Sports Briefs

Public invited to Riverskate Fallfest

About 50 figure skaters from the peninsula and Anchorage will showcase their talents at the Riverskate Fallfest 2001 Saturday and Sunday at the Soldotna Sports Center.

Skaters will perform from 3 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

For more information contact the Sports Center at 262-3151.

Titans finish long-term contract for Rolle

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms Thursday with All-Pro cornerback Samari Rolle on a new six-year contract worth $37.5 million.

Negotiations had been interrupted last week when Rolle left camp upset over the slow pace of talks, but resumed Aug. 31 when he returned.

He will receive a two-tiered signing bonus of $11.5 million in a deal that replaces the one-year, $1.48 million tender he signed last month, according to sources close to the negotiations. The new deal is for five years with an expensive option for the sixth year.

General manager Floyd Reese confirmed they finally concluded a six-year contract, saying the Titans now have tied up one of the NFL's premier cornerbacks.

''He's still a young man, and I imagine there's a possibility he could sign a contract after this, but I'm sure this will take the bigger part of his career,'' Reese said. ''We're proud he's going to remain a Titan.''

Koivu prepares to fight abdominal cancer

MONTREAL -- After getting over the shock of learning he had abdominal cancer, Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu sought some inspiration.

''He asked us to bring him a copy of Lance Armstrong's book when we go back to visit him later today,'' defenseman Craig Rivet said Thursday after he and teammate Brian Savage visited Koivu.

With surgery ruled out as an option, the 26-year-old center will begin chemotherapy as soon as the type of cancer is determined, a process that could take up to two weeks.

Rivet and Savage said Koivu was in better spirits a day after he received the grim diagnosis.

''He seemed to be a lot more cheerful, but he's obviously scared,'' Savage said. ''Just the unknown of what kind of cancer it is is pretty difficult for him right now.''

Pittsburgh star Mario Lemieux, diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 1993, had encouraging words for Koivu.

''It's not easy when you're in that situation, but you have to battle and you have to be very strong mentally,'' Lemieux said Thursday after an afternoon skate with the Canadian Olympic team in Calgary, Alberta.

''And I think he is, just from what some of the guys have said over the years and watching him play over the years. He's always battling and hopefully that can translate into his private life.''

NCAA delivers letter of inquiry to Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Alabama received official word from the NCAA Thursday detailing alleged rules violations in the Crimson Tide football program.

The university did not immediately make public the charges, contained in the letter of inquiry. President Andrew Sorensen, athletic director Mal Moore and attorneys were reviewing the letter.

But simply receiving the document represented bad news for the Crimson Tide since a letter of inquiry -- the product of months of investigation -- is similar to a grand jury indictment.

Institutions typically have 90 days to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

Under NCAA rules, the program faces possible penalties including probation, a reduction in scholarships, a bowl ban and loss of postseason revenues.

University spokeswoman Janet Griffith said officials planned a news conference at 12:30 p.m. Friday to discuss the NCAA review, but added it was unclear whether the school would make the letter public.

''I know they're committed to releasing as much as they can,'' she said.

NCAA investigators have spent months reviewing allegations that an Alabama booster paid $200,000 to a high school coach in Memphis, Tenn., in return for the coach sending a star player to Alabama. The player, defensive lineman Albert Means, has since transferred to Memphis.

The coach, Lynn Lang, and a former assistant, Milton Kirk, were indicted last week on federal charges in the recruiting scandal.

The review also focused on questions of academic improprieties, improper benefits for players and other possible recruiting violations, all during the 1997-2000 tenure of former coach Mike DuBose.

The letter represented only the latest in a string of scrapes at Alabama with the NCAA enforcement office.

The football program went on NCAA probation and lost scholarships in 1995 for rules violations under former coach Gene Stallings. The basketball program acknowledged breaking NCAA rules in 1998.

While Alabama could be considered a ''repeat offender'' under NCAA rules, leading to a possible shutdown of the football program, such a harsh penalty was considered unlikely since the university said it cooperated fully with the investigation.

DuBose resigned at the end of last season after Alabama finished 3-8, its worst record in 43 years. DuBose was replaced by Dennis Franchione, whose team lost its season opener to UCLA last week, 20-17.

Alabama is at Vanderbilt on Saturday.