Sports briefs for November 25, 2003

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2003 | 9:39 a.m.

Former Braves great Warren Spahn dies

Warren Spahn stood up to Casey Stengel when he was 21 and fought against Germany a year later. Then, he returned to the major leagues and won 363 games after his 25th birthday.

The man was tough, pitching professionally for 24 seasons in an era when pitchers routinely completed games on three days rest.

Spahn, the winningest left-hander in baseball history and a leader of the dominant Milwaukee Braves teams of the late 1950s, died at his Broken Arrow, Okla., home Monday, family members said. He was 82.

"He was a hard-headed, hard-nosed, loving man," said Niki Spahn, his granddaughter. "He was the strongest man I ever met."

The Hall of Famer baffled batters with his high leg kick and teamed with Johnny Sain in the famous "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" tandem.

Spahn helped pitch the Braves to a 1957 World Series championship and National League pennants in 1948 and 1958. A 14-time All-Star, Spahn won 20 games 13 times, tying Christy Matthewson for the most in NL history.

USC back in 2nd spot

Southern California moved back into second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings. The Trojans moved up one spot after a loss by Ohio State. Oklahoma remained the runaway leader in the standings that will determine which teams will play for the national title in the Sugar Bowl. The Sooners are a unanimous No. 1 in the polls and are the top team in all seven BCS computers.

Few changes in poll

The only changes in the Associated Press' weekly college basketball poll were a couple of position swaps. The first 17 teams held their spots from last week's poll and the only changes were Wake Forest and Cincinnati at 18 and 19 and Oklahoma State and North Carolina State at 24 and 25.