College Football

Florida's Meyer: SEC refs missed late hit on Tebow

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Urban Meyer believes Southeastern Conference officials missed a late hit on Tim Tebow in Saturday's game against Georgia.

Meyer said Wednesday the crew calling the game should have flagged Bulldogs linebacker Nick Williams for knocking his quarterback to the ground well after he had gotten rid of the football.

Meyer sent video of the play to Rogers Redding, the league's coordinator of officials. Meyer declined to reveal what the SEC told him, saying he didn't "want to step out of line."

Last week the SEC changed its discipline policy about coaches publicly criticizing officials, making the punishment either a fine or a suspensions and doing away with the reprimands. It was unclear whether Meyer would be fined for commenting on officiating.

Meyer told reporters on the SEC conference call the play was directly in front of the referee and should have penalized. Tebow handed off to running back Jeff Demps, took a few steps to his right and wasn't looking when Williams came unblocked off the right edge and slammed into his chest.

"That should have been a penalty in my opinion," Meyer said. "Obviously, it should have been. You've got to protect quarterbacks. That's the whole purpose. It's right in front of the referee. I'm not sure how they're going to handle that, but ... that was one of the plays we did send in."

Meyer didn't mention the play until asked about it Wednesday, possibly trying to avoid drawing punishment from the league. He also prefaced his comments by saying he has "great respect" for SEC officials and the way the league handles complaints.

The SEC decided to stop handing down reprimands for ripping officials last month after three coaches in less than a week were reprimanded.

Commissioner Mike Slive was given full discretion by the league's athletic directors and presidents to hand out the punishment. He will determine the amount of fines and lengths of suspensions on a case-by-case basis.

In other Gator news, with all the negative attention "weighing heavy on his heart," Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes asked to serve a full-game suspension for apparently trying to gouge the eyes of a Georgia running back.

Meyer obliged, saying Wednesday that it was in the top-ranked Gators' best interest that Spikes sit out Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.

"I really don't want to be a distraction to the team," Spikes said after practice. "I want the guys to prepare without any negative things going on, and I feel like if I would play, it would be a big thing going on. I'm just trying to stay out of the way and just motivate the guys."

Meyer had faced some criticism for only suspending his star defender for the first half of the Vandy game. The Southeastern Conference accepted the original punishment.

Spikes stuck his hand into the facemask of Georgia's Washaun Ealey during Florida 41-17 victory against the Bulldogs. There was no penalty called at the time, but after talk about the play spread, Meyer reviewed it and decided to punish Spikes.

Meyer, Spikes and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong agreed to increase the punishment.

"A lot of the negative things out there really weighing heavy on his heart right now and so we thought that, as a group, we decided the best interest just for the team to not play him Saturday," Meyer said. "It was a group decision and we're doing it out of respect to our team so we can focus on trying to win our ninth game.

"We think it's the right thing to do. We support Brandon fully and we look forward to get back and finish the season the right way."

BYU Golf

Cougars finish second in Stockton

STOCKTON, Calif. -- The BYU men's golf team completed the fall season in impressive fashion, jumping four spots in Wednesday's final round to place second at the Pacific Invitational. The Cougars went 9-under par on the day to finish just one stroke behind UC Davis at 833 (minus-19 overall). Two BYU golfers finished in the top five.

"This was a great day for us," said BYU coach Bruce Brockbank. "We got out there and made some birdies early and kept sneaking up the leader board. It came down to the last hole and UC Davis made a 30-foot putt to win it. This was just a good tournament for us to end the fall season on and I hope we can build off this."

Two Cougars recorded the best scores of their careers. Senior Robbie Fillmore posted a 65 on Monday to establish a new personal best and senior Brady Johnson tallied a 66 on Wednesday to improve his career low. Johnson's round featured seven birdies, including four on the back nine, to get to 5-under-par. Johnson finished the tournament in third place at 9-under-par overall (204), the top Cougar finisher. Fillmore shot a 72 on Wednesday and tied for fifth at 202. Esteban Calisto finish 1-under-par (67 Wednesday) and tied for 20th place. Sophomore Jordan Rodgers finished at plus-6 after a 76 in the third round, and freshman Zac Blair went 1-under in the final round to finish plus-10.

