UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero was appointed chairman of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee for 2009-2010. Guerrero will replace current chairman Mike Slive, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Sept. 1, 2009.
Guerrero is already vice president of the National Assn. of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and chair of the NCAA Division I men's basketball academic enhancement group.
"It is truly an honor to follow in the footsteps of my colleagues who have previously served the NCAA membership," Guerrero said in a statement.
During his tenure, Guerrero will be the face of the NCAA basketball tournament. It will be Guerrero who will explain why certain teams do or don't get at-large bids to March Madness.
-- Diane Pucin
MOTOR SPORTS
Stewart to leave Joe Gibbs Racing
Ending one of NASCAR's most successful marriages, Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart said he planned to leave Joe Gibbs Racing after this season. Stewart won 32 races and two Cup championships during his 10 years with Gibbs.
Stewart, 37, is expected to purchase a major stake in another team, rumored to be the struggling two-car team of Haas CNC Racing, where he would be a co-owner and driver in 2009. Stewart scheduled a news conference for today to announce his plans.
Stewart had disclosed in April that he was exploring multiple offers, including the possibility of buying into another team, and mulling whether to leave Gibbs before his contract expired at the end of next year.
Terms of his release were not disclosed. Stewart is currently 12th in NASCAR Cup points. Gibbs next must decide who will replace Stewart. There is widespread speculation that the ride could go to Joey Logano, an 18-year-old Gibbs driver in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series who won his first series race in June in only his third start.
-- Jim Peltz
TENNIS
Gimelstob dropped from ad campaign
The U.S. Tennis Assn. has dropped controversial Justin Gimelstob from its planned television ad campaign for the 2008 Olympus U.S. Open Series.
"Justin Gimelstob's recent comments on a Washington D.C., radio program were derogatory and demeaning to female tennis players and to women in general," the USTA said in a statement.
In the radio appearance, Gimelstob, a former UCLA player and touring tennis pro, used a derogatory term in describing Anna Kournikova, a former tennis player, and made suggestive comments about current player Nicole Vaidisova.
