Doug Williams to coach Grambling State again

College football

Williams was MVP of 1988 Super Bowl: Doug Williams is returning to Grambling State in Louisiana and will coach the Tigers — again.

Grambling spokeswoman Debra Johnson said Monday school officials are "in the process of making the announcement" Williams will coach the Tigers.

Former Grambling quarterback Williams, 55, was the most valuable player of the 1988 Super Bowl, leading Washington to a 42-10 rout of the Denver Broncos.

Williams, who succeeded the legendary Eddie Robinson, coached Grambling from 1998 to 2003. Williams had a 52-18 record and guided the Tigers to Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Williams was general manager of the United Football League's Virginia franchise last year. He replaces Rod Broadway, who left Grambling to coach North Carolina A&T.

Williams will coach his son D.J., a quarterback who signed with Grambling earlier this year.

Tuberville's raise annoys some Texas Tech faculty members: A $500,000-per-year raise recently awarded Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville through 2015 has angered some university faculty members, who have been asked to accept a pay freeze in 2011.

Tuberville's five-year, $11 million deal guarantees him at least $2 million per year, up from $1.5 million in the contract he signed in 2010.

"If that was me, I would have turned it down. I would have been embarrassed," Julian Spallholz, a professor and Tech faculty senator, said.

Podolak is struck by car: Former NFL running back Ed Podolak, 63, who has been part of the Iowa broadcast team for more than 25 years, was in a hospital after being struck by a vehicle while crossing a street Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Laura Podolak, one of his daughters, told the Hawkeyes' website her father's injuries "are serious, but nonlife threatening."

Tennis

Roddick withdraws from Florida event: Top-seeded Andy Roddick withdrew from this week's Delray Beach Tennis Championships in Florida because of flu-like symptoms.

The 28-year-old American won the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships title Sunday in Memphis, Tenn., but said he woke up "and felt like I got hit by a bus."

Philippoussis, 34, mulls comeback: Australian Mark Philippoussis is 34 years old and six knee surgeries into his pro career.

The retired Philippoussis, who has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world, said he is thinking about playing on the ATP Tour again.

Boxing

Lawmakers again seek pardon for former heavyweight champion Johnson: Lawmakers are going another round in their fight to get a posthumous presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the world's first black heavyweight champion. Johnson was imprisoned nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties to a white woman.

New York Rep. Peter King and Arizona Sen. John McCain, both Republicans, plan to reintroduce a congressional resolution urging a pardon for Johnson.

Soccer

Beckham supplies farewell fare: Before returning to Los Angeles, former England captain David Beckham treated Tottenham staff to a traditional English lunch of savory pie and mashed potato as his training stint with the team ended.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said Beckham, one of the world's most famous athletes, had the meals delivered to the team's training ground in London. Redknapp said "some of the foreign lads were not too sure what to make of pie and mash, so we had their portions."

Beckham, 35, was limited to training after being denied the chance to play for Tottenham by the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

Crew signs Gardner: Midfielder Josh Gardner, 28, who played for the Seattle Sounders of United Soccer Leagues in 2007 and 2008, signed a multiyear contract with the MLS Columbus Crew.

AC Milan player gets four-match ban: AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has been banned for four European club matches for head-butting Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordans at a UEFA Champions League game last week.

Skiing

Grugger is released from hospital: Austrian Hans Grugger, 29, has been released from a hospital, a month after undergoing brain surgery because of a near-fatal crash during downhill training in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Horse racing

Rachel Alexandra is bred to Curlin: Owner Jess Jackson bred 5-year-old mare Rachel Alexandra, North America's 2009 Horse of the Year, to 7-year-old Curlin, the continent's Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008, at Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Ky.

"Imagine what possibilities those two super horses might produce," Jackson said.

Obituary

Ex-streetball standout Jackson dies at 35: Troy "Escalade" Jackson, a former street-basketball standout who played college ball at Louisville, was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel room Sunday. He was 35.

An autopsy is pending.

Jackson was the younger brother of former NBA guard Mark Jackson.

Troy Jackson was listed at 6 feet 10 and 375 pounds while being part of the AND1 Mixtape tour in 2002.

Seattle Times news services