Off the wire

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

NFL Muncie dead at 60

Chuck Muncie, a Pro Bowl running back with the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers, has died at age 60, the NFL clubs and a family spokesman said Tuesday. Muncie family spokesman Vintage Foster said Muncie died at his Los Angeles-area home Monday from heart failure. Muncie was the Saints’ first-round pick, third overall, out of California in 1976. He played 4½ seasons in New Orleans before being traded in 1980 to San Diego, where he finished his nine-year NFL career. In 1979, Muncie became the first Saint to rush for 1,000 yards, finishing with 1,198 and 11 touchdowns, and his 1,506 total yards from scrimmage earned him the first of his three Pro Bowl selections. The 6-3 Muncie, who played at 227 pounds, and fellow Saints running back Tony Galbreath formed what then-coach Hank Stram dubbed the “Thunder and Lightning” combination in the New Orleans backfield. Muncie’s photo is among those featured on the Saints’ Hall of Honor inside the club’s trainingfacility. Muncie was traded by the Saints at midseason in 1980 to San Diego, where he played 51 games and was named to Pro Bowl rosters two more times, in 1981 and 1982. In 2009, the club recognized him as one of the 50 greatest Chargers of all time.

Starting left tackle Branden Albert rejoined the Chiefs on Tuesday after missing several weeks of voluntary workouts and meetings for the start of organized team activities, which run for the next three weeks. Albert has been seeking a long-term contract, but the sides have been far apart. So the Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Albert and he signed the tender for about $9.3 million this season.

Fourth-round draft pick William Gholston has signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 6-6, 281-pound defensive end out of Michigan State was the 126th overall selection last month. He had 10 career sacks in college and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore and junior with the Spartans.

BASEBALL Orioles put Chen on DL

The Baltimore Orioles placed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a right oblique strain. The injury occurred Sunday during his start against the Minnesota Twins. Chen has been the Orioles’ most sturdy pitcher. The Taiwan native made 32 starts for Baltimore last year and is 3-3 over eight starts this season.

The New York Mets have placed right-hander pitcher Scott Atchison on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. Atchison has been bothered by the ailment all season and said he had trouble feeling his fingers inMonday night’s 6-3 loss at St. Louis. Atchison is 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 19 appearances.

Blue Jays right-hander Sergio Santos will have surgery this week to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow and is expected to be sidelined about six weeks. Santos was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 14 with soreness in his triceps. Santos is 0-1 with 2.08 ERA in 5 games this season. He was limited to six games last year because of shoulder surgery.

BASKETBALL SEC, Big 12 sign deal

Teams from the SEC and Big 12 will meet in basketball next season. The leagues announced theBig 12/SEC Challenge on Tuesday with matchups including Kansas at Florida and Kentucky vs. Baylor in Arlington, Texas. All 10 Big 12 teams will participate. The SEC’s Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee aren’t included the first year. The 2013 matchups include: Texas Tech at Alabama (Nov. 14), Vanderbilt at Texas and Auburn-Iowa State on Dec. 2. Mississippi visits Kansas State, West Virginia travels to Missouri and TCU plays at Mississippi State on Dec. 5. The next day, Kentucky and Baylor meet while South Carolina is at Oklahoma State. The Kansas-Florida game is Dec. 10 while Texas A&M and Oklahoma play in Houston on Dec. 21.

Texas guard Julien Lewis has been granted his release and will become the third player to leave the Longhorns since they finished a disappointing season 16-18 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years. Lewis started 21 games last season. Guard Sheldon McClellan, who led Texas in scoring most of the season but clashed with Coach Rick Barnes, left the team earlier this year. Myck Kabongo left school to enter the NBA Draft.

MOTOR SPORTS

NASCAR suspends 2

NASCAR has suspended two crew members for failing random drug tests. Lee Dodson, a mechanic on Clint Bowyer’s car, and Frank Earnhardt, who NASCAR identified only as a crew member for a Nationwide Series team were suspended Tuesday. Michael Waltrip Racing fired Dodson upon learning he’d failed a drug test. JR Motorsports said Earnhardt did not work for its organization, and a spokesman said the crew member was not believed to be a member of the extended Earnhardt family. Anyone suspended for failing a NASCAR drug test must complete the “Road to Recovery” program before they are eligible for reinstatement.NHL Stars fire coach

The Dallas Stars fired Coach Glen Gulutzan on Tuesday after the team failed to make the playoffs in either of Gulutzan’s seasons, making it five consecutive years without a postseason trip.

BASKETBALL Top prep prospect Wiggins signs with Kansas

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Top prep prospect Andrew Wiggins signed a letter of intent Tuesday to play college basketball at Kansas.

Wiggins, a 6-8 standout at Huntington Prep, chose the Jayhawks over Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State. Wiggins said there wasn’t one particularselling point, taking into account each school’s coaching staff, players and program.

“I just followed my heart,” he said.

Wiggins will join one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

“I really thought it was one of those long shots, at least when wefirst got involved,” Kansas Coach Bill Self said. “The more we hung around, the more we felt he liked us. There was a little bit of a connection.”

Despite the loss of Ben Mc-Lemore to the NBA draft, four of Kansas’ five recruits are considered to be among the top 50 nationally, including guards Conner Frankamp and Wayne Selden, forward Brannen Greene and center Joel Embiid.

Wiggins’ parents both attended Florida State, and the Seminoles had signed XavierRathan-Mayes, his Huntington Prep teammate and fellow Toronto native.

Wiggins’ father is former NBA first-round pick Mitchell Wiggins. His mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins, was a Canadian Olympic sprinter and silver medalist. Older brother Nick plays guard at Wichita State andanother brother, Mitchell Jr., plays at NAIA school Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla.

The signing ended the frenzied pursuit of Wiggins, who averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season.

Initially rated as a 2014 prospect, Wiggins shot to the top of recruiting chartswhen he decided last October to reclassify into his original high school class of 2013. Four major recruiting services rated Wiggins as the No. 1 overall recruit.

Wiggins had kept quiet on his intentions. He hadn’t even made an oral commitment and delayed his signing until almost the very end, with today being the deadline for recruits to sign with NCAA Division I schools.

“This is the way I like it to be done, on my own time,” he said. “I’ve got a weight lifted off my shoulders. I can relax now.”

Sports, Pages 20 on 05/15/2013