BCS Officials Narrowing Choices for Fifth Game

With a few weeks left to make a decision that will shape the future of college football, bowl championship series officials are narrowing their options for adding a fifth game to their multimillion-dollar package.

Chairman Mike Tranghese said opinions among the six major BCS conferences and the bowls were changing frequently between models that would add a week to the season and those that would simply add a fifth game and leave the structure relatively unchanged.

Under one model, the championship game would pit the first and second-ranked teams in the BCS standings at the end of the regular season in a second game at the site of one of the current BCS bowls, the Fiesta, Rose, Orange or Sugar.

Another model, considered the one favored by TV and the public but least likely to pass, would take the No. 1 and No. 2 teams after the first four BCS games were played and pit them in a title game the next week in the fifth bowl.

The logistics of the plans are being worked out, but Tranghese said the Rose Bowl would probably be interested only if it could keep its traditional Pacific 10 vs. Big Ten game in the three years it doesn’t serve as host of the title game, unless those teams are ranked first or second.

The other option would be simply to add a fifth game and rotate the title game among the five, which is how the system works now with four bowls. Nine bowls are in the running for a fifth game.

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Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett is continuing his legal fight for a chance to play in the NFL next season.

Clarett’s attorney, Alan C. Milstein, said he was preparing a brief for the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.

The next appeal would be before the entire 12-judge panel. Should Clarett lose that battle, he could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Pro Football

Quarterback Kerry Collins, who signed a three-year contract for about $12 million with the Oakland Raiders, said that he was comfortable about taking a backup role.

There has been speculation that the Raiders would release 38-year-old starter Rich Gannon after signing Collins. Gannon is due to make $7 million this season and has said he wouldn’t take a pay cut.

“Obviously I’ve played a lot in this league and started a lot of games,” Collins said. “But when I came here they made it clear what the situation would be.

“I understood that Rich would be the starter and I will be the guy that’s there if something happens to Rich. That will be my approach.”

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Hall of Fame offensive tackle Art Shell was appointed as the NFL’s senior vice president for operations.

Shell, a former player and coach with the Raiders, has been working for the NFL for the last two years as the appeals officer for player discipline.

Shell also served as an assistant coach for Kansas City and Atlanta.

Hockey

Mike Danton wants a venue change in his murder-for-hire trial, questioning his chances of getting unbiased jurors in the area where he played for the St. Louis Blues.

His lawyers also have asked the judge to bar as evidence any of Danton’s recorded phone calls after his arrest.

That would include jailhouse talks with agent David Frost, whom Danton allegedly tried to have killed.

Danton also seeks to keep prosecutors from using evidence found at his suburban St. Louis apartment April 16.

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Mighty Duck forward Vaclav Prospal was selected to play for the Czech Republic in the World Cup.... The Ducks extended their contract with Cincinnati, their minor league affiliate, for one season.

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Jay Feaster of the Tampa Bay Lightning was selected as the Sporting News NHL executive of the year, edging Calgary counterpart Darryl Sutter.

Baseball

An October trial date was set for two former New York Yankees accused of attacking a Fenway Park groundskeeper after he cheered for the Boston Red Sox in the Yankee bullpen during last year’s playoffs.

Roxbury District Court Judge Edward Redd scheduled an Oct. 26 trial date for pitcher Jeff Nelson and outfielder Karim Garcia, who face assault and battery charges in the alleged attack on Paul Williams Jr. of Derry, N.H.

Nelson and Garcia did not appear at the hearing, as required, and were assessed $500 each in court costs. Nelson is now with the Texas Rangers and Garcia with the New York Mets.

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After fans complained, the River City Rascals of O’Fallon, Mo., canceled a “Sports Criminals Night” promotion that would have turned the stadium into a giant prison, with a fan thrown into a “dugout jail” each inning.

The June 2 promotion, announced Sunday, was intended “to humorously poke fun at how the media sensationalizes athletes who end up involved in the justice system,” officials of the minor league team said.

But the Rascals, of the independent Frontier League, said they would offer a different promotion that night.

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Tony Gwynn was named the Mountain West Conference coach of the year after leading San Diego State to the regular-season championship in his second year at his alma mater. The Aztecs (33-27) won the league title with a 19-9 record and will be the top-seeded team in the conference tournament this week.

Miscellany

The British Grand Prix will stay on the Formula One calendar through 2006 after the Silverstone racetrack’s owner reached an agreement with the sport’s billionaire rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone to make a “significant long-term investment” in the Northamptonshire, England venue.