Sports briefs for April 14, 2004

Wednesday, April 14, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.

Swimmer Phelps wins 74th Sullivan Award

World champion swimmer Michael Phelps rode the wave from his six medals at the world championships, where he became the first swimmer to set five world records in one meet, to claim the 74th annual Sullivan Award at a ceremony Tuesday night in New York.

Figure skating champion Sarah Hughes, the 2002 winner, presented Phelps with his trophy.

LeBron James, who was a high school basketball phenom before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers, told the AAU that a prior commitment prevented him from attending the ceremony although he was in New York for tonight's game vs. the Knicks. Diana Taurasi, the Connecticut basketball star, was playing an exhibition game with the U.S. national team in Texas.

Among the other honorees on the dais were Olympic speedskate Apolo Anton Ohno and 57-year-old Philippa Raschker, a tax accountant from Marietta, Ga., who has won 68 medals on the world level in masters track and field.

Wrestler Kyle Maynard of Suwanee, Ga., who was born with no arms and no legs, was also recognized at the ceremony.

Mercury hires coach

Carrie Graf, an Australian who is coaching the New Zealand team in the Athens Olympics, was hired to coach the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.

Roddick advances

Top seed Andy Roddick beat Kenneth Carlsen 6-1, 7-5 and Alex Bogomolov upset second seed Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-1 in first-round matches at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston.

Crow won't compete

American synchronized swimmer Tammy Crow will not compete in an Olympic test event even though she was approved by the USOC after her sentence on a manslaughter charge was delayed until after the Games.

UNLV's Moore invited

UNLV junior Ryan Moore was chosen to compete for the United States in the Palmer Cup in Ireland in August. Moore played in last year's Palmer Cup.