COLLEGE FOOTBALL
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Reserve linebacker Tyler Crane is no longer a member of the Missouri football team.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Tuesday the junior from Allen, Texas, was dismissed for disciplinary reasons. A team spokesman said Crane was not in legal trouble but declined to elaborate on the reasons for his departure.
Crane was a backup and special teams player in his two seasons with the Tigers, making six tackles in 22 games. He appeared in 11 games at defensive end as a true freshman in 2007 but sat out the 2008 season after switching to linebacker. Last year he played in 11 games, mostly on special teams.
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama coach Nick Saban told ESPN.com that university compliance officials are trying to determine if defensive end Marcell Dareus violated NCAA rules by attending an agent's party in Florida.
NCAA investigators have reportedly interviewed North Carolina players and South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders regarding the same party in Miami's South Beach.
The ESPN report said the NCAA is trying to determine who paid for the trip. An Alabama spokesman said the school had no immediate comment.
Dareus emerged as a rising star after winning defensive MVP honors in the BCS championship game win over Texas.
Saban, a former Miami Dolphins coach, told ESPN.com it might be time to ban NFL teams from college campuses to get the league to crack down on rule-breaking agents and "take schools off the hook."
"What the NFL Players Association and the NFL need to do is if any agent breaks a rule and causes ineligibility for a player, they should suspend his [agent's] license for a year or two," Saban said. "I'm about ready for college football to say, 'Let's just throw the NFL out. Don't let them evaluate players. Don't let them talk to players. Let them do it at the combine.' If they are not going to help us, why should we help them?"
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive told The Associated Press this week that he wants the NCAA "to re-examine some of the NCAA rules that relate to agents."
The league brought in consultant Joe Mendes, a former NFL executive, earlier this year to meet with every team. Alabama was among those who hired him to, Slive said, "help provide the kind of information and knowledge that our student-athletes need to make good decisions about their future."
Florida is also reportedly investigating allegations that a sports agent's representative paid then-Gators' offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncey $100,000 before last season ended.
NFL
TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed second-round draft pick Brian Cox to a four-year contract.
The team announced the deal with the defensive tackle from UCLA on Tuesday.
Price, taken 35th overall, is glad the contract is done so he can "concentrate on having a great training camp." He was the Pac-10 defensive player of the year in 2009.
Tampa Bay looked to overhaul its defensive line in the 2010 draft. The Buccaneers used their first-round selection, third overall, to take Oklahoma tackle Gerald McCoy.
McCoy has not yet signed.
Also, Tampa Bay released guard Lee Grimes, a former Texas A&M standout who was signed as an undrafted free agent in May.
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IRVING -- The Dallas Cowboys have signed offensive tackle Sam Young and defensive end Sean Lissemore to four-year contracts.
The Cowboys still have four of their April draft picks unsigned after Tuesday's deals with the sixth- and seventh-round picks. The unsigned picks are first-rounder Dez Bryant, linebacker Sean Lee, safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and cornerback Jamar Wall.
Contract negotiations between the Cowboys and Bryant, the receiver drafted 24th overall, began Monday.
Dallas on Tuesday also released undrafted rookie free agent nose tackle Junior Aumavae and linebacker Donovan Woods, who signed to the team's practice squad last November.
Training camp starts Saturday in San Antonio.
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NEW YORK -- Joe Namath and Curtis Martin are among six Jets greats in the first class of the team's Ring of Honor at its new stadium.
Weeb Ewbank, Winston Hill, Joe Klecko and Don Maynard will also be enshrined Aug. 16 at halftime of the first game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, the preseason opener between the Jets and Giants.
When Namath made his guarantee that the Jets would beat the Colts in the third Super Bowl, Ewbank was his coach, Hill his left tackle and Maynard his top receiver.
Klecko was a dominant defensive lineman in the early 1980s, and Martin won the league rushing title in 2004.
SOFTBALL
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch plans to retire next month and bring an end to a 10-year career in which she helped the sport blossom in the United States.
The dominating pitcher announced Tuesday that she will play her final games with the U.S. national team this week at the World Cup of Softball in Oklahoma City. She'll then finish the rest of the National Pro Fastpitch season with the Chicago Bandits before calling it quits at the age of 29 to focus on her family.
The 6-foot-2 Finch was a standout at Arizona before becoming an icon with the U.S. team, going 32-0 her junior year and putting together 60 consecutive wins -- both NCAA records. She won gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and silver four years later in Beijing.
SOCCER
LONDON -- Fans hoping to bring the distinctive drone of the vuvuzela back to England from the World Cup face disappointment after several Premier League clubs banned the trumpets from their stadiums.
Although the Premier League has not made any ruling on the vuvuzela covering its 20 teams, Tottenham banned the South African instrument late Monday.
Arsenal, Birmingham, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, West Ham and Sunderland followed Tuesday, with most citing concern that the distinctive blaring of the vuvuzelas could prevent spectators at matches from hearing safety announcements such as evacuation instructions.
"Following discussions with the police and representatives from the local licensing authorities, the club will not be permitting vuvuzelas or similar instruments into White Hart Lane on match days," Tottenham said. "We are concerned that the presence of the instruments within the stadium pose unnecessary risks to public safety."
Vuvuzelas at the recently concluded World Cup annoyed plenty of television viewers around the world by drowning out television commentary and other crowd noise.
But many enjoyed the local flavor they added to the monthlong tournament. The trumpets were a common souvenir for visiting supporters to take home from the World Cup, but with Arsenal following its north London neighbor in imposing a ban, half of last season's top four clubs have ordered fans to leave them at home.
