Sports Briefs: Lieberman to be first female coach in developemental league

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WAC replay official suspended

DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference has suspended a replay official for one game after he failed to overturn a call in a game last weekend between San Jose State and Boise State.

Official Michael Goshima's one-game suspension will go into effect this weekend.

The suspension - the first of a WAC replay official since the NCAA implemented instant replay in 2006 - was based on a play where a runner was ruled short of a first down and Goshima's review incorrectly upheld the ruling on the field.

The WAC said that upon further inspection, "the runner clearly made the first down and the call should have been reversed."

ACC adds bowl ties

The Atlantic Coast Conference will send teams to the Sun and Independence bowls starting next year.

The league said it renewed six bowl deals and reached agreements with two others for the four-year period from 2010-13.

The El Paso, Texas-based Sun Bowl matches a Pac-10 team against either the ACC's title-game loser or its third selection after the Bowl Championship Series. The Shreveport, La.,-based Indepedence Bowl pits the league's sixth post-BCS selection against the Mountain West's No. 3 pick.

• Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild has shaken up his coaching staff, reassigning offensive coordinator Greg Peterson to concentrate full-time on recruiting.

• All-America receiver Dez Bryant has lost his final appeal to be reinstated by the NCAA this season. Bryant has sat out the last five games for No. 18 Oklahoma State.

  MLB

  Lincecum cited for marijuana use

SEATTLE - San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Steve Schatzel said that the 2008 Cy Young Award winner and former star at the University of Washington was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 about four miles north of the Oregon border on Oct. 30.

World Series ratings up

NEW YORK - World Series television ratings bounced back from last year's record lows.

The Yankees' six-game victory over the Phillies on Fox averaged an 11.7 rating and 19 share. That's the highest since a 15.8/26 in 2004, when the Red Sox swept the Cardinals to end an 86-year championship drought.

• Pitcher Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves are nearing an agreement on a three-year contract. Atlanta holds a $12 million option on the 34-year-old right-hander, who was 2-1 with a 3.61 ERA in seven starts this season after his return from elbow ligament-replacement surgery.

• Bobby Abreu agreed yesterday to a $19 million, two-year contract to stay with the Angels rather than test the free-agent market again.

• The Boston Red Sox acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins for left-handers Jose Alvarez and Hunter Jones.

• Colorado agreed to an $850,000, one-year contract with right-hander Matt Belisle and a $650,000, one-year deal with left-hander Randy Flores.

• Infielder Chad Tracy's $7 million option has been declined by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who will pay the him a $1 million buyout.

  NBA

  Kings leading scorer out

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The Sacramento Kings say leading scorer Kevin Martin has a hairline fracture in his left wrist.

An MRI taken yesterday revealed a non displaced hairline fracture of the navicular bone in Martin's left wrist. The team says treatment options are currently being evaluated.

Martin is averaging 30.6 points a game for the Kings, who have lost four of five games to open the season.

NHL

Columbus struggling financially

Columbus may have trouble holding on to the NHL's Blue Jackets because the club has been losing $12 million a year in central Ohio, according to a report released yesterday by a business group.

The report commissioned by the Columbus Chamber offers a variety of options, such as new taxes or fees or selling shares to other investors or the general public.

• Boston signed backup goalie Tuukka Rask to a two-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2011-12 season.

• The NHL has suspended Vancouver Canucks defenseman Shane O'Brien for one game. His stick made contact with the New York Rangers' Sean Avery while both players were on their respective benches in a game on Tuesday.

• Bruins center David Krejci is out indefinitely with the swine flu. ELSEWHERE

• The Columbus Crew's Chad Marshall has been selected Major League Soccer's defender of the year for the second straight season.

• The Indy Racing League will have Izod as a title sponsor next season, a six-year agreement the IRL hopes will expand its fan base.

• U.S. Open tennis semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for one year by a Belgian tribunal, accused of failing to report her whereabouts to drug-testing officials three times.

• Former Vikings first-round pick Erasmus James was arrested early yesterday after punching a friend in the face at a bar in Madison.

- From Wire Reports