Sports briefs for May 6, 2004

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

Cyprien named coach at Louisiana-Lafayette

Former UNLV and Oklahoma State assistant Glynn Cyprien was introduced Wednesday as the new head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.

Cyprien, 37, spent the last four years as an assistant to Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State, which reached the Final Four this season.

He replaces Jessie Evans, who left the Ragin' Cajuns after seven seasons for the University of San Francisco.

Louisiana-Lafayette has advanced to the postseason in each of the last three years, including the 2004 NCAA tournament.

Bloom loses bid

Colorado receiver Jeremy Bloom lost a bid for an injunction against the NCAA today, leaving the organization with the final say on whether he may play football while collecting endorsement money as a pro skier.

The Colorado Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that Bloom failed to show he would probably win his case or that the NCAA was inconsistent in applying its rules.

3 crew chiefs fined

Nextel Cup crew chiefs Ted Brown, Mike Ford and Terry Wooten were fined Wednesday by NASCAR for rules violations at Talladega Superspeedway.

Olympic medalist hurt

Chris Thompson, a bronze medalist at the 2000 Olympics and holder of the American record in the 1,500-meter freestyle, fractured both elbows during training Monday.

Thompson hopes to recover in time for the July Olympic trials.

Contreras demoted

Jose Contreras was optioned to Class A Tampa by the New York Yankees -- a day after the shortest outing of his career.

The Yankees want the right-hander to work on his mechanics under pitching guru Billy Connors, the Yankees' vice president of player personnel.

Trio to be honored

Michelle Akers, Paul Caligiuri and Eric Wynalda were chosen for induction into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. They will be inducted at Oneonta, N.Y., on Oct. 9.