Briefs | Colleges: White exits Notre Dame to take Duke AD job

Colleges

White replaces Alleva at Duke: Kevin White was hired as Duke's athletic director Saturday, leaving Notre Dame for a school with an elite basketball team and a football team that has had 13 consecutive losing seasons and has not been to a bowl since 1994.

Notre Dame appointed Missy Conboy as its interim athletic director. The school said there is no timetable for a permanent replacement.

White, 57, will replace Joe Alleva, who was hired as Louisiana State's athletic director in April after a decade of leading the Blue Devils' 26 sports programs.

"Kevin White is in the first rank of athletics directors nationally and will make a perfect fit at Duke," said Richard Brodhead, university president.

White, previously Arizona State's AD, had been at Notre Dame since 2000. He hired football coaches Tyrone Willingham — who was hired as Washington's coach in December 2004 — and Charlie Weis, and hired former Duke assistant Mike Brey as men's basketball coach.

White helped Notre Dame plan a $26 million renovation of the basketball arena and expand the school's nonrevenue sports.

But White was a target for criticism from football fans. The Fighting Irish haven't won a national title since 1988 — the longest drought in school history.

LSU's Bertman is hospitalized: Skip Bertman, LSU's outgoing athletic director and former national-championship baseball coach, was hospitalized with what doctors believed were early signs of a heart attack.

A spokesman said Bertman, 70, was resting comfortably after doctors placed a stent in one of the main arteries carrying blood from the heart.

College baseball

Verdugo of Lake Stevens helps LSU extend winning streak to 22: Pitcher Ryan Verdugo, a former standout at Lake Stevens High School and Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, picked up the win as host Louisiana State pounded Southern Mississippi 13-4 to advance to the championship round of the Baton Rouge Regional.

LSU has won 22 in a row, tying a Southeastern Conference record for victories in a season set by South Carolina in 2000.

Verdugo (9-2) pitched five innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.

The 64 teams in the NCAA tournament compete in 16 double-elimination, four-team regionals.

Pac-10 update: Arizona beat host Michigan 4-3 to advance to the championship round of the Ann Arbor Regional. The Wildcats will face either Kentucky or Michigan today.

Arizona State routed Oklahoma 15-3 to reach the championship round of its Tempe Regional.

Host Stanford eliminated Arkansas with a 5-1 victory and will face UC Davis in a loser-out game today.

Host Long Beach State ousted California 9-2.

UCLA played host Cal State Fullerton in a late game.

Paralympics

Pistorius wins in the Netherlands: Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee from South Africa who uses carbon-fiber racing prosthetics, won the 200 meters in 22.04 seconds at the Dutch Open for Paralympic athletes in Emmeloord, Netherlands.

Pistorius, 21, is seeking to compete in the 400 meters in this year's Beijing Olympics.

To do so, he will have to lower his personal best from 46.34 seconds to 45.55, the Olympic qualifying standard.

"I must be grateful to be back on the track," he said. "I had a good time just running again."

Today he plans to compete in the 100 and 400.

Pistorius intends to compete against able-bodied athletes July 2 in Milan, Italy.

Mixed martial arts

Kimbo Slices up his opponent on CBS: Kimbo Slice of Miami had his hands full with James "The Colossus" Thompson, eventually winning by TKO over the Briton 38 seconds into the third round in Newark, N.J., as mixed martial arts made its Saturday-night debut on CBS.

"A very tough opponent," Slice said.

Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, improved to 3-0. His first two fights lasted a total of 62 seconds.

Modern pentathlon

Caze triumphs again: Amelie Caze of France successfully defended her title at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Egypt's Aya Medany was second in the competition that combines shooting, fencing, swimming, equestrian and running.

Seattle Times news services