Sports Briefs
Meeting scheduled for basketball officials
Anyone interested in officiating basketball for the upcoming season needs to attend the first Kenai Peninsula Basketball Officials Association meeting on Oct. 8. The meeting will be held at Skyview High School at 6 p.m.
Informational packets will be handed out, as well as information on getting state certification. This is an extremely important meeting for all interested officials. For more information, call Mike Tovoli at 262-6422 or Randy Sparks at 260-3902.
Panthers down Ketchikan
The Skyview High School football team finished up its Northern Lights Conference schedule with a 2-2 record by defeating visiting Ketchikan 53-6 Friday.
"What was really positive was that we were able to put a bunch of different players in the game and have them contribute," Skyview coach Wade Marcuson said. "After the first half, we weren't making mistakes no matter who we had in the game."
The Panthers had seven different players make their way into the end zone. Mark McGarry had two touchdown receptions, while Neil Darling caught quarterback Ely Evanson's third touchdown pass of the game.
Picking up rushing touchdowns for Skyview, which led 27-6 at the end of the first half, were Adam Kosydar, Johnathon Dalebout, Evanson, Justin Rainwater, David Quelland and Brandon Cleveland.
The Kings fell to 0-3 in the Northern Lights Conference.
PANTHERS 53, KINGS 6
Ketchikan 6 0 0 0 -- 6
Skyview 7 20 13 13 -- 53
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -- Skyview: Smith 1-17, Dalebout 17-97, Evanson 10-80, Rainwater 1-4, Quelland 2-13, Cleveland 3-44, McGrady 1-9.
Passing -- Skyview: Evanson 5-5-0-113, Rainwater 0-1-0-0.
Receiving -- Skyview: McGarry 4-83, Darling 1-30.
Maine hockey coach dies at 46
BANGOR, Maine -- University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh, who led the Black Bears to two national championships, died Monday, 15 months after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He was 46.
After Walsh was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, he had his left lung and left kidney removed. He also underwent two exhaustive immunotherapy treatments and a stem-cell transplant.
He was taken to the Eastern Maine Medical Center on Sept. 10 after contracting pneumonia and died there.
Walsh, who was entering his 18th season at Maine, ranked 11th among active coaches and 19th on the overall victory list. He led Maine teams to two national championships and seven Frozen Four appearances.
''In the public's mind, no one was more closely associated with the University of Maine than Shawn,'' said Dr. Peter S. Hoff, university president. ''It didn't matter whether you followed college hockey or not, people knew Shawn and they knew him as an ambassador of and for UMaine.''
The Black Bears were scheduled for their first on-ice practice Tuesday.
Bledsoe suffers internal injuries
FOXBORO, Mass. -- Drew Bledsoe spent his second day in the hospital Monday and was expected to miss at least two games because of internal bleeding in his chest following a tackle.
The New England Patriots' quarterback was in stable condition after being taken to Massachusetts General Hospital on Sunday night. Doctors used a chest tube to alleviate the bleeding.
Bledsoe was knocked out of the game by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in the fourth quarter of New York's 10-3 win.
Griffith to miss at least six weeks with broken leg
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings strong safety Robert Griffith will miss at least six weeks with a broken leg, ending his streak of 70 straight starts.
Griffith, a Pro Bowl selection for the first time last season, was hurt on the opening kickoff of the Vikings' 17-10 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Filling in on the kickoff team, his cleats got stuck in the grass when he tried to go to his right toward the ball. He wasn't touched.
Seat belt partially tore in Mayfield crash
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The seat belt in Jeremy Mayfield's car was partially torn during an accident that injured the driver at Dover Downs International Speedway.
NASCAR officials found a tear in the left lap belt while inspecting Mayfield's car following his accident Sunday. The belt was made by Simpson Performance Products, the same company that manufactured the torn belt found in Dale Earnhardt's car following his fatal accident.
Bill Simpson, who resigned this summer as president of the company citing stress from Earnhardt's death, did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
NASCAR officials attributed Mayfield's torn belt to the phenomenon known as ''dumping,'' which was first revealed in the investigation into Earnhardt's Feb. 18 crash.
Dumping occurs when the webbing is pulled or moved to one side of the adjustment device through which the belt webbing travels. When a dumped belt is under stress, it can separate and tear across the entire webbing.
NASCAR said Mayfield's belt was only partially torn. Earnhardt's was completely separated
Simpson has maintained that Earnhardt's belt would not have broken in the accident if it had been installed properly and there has long been speculation that the seven-time Winston Cup champion tinkered with his belts so that they would fit his sitting style.
Most drivers sit in an almost 90-degree angle and Earnhardt was known to prefer to sit low and in a reclining-type position.
Chip Williams, Mayfield's spokesman, said the crew has insisted the belts were properly installed in Mayfield's car.
''They said everything was in right,'' Williams said Monday.
Mayfield was not seriously injured in the accident, which started when he blew a tire in Turn 1. He lost control of his car and hit the wall hard between Turns 1 and 2, heavily damaging the front right of his Ford Taurus.
Mayfield walked away from the accident, but was taken to a hospital for treatment on bruises and a chipped tooth.
Mayfield was not available for comment Monday, but Williams said the 32-year-old driver believes he briefly lost consciousness in the accident. Williams said Mayfield did not immediately respond over his radio.
NASCAR has sent the belt to an outside expert for inspection and said it would report its findings to drivers this week.