Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.
Head coach, 46, dies of heart attack
Second-year Missouri Southern football coach John Ware died Tuesday of an apparent heart attack after collapsing at his desk.
Ware, 46, was discovered in his office after 10 a.m. Attempts to revive Ware by members of the coaching and training staff, as well as medical personnel, failed and he was rushed to Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Mo., where he was pronounced dead. Ware died of an apparent heart attack, the school said.
"John Ware was a man with a vision, and that vision was beginning to become clear to our community and our campus," athletic director Sallie Beard said. "It was almost palpable, the impact that he had in just a short period of time."
Assistant coach Keeth Matheny will take over as head coach.
"I love John Ware," Matheny said. "And like all the guys I'm grieving, but I'm also grieving the loss of one of my best friends, if not my best friend.
"There are five games remaining -- five opportunities -- to make a great man proud."
On Saturday, the Lions (2-3) are scheduled to host Truman State, the school Ware coached for nine years before going to Missouri Southern.
The Lions will wear a patch on their helmets with Ware's initials, as well a symbol of "1 percent."
"Because he believed the way you become a giant of a man like he was by getting 1 percent better every day," Matheny said.
Turf champ retired
Kitten's Joy, last year's Eclipse Award winner as top male turf horse, has been retired from racing because of an injury to his left knee. The 4-year-old son of El Prado was preparing to run in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 29. The colt will stand at stud at Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Ky.
Wizards rookie shot
Washington Wizards rookie forward Andray Blatche was released from a hospital and reportedly doing well two days after being shot in the upper body during what police said was an apparent carjacking in Alexandria, Va. No arrests have been made.
QBs have their chief
Hall of Fame Racing, the new NASCAR race team owned by former Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman made its first hire, selecting Philippe Lopez as crew chief. Lopez most recently worked in research and development at Richard Childress Racing.
School for bidders
Bid leaders from seven European and Asian cities began a four-day seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland, to learn about the campaign process for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The candidates are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; PyeongChang, South Korea; Salzburg, Austria; Sochi, Russia; and Sofia, Bulgaria.
Bourque's son cut
Chris Bourque, son of retired All-Star defenseman Ray Bourque, was among the five forward assigned by the Washington Capitals to their AHL affiliate. A left winger, Bourque was the Capitals' second-round draft choice last year after playing one season at Boston University.
Referee suspended
FIFA, soccer's governing body, suspended Brazilian referee Edilson Pereira de Carvalho, who is suspected to taking bribes. -- Sun wire services
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