On the ropes

School daze

Meghan Huggins, the goalkeeper at Springdale (Ark.) Har-Ber High School, has landed a scholarship to Lamar.

"I wish I could major in soccer in college," she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, "but they make you get an actual degree in some kind of something."

Names game

The College of William and Mary, in search of a new mascot to go with its Tribe nickname, has been inundated with more than 400 suggestions, ranging from a feathered horse to an asparagus stalk.

No word on how that will affect Bill & Mary's liberal branch campus in California: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.

A winning speech

Highlights from "Late Night with David Letterman's Top Ten things Lucas Glover would like to say after winning the U.S. Open":

• "I'd like to thank Tiger Woods for letting someone else win."

• "Honestly, I'm just glad to be out of the rain."

• "Ladies, my last name isn't Glover. It's G. Lover."

• "Even I have never heard of me."

  What, no written test?

Here is the job description for a "Bunnette" - the woman assigned to count a competitor's intake at the annual July 4 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest - according to Major League Eating's Web site:

"A woman, seductive by disposition, who is passionate about the sport of competitive eating and its practitioners . . . more beautiful than Miss America, hotter than a Cowboys cheerleader and more talented than Vanna White."

Heir Jordan

"Jeff Jordan, son of NBA great Michael Jordan, announced last month that he is leaving the University of Illinois basketball team after two seasons to concentrate on his studies," noted Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel. "The good news is they don't chant 'Daddy's better!' in chemistry class."

The No.2 choice

Free agent forward Marian Hossa has signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, just in case you're wondering which team will finish second in next year's Stanley Cup Final.

Turkey Dressing Dept.

The Braves are 7-0 when right fielder Jeff Francoeur wears his lucky "turkey underwear," the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Of course, he hasn't had to face White Sox pitcher Jimmy Gobble.

Familiar ring to it

"ESPN the Magazine is planning an October edition on the beauty of the human body, complete with photos of athletes posing 'nude but artfully covered,'" noted Brad Rock of the Deseret News. "We already have that, don't we?

"I think it's called Wrestlemania."

From Russia, with pucks

Russians Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk were the top three vote-getters for the NHL's Hart Trophy.

Or as puck pundits redubbed this year's MVP race, the Molson's Three Tsars.

Mouthing off

• MMA fighter Bob Sapp, to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, on facing ex-rassler Bobby Lashley: "He's big and strong, but he's yet to be tested. I'm here to give him his test, and I'm here to let you know it is going to be an 'F.'"

• Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido, to the Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser, on the only silver lining to his DUI arrest earlier this year: "My mug shot was better than Nick Nolte's."

• NASCAR truck driver Ron Hornaday Jr., to The Associated Press, on why he didn't do a victory burnout after his triumph at the Milwaukee Mile: "We're saving dimes right now."

• Montana Tech football coach Bob Green to KTVM-TV of Butte, Mont.: "I hate to sound like an old coach, but I'm an old coach. I was coaching when the Dead Sea was only sick."

• Chicago White Sox broadcaster Steve Stone, after Cubs catcher Geovany Soto hit a three-run homer following news that Soto had tested positive for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic: "He smoked it."

• Gary Loewen of the Toronto Sun, on the lack of a British singles champ at Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977 - and no men's champ since Fred Perry in 1936: "Since then, it has all been strawberries and creamed."

Ivo Karlovic, to The Miami Herald, on why Roger Federer foiled Karlovic's theretofore unsolvable serve in Wednesday's Wimbledon quarterfinals: "Because he is better than everyone else." - From Wire Reports