Buckeyes’ linebacker out for season

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Buckeyes' Moeller out for season

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said yesterday linebacker Tyler Moeller will miss the season. The fourth-year junior from Cincinnati injured his head when it hit the floor during a family trip in Florida about two weeks ago.

A hospital spokesman said Moeller was released Monday from the Ohio State University Medical Center. Moeller, a junior, was expected to start at outside linebacker.

TRACK AND FIELD

World meet features Bolt vs. Gay

BERLIN - The world championships may seem to be all about Usain Bolt, yet Tyson Gay has the best times of the year. That duel on the Olympic Stadium track represents a bigger theme dominating the Aug. 15-23 championships: Will Jamaica be able to maintain its stunning sprint supremacy over the United States, or will Gay and Allyson Felix, another triple world champion, re-establish the traditional U.S. mastery?

The marquee battle gets under way on Saturday with the opening heats in the men's 100 meters. The final is on Sunday night. The overall fight for supremacy won't be over until the following Saturday with the men's sprint relay finals.

After Bolt turned the Beijing Olympics into a one-man show, Gay is healthy and ready after his 2008 season was ruined by a hamstring injury. "Everyone knows last year, the big matchup - if that's what you want to call it - didn't happen. I'm really looking forward to it this year," said Gay, who won the 100 and 200 at the 2007 worlds in Osaka, Japan, and helped the U.S. team capture the relay gold.

Bolt injured his foot in a car crash this year, and it impacted his work on the curve in the 200. Gay has had a groin ache recently, but says it shouldn't bother him at the championships.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Leslie tops 6,000 points

LOS ANGELES - Lisa Leslie surprised herself with her latest milestone. Leslie had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and became the first WNBA player to reach 6,000 career points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Indiana Fever 75-63 on Monday night.

Leslie reached the milestone with an 11-foot jumper as the shot-clock buzzer sounded with 11.9 seconds left in the second quarter.

"I didn't know about the 6,000 at all," said Leslie, who added that she felt surprised when her husband, Michael Lockwood, showed six fingers from his courtside seat. "I saw him when we were running down and he's standing up doing a six. I'm like, 'There's 12 seconds on the clock. What are you talking about?' "

The eight-time all-star, who now has 6,010 points, is also tops in career rebounds with 3,214.

YACHT RACING

Persian Gulf port for America's Cup

SAN DIEGO - Software tycoon and sailor Larry Ellison questioned the safety of a Persian Gulf port picked as the site for the America's Cup showdown between his American-based crew and defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland.

Ellison, the Oracle Corp. founder and CEO who owns BMW Oracle Racing, said he's never been to Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, which was named last week by Alinghi as the port for the best-of-3 showdown starting Feb. 8 for the oldest trophy in international sports.

"I don't exactly know what to say," Ellison said during the official presentation of his crew and the giant trimaran it will sail. "I think they picked it because it's very light winds. I'm a little bit concerned because it's less than 100 miles from Iran, so we're all concerned about the safety of our crew and our shore crew and everyone setting set up there."

GYMNASTICS

Spotlight on Liukin in U.S. meet

DALLAS - Defending Olympic champion Nastia Liukin is shooting for a repeat in 2012. The next big step comes this week at U.S. Gymnastics Championships in front of a hometown crowd - a crowd that will be full of young girls who look up to her.

Still getting back into shape after a year of awards ceremonies, photo shoots and worldwide travel, Liukin will only compete in two events - bars and beam - when the women's competition opens tomorrow. The men start today.

Liukin has nine world championship medals, tying her with Shannon Miller as the most decorated American gymnast in history. She needs one more at the worlds in London in October to own the record by herself. She is also looking toward London in 2012, where she would try to become the first woman to repeat in the Olympic all-around since 1968.

Among the men, Jonathan Horton - leader of a team that won bronze in Beijing - is a favorite to win his first national championship.

ELSEWHERE

• The Colorado Springs city council approved a deal that will keep the U.S. Olympic Committee in town for the next 30 years. The council voted 8-1 to fund $16 million in improvements to the Olympic Training Center.

• Little League Baseball is expanding the use of instant replay at this year's World Series. The replay system started at last year's tournament to review questionable home runs and other close plays at the outfield fence. AROUND THE STATE

• Radford University's women's soccer team, the Big South tournament defending champion, has been chosen first in the league's preseason poll, as voted by the league's women's soccer coaches. The coaches also voted Radford goalkeeper Lisa Lubke the preseason player of the year.

Richmond Kickers Yomby William and Joey Worthen were named to the USL-2 team of the week. - From Staff and Wire Reports