Sports Briefs

Area soccer club competes in Fairbanks

The Kenai Peninsula Soccer Club had four teams play at the Far North Tournament in Fairbanks this past weekend. The tournament included 53 teams and some of the teams in the older age brackets had contests kick off at midnight.

The under-12 girls team fared the best of the peninsula's squads, going 2-3 to finish fourth out of eight teams. Each team selected an outstanding player, and peninsula's outstanding player was Aislynn DeMello.

The under-12 boys team finished with a 2-2 record to place fifth out of 10 teams. Brook Carver was the team's outstanding player.

The under-14 boys finished at 0-4, but club president Rod Ritchie said the side was competitive in every game. The outstanding player on that team was Kyle Eshleman.

Finally, the under-14 girls finished 0-3-1 and Keeley Boyle was named their outstanding player.

The club will continue play from July 14 to 16, when they go to a tournament in Anchorage. From July 28 to 30, the club will host a tournament on the peninsula.

Source: Guthridge to step down at North Carolina

Bill Guthridge, who led North Carolina to two Final Four appearances in his three seasons as coach of the Tar Heels, will announce his retirement at a news conference Friday, The Associated Press has learned.

A source close to the basketball program, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Thursday that Guthridge recently decided he did not have the energy to continue coaching the Tar Heels.

The school has called an on-campus news conference for 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Guthridge, 62, said just a few weeks ago that he planned to stay on another five or six years.

A tearful Wendel Clark retires from hockey

TORONTO -- With tears streaming down his cheeks, Wendel Clark said goodbye to hockey.

The 15-year veteran retired Thursday, ending a career in which his fearless play endeared him to Toronto Maple Leafs fans.

''I just wanted to play hockey,'' the 33-year-old winger said at a news conference at Air Canada Centre. ''That's pretty much the whole story.''

In his prime, Clark could score with a wicked wrist shot, punish opponents with clean checks and drop his gloves at a moment's notice. He was a fighter with a knockout punch. He was also the fans' choice, and he rocked Maple Leaf Gardens.

Male athletes lose Supreme Court appeal

WASHINGTON -- A Supreme Court appeal by male athletes challenging Illinois State University's elimination of its men's wrestling and soccer teams to help equalize opportunities for both genders failed Thursday. Without comment, the justices left intact rulings that threw out the lawsuit against ISU and its officials.

A federal law, known as Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, bans gender discrimination by any program receiving federal money. Virtually all of the nation's universities and colleges receive some federal aid, and the law has been used to force schools to equalize the money spent for men's and women's athletics.