Overtime

Baseball

Ex-GreenJacket to stay with Red Sox

The departure of fun-loving teammates Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar didn't dissuade former Augusta GreenJackets pitcher Bronson Arroyo from staying with the Boston Red Sox.

The 28-year-old right-hander took a hometown discount from the Red Sox, agreeing to a three-year contract worth about $11.2 million. Arroyo said he took the deal against the advice of his agents because he liked Boston.

- Theo Epstein is rejoining the Red Sox, 2 months after he turned down a three-year, $4.5 million offer to remain as general manager.

Epstein and Red Sox management issued a joint statement saying he will return to the organization full-time, but they did not say in what capacity Epstein would rejoin the team.

His return had been rumored almost since the day he slipped out of Fenway Park wearing a borrowed gorilla costume to avoid the media.

- A real-estate lawyer and developer have formulated a plan to remake part of downtown Charlotte, N.C., and lure baseball's Florida Marlins to a 38,000-seat stadium.

Developer Jerry Reese said he has invited Marlins officials to visit Charlotte and view the location where he proposes to build a ballpark. A visit is planned for February or March, he said.

Team spokesman P.J. Loyello said the team does not confirm such visits until the day before they are to happen.

- Owners unanimously approved the sale of the sport's oldest franchise, the Cincinnati Reds, to a group headed by produce mogul Robert Castellini.

Carl Lindner, the 86-year-old Cincinnati financier who owned the franchise, had three potential buyers whose offers were roughly the same but chose Castellini largely because of his local ties.

College Football

Eagles coach hires defensive chief

Georgia Southern coach Brian Van Gorder has hired Mark Collins as an assistant coach on defense.

Collins was the defensive coordinator at fellow Southern Conference member Elon last year. He played at East Tennessee State and later coached there and at Michigan.

- Tom Nugent, a College Football Hall of Famer who was credited with developing the I formation at Virginia Military Institute and later coached at Florida State and Maryland, died. He was 92.

Nugent died of congestive heart failure at a local nursing home, his family said.

Nugent was also credited with creating the "typewriter" huddle where players stood in two rows rather than a circle while plays were being called.

He was a head coach for 17 years, posting a 89-80-3 record before turning to broadcasting and public relations.

Colleges

Graduation rates higher under GSR

Almost two dozen Division I schools reported Graduation Success Rates of at least 95 percent for athletes who enrolled from 1995 to 1998. All were higher than their general student populations and significantly higher than the rates reported by the federal government, according to NCAA figures released Thursday.

The average for the 318 Division I colleges, including the Army, Navy and Air Force academies, was 76 percent. Other GSR averages included 69 percent for men, 86 percent for women, 82 percent for whites, 59 percent for blacks, and 68 percent for Hispanics.

The figures compiled by the NCAA are generally higher than those reported by the government because the GSR counts all athletes who earn a degree within six years of enrollment or, while still in good academic standing, transfer to other schools or turn professional.

Olympics

Tickets sales total expected to be met

Nearly 400,000 tickets are still available for next month's Winter Olympics. The organizing committee said that 630,000 of one million tickets have been sold, and the target of 830,000 would be met.