straight games heading into Tuesday night's game against the Colorado Avalanche.

Gilbert was in his second full season as coach. He took over the team in March 2001, when Don Hay was fired.

Florida Panthers left wing Peter Worrell received a 10-day jail sentence, one year of probation and a five-year suspension of his driver's license after pleading no contest to driving under the influence.

Judge Joel Lazarus issued the penalties Monday, ordering Worrell to report to jail on April 7, 2003, one day after the Panthers' regular-season finale, court officials said Tuesday. He also must pay a $500 fine.

Worrell was arrested June 16 and charged with DUI property damage, leaving the scene of an accident and criminal mischief. He also received traffic citations for failure to use due care, expired plates and no proof of insurance.

Track

Tim Montgomery knows all too well what the number 9.78 means.

"It changed everything," he said, referring to the 100-meter world record he set in September. "Everyone's looking at me now."

Montgomery and Marion Jones, his training partner and girlfriend, were honored Tuesday with the 2002 Jesse Owens Awards, presented annually to the outstanding U.S. male and female track and field athletes.

Jones and Michael Johnson are the only athletes to win the Jesse Owens Award three times. Jones also won in 1997 and 1998.

In 2002, Jones became the first U.S. athlete in seven years to complete an undefeated season. She was flawless with 16 wins in the 100 meters, four wins in the 200 meters and one at 400.

Not since Johnson went without a loss in 1995 had an American track athlete gone undefeated.

Montgomery captured track's glamour title on Sept. 14 when he took the 100 at the IAAF Grand Prix Final. His time broke Maurice Greene's previous world record of 9.79.

The awards will be presented Friday in Kansas City, Mo.