Saturday, November 1, 2008

Maryland freshman Jin Soo Kim was denied eligibility by the NCAA Clearinghouse yesterday, according to a source close to the situation. However, the decision is not yet final. Maryland has until Thursday to submit further documentation verifying that Kim was the one who took the exams necessary to complete online correspondence courses he took last spring while recovering from shoulder surgery, according to the source, who requested anonymity because the decision is pending.

Kim, a 6-foot-7 small forward, underwent shoulder surgery during the fourth quarter of his senior year at South Kent School in Connecticut. Kim's insurance company required him to return to his native South Korea for the surgery, which forced him to withdraw from classes at South Kent. While recovering from the surgery, Kim took online correspondence courses that have come under question by the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Should the eligibility denial become final, Kim would have to attend a junior college to become academically qualified before he could return to Maryland and play for the Terrapins. A message left seeking comment from a Maryland spokesman late last night was not immediately returned. . . .

The father of reigning national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough said it's unclear whether the North Carolina star will miss any regular season games because of a leg injury. The team said Hansbrough will be out of practice indefinitely with a stress reaction, which can be a precursor to a fracture without proper rest.

· COURTS: Leigh Steinberg, a prominent sports agent who helped inspire the movie "Jerry Maguire" and has acknowledged a battle with alcoholism, was arrested Oct. 22 in Newport Beach, Calif., on suspicion of being drunk in public.

· BASEBALL: Manager Charlie Manuel hoisted the World Series trophy while players basked in confetti, the Phanatic mascot danced and hundreds of thousands of Phillies fans roared in celebration of Philadelphia's first major sports championship in 25 years. . . .

Carlos Delgado's $12 million option for next year has been exercised by the New York Mets. . . . Tim Wakefield's $4 million option for 2009 has been exercised by the Boston Red Sox. . . . Arizona exercised a $2.9 million 2010 contract option on reliever Jon Rauch.

· AUTO RACING: After qualifying was rained out three straight weeks, with NASCAR lining up the cars by points, Jeff Gordon won the pole for tomorrow's Dickies 500 on the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth. . . .

Fernando Alonso overshadowed title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, setting the fastest time in practice for the decisive Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo.

In other news, Alonso and Formula One officials scorned a Spanish Web site's racist messages against championship leader Hamilton.

· GOLF: David Duval put together a 3-under-par 69 that left him only two shots behind leader Ryan Palmer going into the weekend at the PGA Tour's Ginn sur Mer Classic in Palm Coast, Fla. . . . Andy Bean made five birdies in six holes, finishing at 10-under 134 to take a one-shot lead over Nick Price after two rounds in the Champions Tour's Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif.

· TENNIS: Injuries got the better of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the Paris Masters quarterfinals. Nadal retired with a knee injury after losing the first set 6-1 against Nikolay Davydenko, just hours after Federer pulled out against James Blake with a sore back.

-- From News Services and Staff Reports