Briefs | College football: Rick Neuheisel welcomes Tim Hundley to UCLA staff

College football

Hundley was defensive coordinator when Neuheisel coached at Washington: Tim Hundley is working for Rick Neuheisel again.

Hundley, 57, will be part of second-year coach Neuheisel's staff at UCLA. Hundley and Carnell Lake will coach the Bruins' secondary this year.

Hundley was assistant head coach for the defense at Southern Methodist last season.

Hundley served as either defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator at Washington from 1999 through 2003; Neuheisel was the Huskies' coach for the first four of those seasons.

Hundley was a UCLA assistant from 1990 to 1995 before leaving to coach defensive tackles on Neuheisel's staff at Colorado from 1996 to 1998.

"Tim is an outstanding coach," Neuheisel said Monday. "Having been a coordinator for much of his career, he is well-versed in all areas of defense. He has also spent 19 years as an assistant at Pac-10 schools and is an aggressive, successful recruiter. He is a great fit for our defensive staff."

Coker is among finalists to run new program: Former Miami coach Larry Coker is among three finalists to become the first coach of the Texas-San Antonio program, which is expected to begin play in 2011.

Paul Randolph, Tulsa associate coach and co-defensive coordinator, and Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Missouri State coach, are the other finalists. Coker, 60-15 in six seasons at Miami, was fired after a 6-6 season in 2006; he guided the Hurricanes to the 2001 national championship.

NHL

Rangers have won twice in their last 12 games: Tom Renney was fired as coach of the New York Rangers and replaced by John Tortorella in an attempt to save a season that seemingly has spiraled out of control.

The Rangers opened 10-2-1, but have won twice in their last 12 games. They are sixth in the Eastern Conference; the top eight teams in each conference advance to the playoffs.

Renney, 53, was 164-121-42 for the Rangers in four-plus seasons. At recent home games, fans chanted for Renney's dismissal.

Tortorella, 50, coached Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup but was let go after last season.

Tennis

Murray advances in Dubai event that is missing some top players: Andy Murray of Britain got off to a winning start at the Dubai Tennis Championships, a tournament missing many top players who are either boycotting or injured.

American Andy Roddick withdrew to protest a decision not to grant Israeli player Shahar Peer a visa to compete last week in the Dubai women's tournament. Rafael Nadal of Spain and Roger Federer of Switzerland, the top two players in the world, pulled out with injuries.

Murray advanced when Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine retired while trailing 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 5-3.

Auto racing

McLaren-Ferrari spy scandal closes: Italian authorities have closed all legal action against McLaren for its part in a spy scandal with Ferrari, McLaren officials said.

Charges against ex-McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan and three senior engineers were dropped; the British team did not say whether it would pay the $192,000 each of the three engineers was fined. Coughlan was fined $230,000.

McLaren was fined a record $100 million by governing body FIA in 2007 and kicked out of the manufacturers' championship after Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney leaked a 780-page technical dossier on the Italian team's cars to Coughlan.

Olympics

Some athletes cite privacy in opposing drug-test rules: After years of trying to fight steroids and drug cheats, the World Anti-Doping Agency is facing a new issue — the right to privacy.

WADA president John Fahey begins a European tour today and will face questions about the agency's revamped "whereabouts" rule for out-of-competition testing. The agency is confronting increasing complaints about a system that requires athletes to give three months' notice of their location for one hour each day — seven days a week, between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Track and field

Pistorius reportedly is recovering: Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius of South Africa is expected to be moved from intensive care within a few days and might be able to return home soon afterward as he responds to treatment for head and facial injuries suffered in a boating accident Saturday near Johannesburg.

The sprinter's manager, Peet van Zyl, said Pistorius wants to compete in the 100- and 400-meter races at the Paralympic World Championships in Manchester, England, in May.

College athletics

Northern Iowa to eliminate baseball: Northern Iowa plans to eliminate its baseball program after this season, a cost-cutting measure officials said will save the school about $400,000.

WNBA

Sparks, Milton-Jones agree on deal: The Los Angeles Sparks and All-Star forward DeLisha Milton-Jones, 34, agreed on a three-year contract.

Jurisprudence

Youth coach in Oregon is arrested: A youth basketball coach has been arrested in Clackamas County, Oregon, on charges of sodomy, sex abuse and unlawful sexual penetration involving a 17-year-old. The Oregonian reported Howard Avery, 51, is to appear in court Friday.

A prosecutor said Avery coached the victim in group and one-on-one settings, and the charges stem from an alleged encounter in August.

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