More Sports Extra

• Richard Stevens: Faces I'll remember are the smallest ones
• Michael Garcia: Here's to you, athletes, coaches and friends. These memories - and lessons - will last forever.
• Future looks bright for cycling academy

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Albuquerque Old Town
• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Former NASCAR champ dies of cancer

Benny Parsons, a former taxi driver turned NASCAR champion, died today after a short battle with lung cancer, his son Keith said. He was 65.

Parsons, the 1972 NASCAR champion, died in Charlotte, N.C. He was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in July after complaining of difficulty breathing. A former smoker who quit the habit in 1978, Parsons underwent intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments and was declared "cancer-free" in October.

But the aggressive treatment cost Parsons the use of his left lung, and he was hospitalized Dec. 26 when doctors found a blood clot in his right lung. He was transferred to intensive care shortly after his admission, and he remained there in an induced-coma.

A member of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers, Parsons retired from racing in 1988 and moved into the broadcasting booth. He spent the past six years as a commentator on NBC and TNT, and continued to call races from the booth during his treatment.

Ex-lineman arrested for stabbing

BELLEFONTE, Pa. - A former Penn State defensive lineman was arrested today in the killing of a student who was stabbed 93 times last spring.

Lavon Chisley, 23, of Waldorf, Md., was to be arraigned on counts of first- and third-degree murder in the death of Langston Carraway, said Patton Township Police Chief John Petrick.

Chisley was booted off the Penn State football team before the 2005 season because of poor grades. After starting nine games in 2003, Chisley was mainly a reserve in 2004.

The body of Carraway, 26, a senior in labor and industrial relations, was discovered inside his State College apartment on June 5.

Chisley's attorney, Karen Muir, didn't immediately return messages left this morning.

Thunderbirds fall short at Showcase

Forward Joe Shipp scored 26 points and led a late rally for the Thunderbirds on Monday, but it wasn't enough as Albuquerque lost 95-94 to the Dakota Wizards in the 2007 NBA Development League MLK Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Guard Renaldo Major led Dakota (14-3) with 23 points. He also blocked a potential game-winner from Albuquerque's Chris Rodgers with 20 seconds left, and made two free throws on the next possession to ice the win.

The Thunderbirds (8-11) play again today in Sioux Falls, tonight against the Tulsa 66ers. Albuquerque won't play again at home until Jan. 31 against Dakota.

UNM men's tennis team opens season

The University of New Mexico men's tennis team went 2-1 over the weekend at the Purdue Boilermaker Invitational held at West Lafayette, Ind.

The Lobos dropped their season opener against Purdue 4-3 on Saturday, but responded with a 4-3 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday. UNM concluded the three-day event with a 7-0 sweep over Kentucky on Monday.

UNM's No. 1 singles player, Max Jones, went 3-0 during the tournament, including an upset of No. 52 Brady Crosby of Western Michigan in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

UNM next competes on Saturday at the Mountain Region Indoor Playoff held in Boise, Idaho.

Hitting camp: UNM baseball coaches and players will be conducting a spring training hitting camp at the Ambrose Alday baseball hitting complex located south of Lobo Field. The camp for ages 6-18 is scheduled on five Wednesdays (6-7:45 p.m.) from Jan. 24-Feb. 21. Cost is $150. For an application, call Ken Jacome at 975-5721 or Trent Petrie at 925-5567 or visit www.golobos.com.

Marlins ink ace Willis to one-year deal

MIAMI - Florida Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis agreed to a one-year contract for $6.45 million, a hefty salary for the team with the lowest payroll in the major leagues by far last year.

The deal represents a 48 percent increase over Willis' salary of $4.35 million in 2006. He went 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA in 223 1-3 innings last season.

All-Star game: Busch Stadium in St. Louis will host baseball's All-Star game in 2009. The decision, which was expected, gives St. Louis its first baseball All-Star game since 1966.

More college stars declare for draft

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

Peterson ran for 4,045 yards in three seasons, ranking behind only 1978 Heisman winner Billy Sims (4,118) and Hall of Famer Joe Washington (4,071) on Oklahoma's career rushing list. His 1,925 yards in 2004 were a school rushing record and the most by a freshman in NCAA history.

Record-breaking Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan also declared himself eligible for the NFL draft, but may still return to the Warriors.

Brennan filed as a formality to meet the NFL deadline, but is still deciding whether he'll skip his senior season, Warriors spokeswoman Lois Manin said. Brennan has 72 hours before he needs to make an official decision.

And Ohio State running back Antonio Pittman announced Monday he will forego his senior season to enter the NFL draft in April.

NFL game to be played in London

LONDON - London was chosen today to stage the first NFL regular-season game outside North America.

The NFL received interest from several German cities, but settled on London for the first game.

"There is no better place to begin this initiative than London," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "It is one of the great cities of the world with an established and growing fan base for our game."

The venue and teams for next season's game will be announced later.

NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside the United States every season for the next five years. The international series will kick off with the game later this year in London.

Britain, Germany, Canada and Mexico have been identified as the top markets for NFL games outside the United States. China and Japan were ruled out of the running.

While the London venue hasn't been announced, the favorite option is the new Wembley Stadium, which is due to open this spring after years of delays.

Giants: The New York Giants hired Jerry Reese as their general manager Monday, making him only the third black GM in NFL history. Reese, who served as the team's director of player personnel the last four years, was considered the favorite among the Giants' in-house candidates to replace Ernie Accorsi, who held the post for nine seasons before retiring.

Cardinals: Arizona hired Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt as head coach to replace Dennis Green, who was fired after going 16-32 in three seasons. Whisenhunt signed a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth and is to be introduced at a news conference today.

Panthers: Carolina fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and two other assistants, two weeks after a disappointing 8-8 season.

Phelps takes down backstroke king

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Michael Phelps went 1-for-3 Monday in his coach's grand experiment of taking on world record holders in the 100-yard butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke in the Southern California Grand Prix of Swimming.

Phelps topped backstroke king Aaron Peirsol, winning in 45.90 seconds. Peter Marshall was second and Peirsol, who has dominated the stroke since after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, finished third.

Phelps proved no match for Brendan Hansen in the breaststroke. Hansen won in 52.81, with Phelps second in 54.67 - nearly 1 seconds under his best time.

Staff and wire reports