College Football
Salaam and Williams make the Hall of Fame ballot
DALLAS – Heisman Trophy winning running backs Rashaan Salaam of Colorado and Ricky Williams of Texas are among the stars making their first appearance on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot this year.
Some of the other notable first-timers on the ballot released Thursday are Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch; Iowa State running back Troy Davis, a two-time Heisman finalist; Southern California receiver Keyshawn Johnson; and Miami linebacker Ray Lewis.
Nebraska Heisman winner Eric Crouch and Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas are among the holdovers on the 75-player major college ballot.
Salaam won the Heisman in 1994, leading the nation in rushing and scoring. Williams was the 1998 Heisman winner and finished his career as the leading career rusher in major college football.
The 2014 Hall of Fame class will be announced in May and inducted in December at the National Football Foundation’s awards banquet in New York. The new class will be enshrined at the new College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta in 2015.
Cycling
Wiggins will support Froome at this year’s Tour de France
LONDON – Bradley Wiggins said he will be a support rider at Team Sky, and his role at this year’s Tour de France will be helping teammate Chris Froome win a second consecutive title.
Wiggins won cycling’s biggest race in 2012 but was unable to defend his title after pulling out because of injury.
Froome won the 2013 Tour and will be Team Sky’s main hope this year.
The Tour is July 5-27.
Golf
European captain picks his Ryder Cup vice captains
DUBLIN – Europe captain Paul McGinley selected Des Smyth and Sam Torrance as two of his vice captains Thursday for this year’s Ryder Cup against United States at Gleneagles.
The 61-year-old Smyth has played in the Ryder Cup twice and was Ian Woosnam’s assistant in the 2006 competition at the K Club. Torrance captained Europe to victory in the 2002 event, when McGinley holed the winning putt at the Belfry.
McGinley said his other assistants will be announced after the team is formalized in September.
The Ryder Cup is Sept. 26-28.
Soccer
USA will get loose against Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Turkey
CHICAGO – The United States will prepare for the World Cup with home exhibition games against Azerbaijan, Nigeria and Turkey.
The U.S. Soccer Federation said the 13th-ranked Americans will host No. 93 Azerbaijan at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on May 27, then will play No. 42 Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on June 1. The U.S. will play No. 47 Nigeria at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 7 before heading to Brazil and the American base camp in Sao Paulo.
World Cup Skiing
Fenninger wins a GS to close the gap on Hoefl-Riesch
ARE, Sweden – Olympic silver medalist Anna Fenninger won a World Cup giant slalom race Thursday, and she closed the gap on overall leader Maria Hoefl-Riesch.
The Austrian, who also won the Olympic super-G in Sochi, won the race despite finishing seventh in the first run. Her combined time of 2 minutes, 26.39 seconds was 0.21 faster than surprise runner-up Anemone Marmottan of France. Lara Gut of Switzerland and Eva-Maria Brem of Austria tied for third, trailing Fenninger by 0.39.
Hoefl-Riesch placed 21st in what is typically her weakest discipline and earned only 10 World Cup race points. Fenninger’s 100 points brought her within 67 of the 2011 overall champion from Germany with six races remaining this season.
Associated Press
