Men's Volleyball

Cougars voted ninth in preseason poll

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The BYU men's volleyball team has been voted ninth in the Bison/AVCA Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll released Tuesday.

The Cougars, who finished the 2008 season with a 25-5 overall record, return five starters this year. Combined with seven newcomers, BYU is coming off a successful preseason--most recently winning the BYU Tournament after wins over UC Irvine, Utah Valley University and Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The Cougars also posted wins against USC and Hawaii earlier in November.

One year removed from a 30-1 record, Penn State University debuts the 2009 season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The defending NCAA Champion, Penn State landed 14 first-place votes in the poll and brings a wealth of experience back to the court in 2009. UCLA, ending 2008 as the nation's No. 6 squad, is the preseason poll's No. 2, securing one first-place nod after a 17-14 record last season. Pepperdine, which finished the year at No. 2 with a 17-11 overall record and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships, is third in the inaugural poll of 2009, nabbing one-first place vote.

The Cougars' 2009 season begins Jan. 9 when they face Stanford in the opening round of the UC Santa Barbara E-Bar Tournament. BYU will then return to Provo for its home opener on Thursday, Jan. 15 against Cal Baptist at 7 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse.

College Football

Long, Borges hired as coordinators

SAN DIEGO -- Rocky Long, the former coach at New Mexico, was hired as defensive coordinator by San Diego State on Wednesday.

Long resigned at New Mexico on Nov. 17 after 11 seasons as the Lobos' head coach.

New Aztecs coach Brady Hoke also hired Al Borges as offensive coordinator. Borges most recently helped lead Auburn to a 42-9 record and four bowl game appearances from 2004-07.

The last time Long and Borges were coordinators on the same staff was at UCLA in 1997, when the Bruins went 10-2, won the Pac-10, advanced to the Cotton Bowl and finished fifth in the final AP poll.

Golf

Daly suspended 6 months by PGA Tour

John Daly smashed one tee shot off the top of a beer can during a pro-am. At another tournament, he returned from a rain delay with Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden as his caddie. And his most memorable photo this year came in an orange jail suit, eyes half-closed. Daly said Wednesday that such unwelcome publicity is why the PGA Tour suspended him for six months. T

he two-time major champion confirmed his suspension to The Associated Press, calling this the low point of an 18-year career during which he has made as much news off the course as he has with his prodigious game.

"Is it fair that I got suspended?" he said. "It's not fair in reality, but it's probably fair in perception."

Daly said he wanted to go public to let fans and tournaments know that he wasn't abandoning them by taking his game to the European tour. At least until the spring, he simply didn't have much of a choice.

"I'm not sure this is the smartest thing to do, but I'd rather be honest, especially with the fans," he said. "It's hard for me not to play on the West Coast. I love it out there."

PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw declined comment, even after seeing Daly's remarks, citing the tour's longtime policy of not discussing fines or suspensions.

This is the second time the tour has suspended Daly, along with at least two other times when he agreed to sit out the final few months of a season to get his life in order.

NBA-DL

Explosive first half leads Flash to win

TULSA, Okla. -- Boston Celtics assignee Bill Walker scored 27 points Tuesday night and the Utah Flash capitalized on a hot-shooting first half to snap a two-game skid with a 98-82 victory over the Tulsa 66ers at Spiritbank Event Center. Fellow Celtics assignee J.R. Giddens scored 14 points for the Flash, who shot 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the field as they raced to a 61-36 halftime advantage.

"One of our focuses was having some mental and physical energy to start the game," Flash coach Brad Jones said. "Our guys were really tuned in to our game plan, and we got to play from ahead the whole game."

Walker scored 11 points in the first quarter, including a jumper to cap an 11-0 run that ended the first period and gave Utah a 31-16 lead.

The Flash led by as many as 28 points and the 66ers got no closer than the final margin.

Bennet Davis scored a career-high 10 points and Dontell Jefferson also added 10 for Utah (6-7).

Utah faces Austin on Friday.

NBA

DirecTV drops KJZZ, Jazz games

SALT LAKE CITY -- A retransmission agreement between DIRECTV, a national satellite TV provider, and KJZZ-TV, a local independent TV station that carries the Jazz basketball games, local sports and syndicated programming, will be suspended at midnight tonight. Viewers who want to see the Utah Jazz games carried on DIRECTV again should contact DIRECTV at 1-800-531-5000.

According to Chris Baum, General Manager of KJZZ-TV, "DIRECTV has denied KJZZ TV a retransmission consent agreement. They have deemed that the 16 premiere Jazz games produced in High Definition and aired by KJZZ are of no value to their customers. Although DIRECTV profits from KJZZ programming by way of monthly satellite fees to their subscribers, it has never paid for programming created or provided by KJZZ. We have established fair and reasonable agreements with the other satellite providers as well as many local cable companies. We are shocked by their decision."

• Barkley arrested on suspicion of DUI: At Scottsdale, Ariz., Charles Barkley was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early Wednesday. An officer with a task force that targets drunken driving saw the former NBA star run a stop sign about 1:30 a.m., Gilbert police Lt. Eric Shuhandler said. Barkley was in Scottsdale's Old Town area, a trendy spot in the Phoenix area.

"I am disappointed that I put myself in that situation," Barkley said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The Scottsdale police were fantastic. I will not comment any further as it is a legal matter."

The 45-year-old Barkley, now an NBA television commentator, failed field sobriety tests after the officer smelled alcohol on him, and he was arrested. Barkley declined to submit to a breath test but was given a blood test. The results weren't immediately available.

Barkley was cited and released. His car was impounded and he left in a cab, Shuhandler said. Police described Barkley as cooperative, adding it is customary to release people after an arrest on suspicion of DUI.

College Athletics

Iowa State athletic officials to take furloughs

AMES, Iowa -- Four top-paid members of Iowa State's athletic department are taking one-week furloughs to save more than $50,000 and help offset state budget cuts.

Athletic director Jamie Pollard, basketball coaches Greg McDermott and Bill Fennelly and newly appointed football coach Paul Rhoads volunteered to work a week without pay.

According to a news release Wednesday, the officials want to help the university save money after Gov. Chet Culver ordered midyear budget reductions. The move comes as the state is withdrawing $7 million in appropriations.