Sports briefs for November 9, 2004

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004 | 10:31 a.m.

Kansas, Tennessee top preseason polls

Kansas was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press' preseason men's Top 25, marking the 13th consecutive season the Jayhawks have been ranked 11th or higher in the first men's poll.

Tennessee was No. 1 in the women's rankings, the 11th time the Lady Vols have held that spot but the first time since 1998.

Kansas received 25 first-place votes and 1,697 points from the national media panel, edging Wake Forest, which had 22 first-place votes and 1,680 points. The Demon Deacons were followed by Atlantic Coast Conference rivals Georgia Tech and North Carolina at third and fourth.

Connecticut, the three-time defending women's champion, was fourth.

Complete polls, page 6D.

New TV contracts

The NFL agreed to $8 billion in contract extensions with Fox and CBS to televise Sunday afternoon games for six more years. The current eight-year contract expires after the 2005 season. The league still is in talks for the prime-time packages for which exclusive negotiating with ABC/ESPN extends another year.

Jamaican star dies

Lennox Miller, a Jamaican sprinter who won silver at the 1968 Olympics and bronze in 1972, died in Pasadena, Calif., of cancer. He was 58. Miller ran the anchor leg on the USC sprint relay team that set a world record in 1967 in the 440-yard relay along with O.J. Simpson, Earl McCullouch and Fred Kuller.

Schilling surgery OK

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling had surgery today to repair the torn sheath of his right ankle tendon and team doctor Bill Morgan said the three-hour procedure went "as planned, with no complications."

Danton sentenced

Former NHL tough guy Mike Danton was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for trying to have his agent killed. Danton, 24, pleaded guilty in an East St. Louis, Ill., court in July.

Rebels get bid

UNLV's women's team received its first NCAA tournament invitation and will play San Diego in the first round Friday at Los Angeles.

Bantam champ wins

Mahyar Monshipour retained his WBA super bantamweight title by stopping Yoddamrong Sithyodthong in the sixth round at Paris.