Basketball: Suspended Missouri women's players say they were helping a friend

Basketball

Missouri women were arrested: Two Missouri women's players suspended after an early morning fight said they were defending a female friend from her aggressive male roommate.

Columbia, Mo., police released further details Monday about the Friday fight that led to the arrests and suspensions of leading scorers Amanda Hanneman and Jessra Johnson.

The players told officers that after their home victory over Texas-Pan American, they celebrated at a bar and then an after-hours party at an apartment. They said things got ugly at about 2 a.m., when Missouri cheerleader Justin Short allegedly got into a fight with his female roommate.

According to police, Hanneman and Johnson said Short physically restrained his roommate before they intervened.

Johnson admitted pushing Short and Hanneman admitted "slapping and punching" the cheerleader, police said.

The unnamed female roommate gave investigators a similar account.

The teammates were arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault and could face criminal charges if Boone County prosecutors find enough evidence to move forward.

Police spokeswoman Jessie Haden said Short had a swollen nose and cuts near his left eye. A police report noted "dried blood on his face and shirt."

Missouri coach Cindy Stein suspended both players after the incident. On Sunday, the short-handed Tigers (7-2) beat Murray State 71-32.

Stein apologized after Sunday's game to the "community and our athletic administration and our whole Mizzou nation on the perception that these allegations have caused our fans, friends, everybody."

Short, a senior cheerleader for the Missouri football and men's basketball teams, has also been suspended from athletic activities, school spokesman Chad Moller said.

Gonzaga rises, Washington falls in polls: The Gonzaga men moved up six spots to No. 15 in the Associated Press media poll. The Zags are tied for 15th place in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, up from 22nd last week.

Gonzaga will play No. 7 Duke on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Meanwhile, the Washington Huskies — who lost to Georgetown 74-66 Saturday in Anaheim, Calif., dropped from 17th to No. 24 in the AP poll and fell from 16th to 21st in the coaches poll.

Kansas leads both polls, with Texas second.

WNBA

Gillom to coach Sparks: Jennifer Gillom, a Women's Basketball Hall of Famer who played for the Los Angeles Sparks, was named coach of the Sparks.

"This is definitely a dream job," the 45-year-old Gillom said. "I mean, what coach would not want to coach here?"

Gillom replaces Michael Cooper, a former NBA player who left to coach the USC women's team.

NHL

Canucks defeat a quality opponent: Ryan Kesler opened the scoring 64 seconds into the game and set up Mason Raymond's insurance goal with 5:12 remaining, leading the host Vancouver Canucks to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Los Angeles (21-11-3) is tied for first place in the Western Conference with San Jose with 45 points.

Sami Salo scored a power-play goal for the Canucks with 2:45 left in the first period.

Roberto Luongo made 24 saves for Vancouver (19-14-0), which has won the first three games of an eight-game homestand.

Alexander Frolov scored and Jonathan Quick made 25 saves as the Kings started a four-game trip with their first regulation loss in nine games (7-1-1).

Los Angeles went 0 for 5 on the power play.

Bobsled

Injury forces Hays to retire: Todd Hays, 40, was forced to retire after he was diagnosed with a serious head injury resulting from a crash last week in Germany.

Hays returned to the United States for treatment after the wreck Wednesday during training for a World Cup race. An MRI revealed blood in his brain; he was originally thought to have a concussion.

Hays, who is from Del Rio, Texas, was trying to make his fourth Olympic team and likely would have earned a roster spot for the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Olympics

Sources give AP a list of USOC's candidates for CEO: Two people familiar with the U.S. Olympic Committee's search for a chief executive officer say one of six candidates is Joe Moglia, the chairman of Ameritrade who recently took a volunteer position as a leadership consultant in the Nebraska athletic department. The sources gave The Associated Press a list of six candidates.

Other candidates are Sandy Alderson, former baseball executive; Norm Bellingham, USOC chief operating officer; Scott Blackmun, interim CEO of the USOC; Mark Lewis, Jet Set Sports president; and Chuck Wielgus, CEO of USA Swimming.

USOC officials said they plan to have the new CEO in place before the Vancouver Olympics start in February.

Beach volleyball

Walsh is pregnant: Kerri Walsh, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is pregnant for a second time.

Walsh, who is married to fellow pro player Casey Jennings, is due at the end of May and her agent predicted she could be back near the end of the 2010 season.

Seattle Times news services