The Augusta State men's golf team is No. 8 in the preseason national rankings in Golfweek magazine's college preview issue. The Jaguars, who open the 2009-10 season next weekend, finished last season at No. 36.

- In Gaffney, S.C., Augusta State won a pair of 3-1 matches, over Lenior-Rhyne and Mount Olive, and USC Aiken beat Tusculum 3-2 and host Limestone 3-1 on the final day of the Southeast Crossover volleyball tournament.

- David Gearhart , the chancellor of the University of Arkansas backed John Pelphrey , saying the men's basketball coach is "the man who's going to turn it around" after police investigated three players over an alleged rape.

- Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford received a four-year contract extension designed to keep him through 2019.

In Atlanta, Erika DeSouza had 15 points and 15 rebounds to help the Atlanta Dream clinch a playoff berth with a 88-64 win over the Connecticut Sun. The Dream (18-15) secured the second seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

- A North Carolina businessman who had small part ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats died in a single-engine plane crash in South Carolina. William "Skipper" Beck , of Charlotte, died around 7:15 a.m. Friday at the Rock Hill/York County Airport. He was 49.

The Breeders' Cup said it will add $1 million to the winner's share of the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 if both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta start in America's richest race.

Rachel Alexandra has won nine in row. The 5-year-old mare Zenyatta is 12-0.

- Trainer Steve Asmussen won his 5,000th race at Woodbine when Passion Rules won the seventh race.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he didn't decide to submit a bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes until "about 24 hours" before it was submitted on Aug. 25.

Bettman made the comment as the auction of the team in U.S. Bankruptcy Court entered its second day. Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and the NHL are the only two bidders.

Caster Semenya withdrew from a weekend race amid speculation about the South African runner's gender. Her coach, Michael Seme , said she was "not feeling well."

Newspapers in Australia report that testing determined she has male and female organs triggered outrage in South Africa. The International Association of Athletics Federations said it will issue a decision on test results in November.

ESPN reporter Erin Andrews thought her career was over after secretly taped nude footage of her began circulating on the Internet she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday in a 10-minute segment taped Aug. 27.

Andrews was composed in talking about the "nightmare" of knowing the blurry five-minute video was on the Internet and being harassed by paparazzi after the story became news in July.

She returned to the air Sept. 3 for ESPN's broadcast of South Carolina at N.C. State.

Ryder Hesjedal, of Canada, won the 12th stage of the Spanish Vuelta. Alejandro Valverde, of Spain, retained the overall lead.

- American David Zabriskie won the fifth stage to take the overall lead in the Tour of Missouri.