Sports in brief

Staff and wire reports |

7/1/2008 - 7/2/08

Spanich chooses to leave NMSU

New Mexico State University sophomore Hannah Spanich has elected to leave the women's basketball program to be closer to home and closer to her family, the school said on Tuesday.

Aggies head coach Darin Spence said he was sorry to see Spanich go.

"We're disappointed she is leaving our program," he said. "She has meant a lot to our program and we wish her the best in the future."

Spanich, a 6-foot guard from Tulsa, Okla., spent two seasons with the Aggies where she averaged 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and had 39 blocks and 50 steals in 61 games.

Spanich led the Aggies back from a 19-point deficit in the second half of a semifinal of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in March. The sophomore scored
18 points in the game, with 17 coming in the final 20 minutes. NMSU won 72-66.

The Aggies will return three guards on scholarship from last year's team.

Longtime football coach Pont dies

OXFORD, Ohio — John Pont, who guided Indiana to its only Rose Bowl appearance 40 years ago and also coached at Northwestern, Yale and Miami of Ohio, died Tuesday. He was 80.

Officials at Miami said Pont died at his home and had been fighting cancer.

Pont coached the Hoosiers from 1965 to 1972. In 1967, Indiana was 9-2 and represented the Big Ten Conference in the Rose Bowl, where the Hoosiers lost to Southern California.

Pont spent 13 years at Miami as a player and coach.

NBA hires Army general to oversee referees

NEW YORK — The NBA hired Army Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Johnson as senior vice president of referee operations, a newly created position to help strengthen the league's officiating programs following the Tim Donaghy scandal.

The move splits executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson's role into two positions, a plan commissioner David Stern announced last fall. Johnson will oversee all aspects of officiating, while Jackson will continue to handle all other domestic and international basketball matters.

Johnson recently retired after 32 years of service as a combat engineer.

Bonds' home run ball lands in Hall

NEW YORK — Now branded with an asterisk, the ball Barry Bonds launched for his record 756th home run nearly a year ago landed in the Hall of Fame.

The souvenir arrived in Cooperstown, N.Y., after a strange day of back-and-forth statements between its owner, fashion designer Marc Ecko, and the shrine.

A driver walked up the front steps of the Hall, handing over the ball and a letter from Ecko saying it was an unconditional donation.

Bonds broke Hank Aaron's career homer record Aug. 7.

UCLA, Howland agree to deal

LOS ANGELES — UCLA head coach Ben Howland, who has guided the Bruins to the Final Four each of the past three years, agreed to a new seven-year contract with the university.

The deal, which adds one year onto the agreement he signed last October, runs through the 2014-15 season and includes a guaranteed $1.97 million for next season, rising to $2.3 million in the final year of the contract.

The incentive package from his previous agreement, a maximum of $235,000, is retained in the new contract.