BC's Murphy is ACC Rookie of the Year

Stefanie Murphy, who helped the Boston College women's team claim the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and position itself for a 20th win, was named the ACC Rookie of the Year yesterday. "I came in just expecting to do whatever a regular freshman does, come in, bide my time," Murphy said. "Being the ACC Rookie of the Year is an added perk, showing that my work paid off." She led ACC freshmen with 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Murphy, a forward, joined teammate Carolyn Swords (center), North Carolina point guard Cetera DeGraffenreid, Georgia Tech forward Alex Montgomery, and Virginia Tech guard Andrea Barbouras on the all-freshman team. Balloting was done by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association . . . Connecticut's Maya Moore was named Big East women's Player of the Week, the first time a freshman has been accorded the honor . . . BC's Tyrese Rice and UMass's Gary Forbes were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches' District 1 first team. Rounding out the squad are UConn's A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien, and Rhode Island's Will Daniels . . . For the 13th straight week, Bentley (27-0) is No. 1 in the men's Division 2 rankings . . . John Wooden had a new cast put on his broken left wrist and the 97-year-old UCLA coaching great's vital signs were good, according to his daughter, Nan Muehlhausen. He remained hospitalized at an undisclosed location. Wooden broke his wrist and collarbone when he fell at his condo Thursday and underwent blood transfusions over the weekend. "I think he's in a lot of pain," UCLA coach Ben Howland said after visiting Wooden. "His family is there with him just about 'round the clock and supporting him."

Warren Sapp's 13-year NFL career officially ended when his retirement was posted on the Raiders' website. Sapp said immediately after last season he was through playing but did not file the paperwork. The posting was the first official word that the defensive tackle was done. In January, the 35-year-old Sapp posted a two-word message on his website: "I'M DONE!" He had told teammates and coaches his plans after the season finale against San Diego. He finished his career with 96 1/2 sacks, 28th overall since the NFL began keeping track of the statistic in 1982 . . . Free agent running back T.J. Duckett signed a five-year contract with the Seahawks. Duckett, who played for the Lions last season, has 2,642 career yards rushing and 36 touchdowns . . . A day after signing Damien Woody to play right tackle, the Jets cut last year's starter Anthony Clement. They also signed cornerback Andre Woolfolk, a former first-round pick by Tennessee who was out of football in 2007 . . . Free agent running back and kickoff returner Maurice Hicks signed a three-year contract with the Vikings . . . Safety Nick Sorensen, an eight-year veteran, signed a three-year deal with the Browns . . . The Bears acquired free agent wide receiver Marty Booker, who was the Dolphins' top receiver last season. The former Bear signed a two-year deal . . . Defensive end Travis LaBoy signed a five-year, $22 million contract with the Cardinals . . . The Broncos re-signed veteran defensive end John Engelberger . . . Reserve offensive tackle Matt Murphy re-signed with the Bills . . . Yahoo! Sports removed a paragraph in a nearly 6-month-old story that alleged secret videotaping by the Broncos after coach Mike Shanahan's attorney sent a letter demanding a retraction. Yahoo! Sports editors also added a note saying the paragraph in the Sept. 13 article did not meet the site's editorial standards, spokeswoman Nicol Addison said. The story, written when the videotape scandal involving the Patriots dominated the news, had been cited by various media outlets around Denver in recent weeks. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called the article inaccurate. "We are not aware of any such video and no one in our office has seen the video," he said in an e-mail . . . Buddy Dial, a receiver for the Steelers and Cowboys, died Friday in a Houston hospital. He was 71.

Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, who had knee surgery Nov. 21, completed his first full-contact practice in 3 1/2 months and was pleased with the results. "It felt good. I was surprised about my wind - I wasn't as tired as I thought I was going to be," Arenas said. "I was just excited to get out there and play basketball. My knee is fine so far. We'll see how it acts tomorrow after a day of rest." . . . The Suns signed guard Gordan Giricek to a contract for the rest of the season. Giricek, waived by the 76ers Friday, joins his fifth NBA team. The 6-foot-6-inch Croatian played parts of six seasons with Memphis, Orlando and Utah before being traded to Philadelphia last Dec. 29 . . . The NBA reinstated forward Chris Andersen from a drug suspension, and the New Orleans Hornets will have the first chance to sign their former player. Andersen was kicked out Jan. 27, 2006, for violating the league's drug policy.

Right fielder Brad Hawpe and Colorado agreed to a $17,425,000, three-year contract. The deal, which includes a club option for 2011, replaces the $3,925,000, one-year contract that had been agreed to in January. The 28-year-old hit .291 last year with 29 homers and 116 RBIs . . . Outfielder Nick Markakis and the Orioles failed to agree to terms by the team's designated deadline, so Markakis will have his contract renewed at $455,000 - up from $400,000 in 2007 . . . Phil Hughes and three Yankees relievers combined to set down 15 straight Blue Jays in a rain-shortened, five-inning perfect game. New York won, 2-0, in Dunedin, Fla. Scott Patterson pitched the second and Kei Igawa took over for the next two innings. Billy Traber struck out the side in the fifth.

. . . As expected, lawyers for Brian McNamee asked a federal judge in Houston to throw out Roger Clemens's defamation suit and to disqualify the pitcher's lead attorney. McNamee's lawyers say Rusty Hardin, Clemens's lead attorney, should be removed from the case because he represented Andy Pettitte last year . . . St. Louis righthander Adam Wainwright , who won 14 games in his first season in the rotation, agreed to a terms on a one-year contract . . .The president of the Dominican Republic's baseball league, Leonardo Matos Berrido, said the nation will pull out of next year's World Baseball Classic if it is not chosen as a site.

Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger had his lower left leg amputated at an Oslo hospital because of complications from two broken bones suffered in a crash at a World Cup race in Kvitfjell, Norway. Lanzinger broke his shin and fibula Sunday during a super-G. The fractures damaged blood vessels, hampering circulation in the 27-year-old skier's leg. The Austrian ski federation said surgery Monday night was only partly successful and left doctors no other option in an effort to avoid further risks. Organizers of the race were criticized because no medical helicopter was available. Lanzinger was flown to a hospital in Lillehammer in a tourist helicopter, and later was brought to Oslo . . . Finland's Janne Ahonen won the World Cup ski jump in Kuopio, Finland, garnering 248.3 points in his two attempts. Norwegian Anders Bardal rose from seventh to runner-up with 240.4 points . . . Norway's Kjetil Backen was the first musher to reach the Nikolai, Alaska, checkpoint, 347 miles into the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Gerry Willomitzer of Canada was the second, and last year's runner-up, Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof, Alaska, was third.

Team owner Rick Hendrick thinks NASCAR should not return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway until the retaining wall Jeff Gordon slammed into is improved. Special barriers are located in the outside walls at Las Vegas. But the track did not install them along the inside wall, which the four-time NASCAR champion hit in the closing laps Sunday. The force was so violent Gordon's entire transmission was ripped from under the hood . . . Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the second round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The American had 18 aces, including one that reached 147 miles per hour. Rafael Nadal struggled to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Novak Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic of Croatia, 6-4, 6-3. . . . Yan Zi knocked out eighth-seeded Maria Kirilenko, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, in the first round of the Bangalore (India) Open . . . India beat Australia by nine runs to claim the Commonwealth Bank tri-nations cricket final in Brisbane, Australia.