No. 22 Oregon finished one stroke back of BYU.

• Women golfers finish 15th: At Laie, Hawaii, the BYU women's golf team placed 15th at the Turtle Bay Collegiate Invitational to end the fall season. The Cougars finished 76 strokes over par (940) and were led by sophomore Maggie Yuan.

Yuan finished with an 80 on Wednesday and was 232 (plus-16) for the tournament. Other BYU scores were Kelsey Vines at 233 (81), Jade Bollinger 239 (81), Amanda Keith 241 (84) and Shayla Forsey 244 (84). UC Davis won the tournament at plus-4, with UCLA second and USC third.

Basketball

Lieberman to become 1st female head coach D-League

DALLAS -- Nancy Lieberman is set to become the first female head coach of an NBA Development League team. A news conference is scheduled today to introduce Lieberman as the first coach of the team that will begin play during the 2010-11 season in Frisco, a suburb about a half-hour north of downtown Dallas.

A press release sent out Wednesday by the Dallas Mavericks, which will be an affiliate of the Frisco team, touted the pending announcement of "historic additions" to the new D-League franchise. Among the participants listed for the news conference is "Head Coach Nancy Lieberman."

Lieberman didn't return messages left on her cell phone and through e-mail.

Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks president of basketball operations who will be a co-owner of the Frisco team, also didn't return messages. The Frisco team also will introduce Del Harris as its general manager and Spud Webb as president of basketball operations.

Lieberman was 18 when she played for the U.S. Olympic team in Montreal in 1976 and became the youngest player to earn a medal when the team took silver. A decade later, she became the first woman to play in a men's professional league when she joined the Springfield Fame of the USBL.

In July 2008, at the age of 50, she had two assists in a one-time appearance for the WNBA's Detroit Shock. Before then, she had also been the league's oldest player, when she was played at age 39.

Lieberman played at Old Dominion from 1976-80 and led the school to two AIAW national titles. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame three years later.

• Ex-NBA referee Donaghy released from jail: At Brooksville, Fla., disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy was a free man Wednesday after serving most of a 15-month sentence in a gambling scandal.

Pat Berdan, a consultant working with Donaghy, said he was released from Hernando County Jail in Florida. Donaghy had been jailed there since August after officials said he violated travel restrictions while living at a halfway house in the Tampa area.

A New York judge sentenced the ex-referee in July 2008 after Donaghy said he took thousands of dollars from a professional gambler in exchange for inside tips on games -- including games he worked.

The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme. Donaghy served 13 months of a sentence that began in a federal prison in Pensacola. He was transferred to a halfway house in June and wound up in the Hernando County Jail in Brooksville after being accused of violating his probation by not showing up for work.

During his stay in prison, Donaghy wrote a tell-all book "Blowing The Whistle," that does not yet have a publisher.

Random House said last week that it had decided not to go forward with publication of the book, which in excerpts posted online includes accusations of wagering between officials working games, favoritism toward star players, and desires by the league to extend playoff series.

The NBA has said it will review the allegations that appeared on the Web site deadspin.com.

Executive Prison Consultants, a consulting agency working with Donaghy, has said the former referee plans to live in the Sarasota area and seek a job in sales or marketing.

Tennis

Federer reaches quarterfinals at Swiss Indoors

BASEL, Switzerland -- Roger Federer reached the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors by beating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday.

The three-time defending champion was solid on serves to make it six matches against the 51st-ranked Seppi without dropping a set.

"It was a bit tougher (than the first round), but I was able to raise my game at a few crucial moments and that was the difference," said Federer, who rested through October.

"I recuperated and worked a bit to get in shape and can play maybe this (late) season in good health, which last year wasn't the case."

Fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat France's Florent Serra 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (1) to also advance.

In the first round, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic beat Philipp Petzschner of Germany 6-4, 6-4 to keep alive his chances of qualifying for the ATP Tour finals in London.