Sports in Brief | Florida St. picks coach to one day succeed Bowden

The terms of

Bobby Bowden's

new contract will be revealed, Florida State officials said yesterday after a report surfaced that offensive coordinator

Jimbo Fisher

will take over when the 78-year-old football coach retires.

Bowden's agreement, however, would allow him to coach for as long as he wants, according to his attorney,

Russ Campbell

of Birmingham, Ala.

On Tuesday, university president

T.K. Wetherell

told boosters in Jacksonville, Fla., that he was working on a deal to keep Fisher.

Florida State officials would not comment on an ESPN report that said Fisher has agreed to a three-year deal for just under $1 million per year to succeed Bowden. The report also said that if Fisher is not named coach upon Bowden's retirement, the school will give Fisher a multimillion-dollar buyout.

Fisher, who has never been a head coach, came to Florida State earlier this year from LSU.

Missouri's

Gary Pinkel

and Kansas'

Mark Mangino

are among the eight finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award for college football's coach of the year.

The other finalists are Virginia Tech's

Frank Beamer,

Air Force's

Troy Calhoun,

Arizona State's

Dennis Erickson,

Hawaii's

June Jones,

Ohio State's

Jim Tressel

and Illinois'

Ron Zook

. The award, named after the longtime Grambling State coach, is voted on by the Football Writers Association of America and will be presented Jan. 4.

A private fund-raising group for the University of Arkansas approved a salary supplement for Wake Forest football coach

Jim Grobe,

a strong indication that Grobe will replace

Houston Nutt

as the Razorbacks' coach. There was no word from the university, however, on whether Grobe would replace Nutt, who quit Nov. 26 and was hired almost immediately by Mississippi.

Chris Long

of Virginia won the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation's best defensive end. The award is named for the former Miami all-American, who was a teammate of Long's father,

Howie,

with the Oakland Raiders from 1981 to '83.

Mountaineers kicker

Pat McAfee

has received angry text messages and had his car vandalized after he missed two field goals in West Virginia's 13-9 loss to Pitt.

His father,

Tim McAfee,

said the kicker received a "McAfee must die" message on his online Facebook page.

Saturday's loss knocked WVU out of national championship contention.

McAfee, who is known for his accuracy, missed first-quarter field goals from 20 and 32 yards.

WVU football spokesman

Mike Montoro

said he was aware of the threats.

Florida defensive end

Jermaine Cunningham

and a former teammate were charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly hitting a Gainesville restaurant worker with a sandwich and empty cups. Cunningham and former Gators linebacker

Jon Demps

were released on their own recognizance, according to Alachua County (Fla.) Jail records.

The Department of Justice will not investigate former Duke lacrosse prosecutor

Mike Nifong

for his handling of the 2006 rape case, a spokesman for the federal agency said. The department decided the case was better resolved inside the state, spokesman

Peter Carr

said in a prepared statement.

Nifong pursued charges in the spring of 2006 against three Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of raping an exotic dancer during an off-campus party.

He resigned from his seat after state prosecutors dropped the charges against the players, saying they were innocent victims of Nifong's "tragic rush to accuse." Nifong has since been disbarred.

Elsewhere: Tyrone Willingham

will return next season as Washington's football coach despite just 11 wins in three years. . . .

Bryan Cohen

, a 6-foot-5 guard at Abington Friends, signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Bucknell beginning in the fall of 2008. . . . Syracuse football coach

Greg Robinson

said he is dismissing offensive coordinator

Brian White

.

Carl Nafzger,

trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, became a two-time winner of the Big Sport of Turfdom award on Tuesday. The award, presented by the Turf Publicists of America, is given each year to a person who enhances thoroughbred racing through cooperation with the media.

State police say a teenage hunter has been wounded in an accidental shooting near Ford City, Pa. Police did not identify the victim, who was wounded about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The hunter was at a Pittsburgh hospital, and authorities said his injuries were not life-threatening.

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials said the teen was the eighth person to be shot since the state's two-week rifle-hunting deer season began Nov. 26.

Soccer goalkeepers

Hope Solo

and

Briana Scurry,

who were at the center of a World Cup firestorm, were invited to the U.S. women's national team training camp by new coach

Pia Sundhage

.

The camp marks the beginning of preparations for the 2008 Olympics.