Sports in Brief: Former NBA player Rogers paralyzed

Former Wake Forest basketball star

Rodney Rogers

is paralyzed from the shoulders down after an all-terrain vehicle accident, the News & Observer of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., reported yesterday.

Former Demon Deacons coach

Dave Odom

told the newspaper about Rogers' condition.

Rogers, the ACC player of the year in 1993, was riding in the woods in rural Vance County, N.C., last week when he fell off the vehicle, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol.

He was transferred from Duke Hospital to the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, which specializes in rehabilitation for people with catastrophic injuries.

The 37-year-old Durham native had a 12-year NBA career (including a brief stint with the 76ers) and won the league's sixth-man award in 1999-2000.

Utah State hired Utah defensive coordinator

Gary Andersen

as its head football coach, and Toledo hired Oklahoma State defensive coordinator

Tim Beckman

.

Texas Tech was working on a contract extension for

Mike Leach

, who has removed himself from consideration at Washington. Fresno State coach

Pat Hill

also took his name out of the mix to replace Washington's

Tyrone Willingham

, who was fired.

Auburn's wish list to replace

Tommy Tuberville

, who resigned, includes Leach, Louisiana Tech's

Derek Dooley

, and Arkansas'

Bobby Petrino

, plus assistant coaches

Jimbo Fisher

of Florida State and

Will Muschamp

of Texas.

Tuberville became the third Southeastern Conference coach to depart this season. The others are

Sylvester Croom

at Mississippi State and

Phillip Fulmer

at Tennessee.

Lane Kiffin

replaced Fulmer on Sunday.

Penn State senior

James Sheep

, who plays the Nittany Lion mascot, will miss the Rose Bowl after being suspended for violating team rules.

Sheep, of Chambersburg, Pa., was charged with driving under the influence on Nov. 22.

Fresno State accepted a bid to play in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 20.

Kentucky forward

Ramon Harris

was released from the hospital a day after a head-to-head collision with teammate

Michael Porter

during the Wildcats' basketball victory over Lamar on Wednesday. Medical tests showed no damage.

Elsewhere:

Tennessee safety

Demetrice Morley

was arrested on an outstanding warrant stemming from a 2007 robbery charge in Miami. . . . Texas Tech defensive back

De'Shon Sanders

, a reserve, was arrested in Lubbock on two cocaine-related charges. . . . Clemson backup quarterback

Willy Korn

had surgery on his right shoulder but could be ready to play in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.

Petty Enterprises is in discussions to merge its franchise with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, the Associated Press reported.

Petty, the team founded by seven-time series champion

Richard Petty

, has no full-time sponsorship lined up for next season.

Honda will pull out of Formula One unless a new sponsor can be found within three months, the Associated Press reported.

Australian

Paul Sheehan

birdied the 18th hole to finish the first round with a 6-under-par 66 and a share of the lead at the storm-delayed Australian PGA tournament in Coolum. New Zealand's Tim Wilkinson, who completed his first round before a thunderstorm hit the Hyatt Regency resort course, also shot a 66.

Michele Wie

ran off four straight birdies late in her round for a 7-under 65 that put her in a tie for the lead with

Shiho Oyama

of Japan after the second of five rounds at the LPGA's qualifying tournament at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Henrik Stenson

tied the course record at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa, by shooting a 9-under 63 in the first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Dallas Stars forward

Sean Avery

met for three hours in New York with NHL commissioner

Gary Bettman

, who said he would issue a ruling on Avery's suspension today.

Bettman suspended Avery indefinitely on Tuesday for making degrading remarks on camera about his former girlfriends.

Barry Melrose

will return to ESPN as a hockey analyst on Jan. 1. Melrose was fired as coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning last month.