Sports in Brief: La Salle alum wins a frigid N.Y. run

Sean Quigley, a former La Salle all-American, won the men's title and Aziza Aliyu of Ethiopia took the women's in the Midnight Run through a frigid Central Park in New York City early yesterday.
Quigley, 23, covered the four miles in 18 minutes, 45 seconds. Brian Olinger of Columbus, Ohio, was second in 18:53, followed by Abiyot Endale of Ethiopia in 18:59.

About 4,000 competed in the event, sponsored by the New York Road Runners. The temperature was 18 degrees when the race started at midnight, but a 16-m.p.h. wind dropped it to just 3 degrees.

"I never ran in weather as cold as this," Quigley said.

Aliyu outkicked Emily Brown of Minneapolis by one second to finish in 21:21. Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia was third in 22:05.


Colleges
Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops, 48, earned $3 million when the calendar turned.
A clause in Stoops' contract provided for him to receive a so-called "stay bonus" of $3 million after completing 10 seasons as the Sooners' coach through the end of 2008.

No. 2 Oklahoma plays No. 1 Florida in the BCS championship game Thursday in Miami.



Tulsa football coach Todd Graham, 44, agreed to a new 10-year contract for undisclosed terms that could keep him with the Golden Hurricane through the 2018 season.

He has a 20-7 overall record at Tulsa after coaching the Golden Hurricanes to their first back-to-back 10-win seasons.

Tulsa (10-3) will face Ball State (12-1) in the GMAC Bowl Tuesday in Mobile, Ala.



California football coach Jeff Tedford, 47, agreed to a two-year contract extension that takes him through the 2015 season, athletic director Sandy Barbour said.

The Golden Bears completed a 9-4 season Saturday by beating Miami, 24-17, in the Emerald Bowl. It was Cal's fifth victory in a school-record six straight bowl appearances under Tedford.

He has a 59-30 record over seven seasons.



Ohio State star Chris "Beanie" Wells is not ready to say whether the Fiesta Bowl will be his last collegiate game.

"I don't want to say I'm leaning toward staying or I'm leaning toward going," the junior running back said. "All I'm saying is I do want to be the best Buckeye to ever come through here."

The No. 10 Buckeyes (10-2) will play third-ranked Texas (11-1) Monday in Glendale, Ariz.



Josh Freeman, a junior quarterback for Kansas State, will enter the NFL draft, ESPN.com reported.


Tennis
Andy Murray defeated James Blake, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a semifinal with Roger Federer at the inaugural Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In the other first-round match, Nikolay Davydenko ousted Andy Roddick, 6-4, 6-4, and will face Rafael Nadal in today's other semifinal.

Nadal and Federer had byes.


Noteworthy
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt edged U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, 1,673 points to 1,557, in a vote for the 2008 athlete of the year by the International Sports Press Association. Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Games; Bolt captured three on the track, setting three world records.
Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia, the Olympic pole vault champion, was named sportswoman of the year.

The organization includes journalists from 96 nations.