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College Football

Bulldogs' Ely-Kelso named to award list

Georgia's Gordon Ely-Kelso is one of the 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award.

The award, which is sponsored by the Greater Augusta Sports Council, goes to the nation's top collegiate punter.

Ely-Kelso is averaging 43.2 yards per punt this season, with his long punt being a 60-yarder.

The other semifinalists are Arizona's Danny Baugher, Purdue's Dave Brytus, Florida State's Chris Hall, Nebraska's Sam Koch, Wake Forest's Ryan Plackemeier, Virginia Tech's Nic Schmitt, Colorado's John Torp, Kansas' Kyle Tucker and Florida's Eric Wilbur.

The winner will be announced Dec. 8 on ESPN during the Home Depot College Football Awards show. He will be honored at the Greater Augusta Sports Award Gala in early 2006.

The award is named after Thomson resident Ray Guy, who played for the Oakland Raiders from 1973-86.

High School Football

Summerville High receives reprieve

Summerville High School and famed coach John McKissick are back in the state football playoffs after being given a reprieve Wednesday by the South Carolina High School League's executive committee.

The Green Wave were put on probation last week by league executive director Jerome Singleton for knowingly using an ineligible player in junior varsity games. Programs on probation are barred from competing for state titles, according to the league's constitution, which meant that McKissick, who has won 527 games in 54 seasons at Summerville, would miss the postseason for the first time in 38 years.

But after hearing Summerville's 90-minute appeal at the state offices, the executive committee took two votes - the first was a 14-1 decision upholding the probation and the second an 11-4 vote in favor of granting mercy to the Green Wave varsity.

Baseball

Maddux, Jones win Gold Glove awards

Chicago Cubs pitcher Greg Maddux won his 15th Gold Glove, one shy of the record shared by pitcher Jim Kaat and third baseman Brooks Robinson.

Maddux set a record for Gold Gloves won in the National League - Kaat won 14 in the AL and two in the NL.

San Francisco shortstop Omar Vizquel won his 10th Gold Glove.

Atlanta outfielder Andruw Jones won his eighth straight Gold Glove and St. Louis outfielder Jim Edmonds won his eighth, including the last six in a row.

Giants catcher Mike Matheny won his fourth overall and third straight.

The other winners were Florida infielders Luis Castillo and Mike Lowell, Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee and Philadelphia outfielder Bobby Abreu.

- Outgoing Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein dismissed reports that a power struggle with team president Larry Lucchino led him to walk away from the organization this week.

The decision to leave, Epstein said, was a personal one.

"This is a job you have to give your whole heart and soul to," he said. "In the end, after a long period of reflection about myself and the program, I decided I could no longer put my whole heart and soul into it."

NFL

Patriots' Bruschi is AFC's top defender

New England's Tedy Bruschi, returning to the lineup eight months after a stroke, is the AFC's defensive player of the week.

Bruschi had 10 tackles Sunday in the Patriots' 21-16 win over Buffalo. He played nearly full time in his first game since the Super Bowl.

- Kurt Warner is a starter again.

Warner will replace Josh McCown as starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals for Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Coach Dennis Green declined to say why he was making the switch on Wednesday.

"That's coach talk," he said. "We've got a bunch of guys that were involved in that decision."