GM endorsement deal with Woods coming to end
golf
General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it is ending its nine-year endorsement deal with superstar Tiger Woods as the automaker continues to cut expenses and hoard cash while trying to survive the worst sales downturn in a quarter-century. The cash-strapped company said in a statement that it is looking to reduce costs, and that the world's No. 1 golfer also wants more personal time as he expects his second child. The endorsement deal, believed to be worth at least $7 million a year, was to end in 2009. Woods' agent at IMG, Mark Steinberg, said the decision to end the relationship one year early was "absolutely mutual."
Kansas State brings back Snyder, 69, as coach
col. football
Bill Snyder is back as coach at Kansas State. Three years after handing off a successful Wildcats program to Ron Prince, Snyder, 69, was hired to take charge of the program he transformed from college football's biggest losers to national championship contenders. Prince was fired this month but is completing the season. Snyder signed a five-year contract for a base salary of $250,000 and a total compensation of about $1.85 million annually, athletic director Bob Krause said. Prince, who replaced Snyder after the 2005 season, was 17-20.
Awards: : Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will get a chance to repeat as winner of the Maxwell Award, given to the sport's top player. Tebow was one of three finalists announced, along with QBs Graham Harrell of Texas Tech and Colt McCoy of Texas. The Maxwell and eight other awards will be presented Dec. 11 on ESPN.
Towson: : Wide receiver Marcus Lee and defensive back Drew Mack were named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association second team; quarterback Sean Schaefer and linebacker Jordan Manning were picked to the third team.
Eastern Michigan: : The school fired coach Jeff Genyk after five seasons and a 15-42 record.
Barrow, ex-UVa. player, MLL draftee, found dead
lacrosse
Will Barrow, a co-captain of Virginia's 2008 team that reached the national semifinals, was found dead in his off-campus apartment in Charlottesville. Barrow, 22, died Saturday, but the school did not release a cause of death yesterday. He was the 11th player selected in the Major League Lacrosse draft by the Chicago Machine, and he remained at Virginia to work on his degree. Barrow scored 40 goals his senior season during which the Cavaliers advanced to the final four. He also played a strong role for the 2006 Virginia squad that won the national title.
Terps' Vasquez named ACC Player of Week
et cetera
Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Week after averaging 27 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in wins over Youngstown State and Vermont. Vasquez hit a three-point shot to force overtime in Maryland's 89-74 win over Vermont on Friday, then helped spark the Terps (3-0) to a 17-2 run in overtime. He also tied his career high with 28 points against Youngstown State. DON MARKUS
NHL: : The Washington Capitals rallied from a four-goal deficit to pull within a score with under two minutes left, but the Minnesota Wild hung on for a 4-3 win. James Sheppard gave the Wild a 4-0 lead 7:17 into the third period, but goaltender Niklas Backstrom unraveled over the final six minutes, allowing goals to Matt Bradley, Alex Ovechkin and the other Nicklas Backstrom - with 1:44 left - that whittled the lead to one. Washington, which again played without forward Alexander Semin (back), defenseman Mike Green (shoulder) and center Sergei Fedorov (ankle), finished the five-game road trip 1-3-1.
Baseball: : Three charges against slugger Barry Bonds were dismissed in San Francisco by a federal judge who left intact most of the indictment alleging that he lied to a grand jury when he denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs. He is scheduled for a March 2 trial. He had faced 14 counts of making false declarations to a grand jury investigating steroid use in sports and one count of obstruction of justice. ... Nationals right-hander Tim Redding will have minor surgery on his left foot Friday and is expected to be recovered by the start of spring training.
Olympics: : The International Olympic Committee is ready to "take the necessary actions" after disgraced U.S. sprinter Tim Montgomery admitted he doped before the Sydney Games, where he won a relay gold medal. Montgomery said in an interview to be televised tonight on HBO that he took testosterone and human growth hormone before the Sydney Olympics in 2000, and that he doesn't deserve his gold in the 400-meter relay. Montgomery ran in the preliminaries but not the final.
Cross country: : Oregon's Galen Rupp overtook Liberty's Sam Chelanga to win the men's NCAA title in Terre Haute, Ind., and the Ducks grabbed their second consecutive championship. Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech won her third straight women's title, and top-ranked Washington captured the women's title.
Cycling: : Bernhard Kohl, an Austrian who placed third in this year's Tour de France, was banned for two years by the national anti-doping agency for using the blood booster CERA at the sport's premier event.
Skiing: : Out of the NFL, Jeremy Bloom is returning to the U.S. ski team to possibly revive his freestyle skiing career in time for the Vancouver Olympics.