Briefs | Ochoa, Abbott are honored by Women's Sports Foundation

Women's sports

Ochoa, Abbott are selected Sportswomen of the Year: LPGA Tour standout Lorena Ochoa and ex-Tennessee softball pitcher Monica Abbott were selected Sportswomen of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation.

They were honored Monday night in New York along with figure skater Michelle Kwan and the Rutgers women's basketball team at the Salute to Women in Sports.

Ochoa won her seventh tournament of the season Sunday and clinched her second consecutive LPGA Tour player-of-the-year award.

Abbott, chosen as top player in the team-sports category, had a 50-5 record with an earned-run average of 0.68 and 29 shutouts for the Vols.

Kwan, a five-time world champion, won the Billie Jean King contribution award for her visits to China and Russia as the first U.S. public-diplomacy envoy.

The Rutgers team received the Wilma Rudolph courage award. The team, the NCAA runner-up to Tennessee, withstood racist and sexist comments by radio host Don Imus and was praised for its conduct at a nationally televised news conference that addressed issues of race and gender.

The Women's Sports Foundation, founded by King, is marking its 33rd anniversary.

Tennis

Bookmaker contends there always will be a way to fix matches: With the sport in the midst of a gambling investigation, a British bookmaker said fixing matches can't be stopped.

"There is always a way," William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said. "There will never be a foolproof system."

The four major governing bodies of pro tennis — the ATP, WTA Tour, International Tennis Federation and Grand Slam Committee — are trying to come up with a unified set of regulations to keep corruption out of the sport.

U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic said Monday he never had been approached by gamblers, despite reports he was offered money to lose a match in Russia last year.

Last week, a document listing about 150 matches considered to be suspicious was given to the ATP and sent to other tennis officials.

College athletics

Knight Commission survey indicates many professors are ambivalent: A survey of more than 2,000 faculty members from 23 schools, prepared especially for the Knight Commission, highlighted one conclusion: "A striking number of professors say they don't know about and are disconnected from issues facing college sports."

Horse racing

Oprah Winfrey to spotlight filly Oprah Winney: Talk-show icon Oprah Winfrey will pay tribute to her namesake, 4-year-old filly Oprah Winney, on today's program.

Oprah Winney, trained by Richard Dutrow Jr., will compete in the inaugural $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Oct. 26 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Slew o' Gold is euthanized: Hall of Famer Slew o' Gold, who won two Eclipse Awards as a North American champion in the 1980s, was euthanized Sunday at Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky., because of infirmities of old age. He was 27.

Slew o' Gold, a son of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, was voted North America's champion 3-year-old male in 1983 and champion older male a year later.

Golf

Wie's agent resigns: Michelle Wie's agent, Greg Nared, resigned after less than a year on the job. Wie, 18, broke par in two LPGA Tour rounds this year.

Cycling

Pereiro gets yellow jersey: Oscar Pereiro of Spain finally got his hands on the winner's yellow jersey from the 2006 Tour de France. He officially moved up from second to first Sept. 21, after the disqualification of American Floyd Landis for a doping violation.

Doping

WADA code: The World Anti-Doping Agency has proposed increasing the suspension for a first doping offense from two years to four years if there are "aggravating circumstances." There will be a vote on the code next month.

College basketball

Coble takes leave: Northwestern forward Kevin Coble said he will take an indefinite leave from the team to be with his mother, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

Seattle Times news services