Associated Press
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. ó Michelle Wie shot a 2-under 70 to begin the LPGA sectional qualifying tournament Tuesday, then declined to talk to reporters about the round that put her in solid position in the 164-player field.
The 18-year-old Wie made her debut in the qualifying process with five birdies and three bogeys on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club, where she has finished in the top 10 in three of her four starts in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Despite the strong start in the 72-hole qualifying event, Wie emerged from the scoring room and informed her agent that she wouldn’t do any interviews until Friday’s final round. She later refused to talk to reporters as she went to the putting green for practice.
COLLEGE HOOPS
ASHEVILLE ó UNC Asheville’s Kenny George, at 7-foot-7 the nation’s tallest college basketball player, might not play this season because of a foot injury.
George had two surgical procedures on an infected right foot and remains in a Chicago hospital, the school said. The senior is not expected to return to school this semester.
George was the Big South’s defensive player of the year after helping the Bulldogs win a school-record 23 games and reach the NIT last season. George averaged 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
CHANTICLEERS
CONWAY, S.C.ó Two more Coastal Carolina football players have been kicked off the team after they were arrested, marking nine Chanticleers players who have run afoul of the law in 13 months.
Horry County police charged receivers Jamar Anderson and Paul Nicholas with disorderly conduct early Sunday after breaking up a fight outside a Conway nightclub.
Authorities say the men smelled of alcohol and yelled at officers trying to calm things down.
Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett says he kicked both players off the team because they were violating curfew when they were arrested.
Bennett says rules for his athletes have gotten even tougher since the spike in arrests.
NASCAR
CHARLOTTE ó Dodge officials expect Gillett Evernham Motorsports to remain with the manufacturer next season, despite reports the team wants to abandon the slumping automaker for a deal with Toyota.
– MOORESVILLE ó Red Bull Racing has signed general manager Jay Frye to a multiyear extension that will keep him in charge of the team’s NASCAR program.
Frye had been named in an ESPN report as a candidate to join Tony Stewart’s fledgling Stewart-Haas Racing team next year.