GOLF
ADA, Mich. -- Curtis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., birdied his final hole Tuesday to win medalist honors by one stroke at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
The 17-year-old Thompson, whose younger sister Alexis won the 2008 U.S. Girls Junior Championship, shot a 6-under 66 at Egypt Valley Country Club to finish the two rounds of qualifying at 10 under.
Thompson, who has committed to LSU, edged defending champion Jordan Spieth of Dallas and Gavin Hall of Pittsford, N.Y., by one stroke.
Hall, 15, did not break par in Monday's opening round but Tuesday he fired a tournament record 10-under 62. The previous record was set by Joe Monte, who shot 64 in 2004 at Longmeadow (Mass.) Country Club.
With the field of 156 cut to 64, match play begins Wednesday with Thompson as the top seed.
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PINEHURST, N.C. -- Danielle Kang of Thousand Oaks, Calif., shot a 74 and earned medalist honors for the U.S. Girls Junior Championship on Tuesday at The Country Club of North Carolina.
Kang finished two rounds of stroke play 3-under 141. She'll be the top seed when match play for the top 64 qualifiers begins Wednesday.
Ginger Howard of Bradenton, Fla., shot even par in the second round to stay at 2 under and hold second place. Megan Khang, a 12-year-old from Rockland, Mass., was the only other golfer under par in stroke play as finished at 1 under.
Gyeol Park of Korea shot Tuesday's best round at 3 under and moved to fourth place overall at even par. She was 3 under on the back side, closing with an eagle on the par-5 18th.
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NEW YORK -- Little drama and a little-known champion sent the British Open's television ratings plummeting to a record low.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen led over the last 48 holes and won by seven shots, his victory almost never in doubt during the final round. ESPN said Sunday's coverage drew a 2.1 rating, down 45 percent from last year's 3.8. The previous low was a 3.1 in 1996, according to Nielsen, when Tom Lehman went into the final round with a six-shot lead.
Average ratings for the first three rounds were up from 2009, increasing from 1.3 to 1.4.
This was the first year the tournament was broadcast entirely on cable. The coverage previously was split between TNT and ABC.
Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program.
TENNIS
PORTOROZ, Slovenia -- Top-seeded Jelena Jankovic beat Bojana Jovanovski 6-3, 6-3 Tuesday in an all-Serbian match in the first round at the Slovenia Open.
Jankovic will face Belarus qualifier Anastasiya Yakimova, who rallied to defeat Masa Zec Peskaric of Slovenia 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Stefanie Voegele upset second-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-2. The Swiss next plays Tamira Paszek of Austria, who won the tournament on her only previous appearance here in 2006 but is a wild card this year.
Eighth-seeded Sofia Arvidsson was also beaten in an upset, losing 7-6 (1), 6-2 to Johanna Larsson in an all-Swedish match. While Ksenia Pervak of Russia knocked out fifth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 6-3.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, Sara Errani of Italy and Polona Hercog of Slovenia all advanced to the second round.
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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. -- Kevin Anderson of South Africa beat No. 5 seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships on Tuesday night.
No. 7 seed Xavier Malisse of Belgium advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over Ryan Sweeting. The last time the Atlanta Athletic Club hosted an event, in 2001, Malisse advanced to the final before losing to Andy Roddick.
Americans Taylor Dent, Donald Young and Robby Ginepri also won, while Gilles Muller of Luxembourg will face No. 2 seed John Isner in the second round Wednesday after beating Michal Przysiezny of Poland 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4).
Ginepri, who beat Nick Lindahl of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-2, will face No. 6 seed Mardy Fish in the second round.
Dent overcame 13 double-faults to beat James Blake 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. He plays No. 4 seed Horacio Zeballos of Argentina on Wednesday.
Young, who will play Anderson, beat Dudi Sela of Israel 7-5, 6-0.
Second-round matches on Thursday include Roddick, the No. 1 seed, facing Rajeev Ram, No. 3 seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia playing Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, and Malisse against Illya Marchenko of Ukraine.
Lacko Lacko beat Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico coach Steve Alford said he had opportunities to leave this spring after the most successful season in school history.
Forget it. He wants to be a Lobo.
"My agent got several calls," Alford said Tuesday at a news conference. "But if you talked to my agent, he'd tell you that I told him not to return any calls."
Alford agreed to terms on a contract extension in April but because of schedule conflicts wasn't able to sign the deal until this month. It runs through 2020 and will boost his total compensation to $1,149,200 over the next year, an increase of $145,000.
He could also earn an additional $625,000 next season by meeting performance incentives.
"I want to be a Lobo as long as you'll have me as a Lobo," he said.
There is one new element to this contract -- a buyout clause, something Alford said he's never had in 20 years of college coaching. He must pay $400,000 if he leaves before March 31, 2011, and the figure decreases as the years advance through 2013.
NBA
PHOENIX -- Prominent sports agent Lon Babby is taking a pay cut, probably a significant one, to become president of basketball operations for the Phoenix Suns, a job he called "the opportunity of a lifetime."
The 59-year-old attorney was introduced at a news conference Tuesday at US Airways Center. His initial task will be to hire a general manager.
"I'm going to play to my strengths. I know what I'm good at, I know what I'm not good at," Babby said. "I've never told anybody I was Red Auerbach. I have no expectation of taking the lead on those kind of talent evaluation questions. My first order of priority is to bring somebody in here who is a basketball genius."
Suns owner Robert Sarver said the hiring of an agent for a top front-office position is "venturing outside the norm a little bit" but he believes Babby's experience representing at various times ownership and players gives him "a unique insight into this business."
Babby's clients included the Suns' Grant Hill, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Boston's Ray Allen. He also represented recent Suns acquisition Hedo Turkoglu but said he stepped aside while the trade to Phoenix was being discussed.
-- Wire reports
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