Virginia Tech banishes Vick after years of poor conduct
Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was dismissed from the team Friday, the result of numerous legal transgressions and his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Gator Bowl.
Charles Steger, president of the Blacksburg university, announced the dismissal on the same day that coach Frank Beamer met with Vick and his mother in their Hampton Roads home, the school said in a statement. Beamer informed them of the decision during the meeting.
Vick, the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, was suspended from school in 2004 for several legal problems. The junior came under intense scrutiny this week after replays showed he stomped on the left calf of Louisville All-American defensive end Elvis Dumervil during last Monday’s bowl.
No penalty was called on the play and Vick claimed it was accidental. He further hurt his cause by claiming to have apologized to Dumervil, the NCAA sacks leader, but the Louisville player said no such apology was offered.
On Friday, it was revealed that Vick had been stopped for speeding and driving with a revoked or suspended license in Hampton on Dec. 17, Cpl. James West said. Vick’s license had been taken away in August 2004 when he was cited for reckless driving and marijuana possession in New Kent County.
Steger suspended Vick from school at that time, and warned that any additional problems would effectively end his time as a member of the Hokies’ football team.
Vick said before the Gator Bowl win that he planned to return for his senior season. Now, his choices are to declare for the NFL Draft or transfer to a Division I-AA school so he can play next season.
The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported on its Web site that Vick would turn pro.
“It’s not a big deal,” Vick was quoted as telling the newspaper. “I’ll just move on to the next level, baby.”
Tennis
Federer steams into Qatar final
Defending champion Roger Federer continued his strong preparation for the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of German Tommy Haas in the semifinals of the Qatar Open at Doha, Qatar.
The top-ranked Swiss player will face Gael Monfils of France, who defeated Filippo Volandri of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Federer won 11 of 12 finals last year. He’ll face Monfils, the world’s No. 1 junior a year ago, for the first time today.
•Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport beat injured Venus Williams 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the finals of the Champions Challenge exhibition tournament at Hong Kong.
Earlier in the day, Williams’ younger sister, Serena, pulled out of the tournament with a left knee injury.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Kim Clijsters will play Russia’s Elena Dementieva.
•Former No. 1 player Martina Hingis, who won three of four matches during her comeback at the Australian women’s hard-court tournament at Gold Coast, suffered a hip strain during her final match.
Hingis, 25, who won five Grand Slam singles titles, left the tour three years ago because of foot, heal and ankle injuries.
Her next stop, if the hip strain heals, is the Sydney International. Then, beginning Jan. 16, comes the Australian Open, a major she won three times.
•At Perth, Australia, Lisa Raymond and Taylor Dent won the deciding mixed doubles against the Netherlands, giving the United States its fourth Hopman Cup mixed teams title in 18 years.
Raymond and Dent beat Michaella Krajicek and Peter Wessels 4-6, 6-2 and 10-7 in a tiebreaker.
Winter sports
Germans dominate luge
Germany’s Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch beat compatriots Sebastian Schmidt and Andre Forker to win the World Cup men’s luge doubles at Koenigsee, Germany.
Both pairs had the same time on the first run, but 2002 Olympic champions Leitner and Resch won with an aggregate time of 1 minute, 36.205 seconds, 0.102 seconds better than Schmidt and Forker.
•At Bischofshofen, Austria, Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic and Janne Ahonen of Finland finished in a tie in points, the first time in 54 years that a Four Hills ski jumping title has been shared.
Janda leads the World Cup standings with 872 points. Ahonen is second with 755.
Miscellany
Appleby drives to Mercedes lead
Defending champion Stuart Appleby survived 35 mph gusts for a 1-under-par 72 to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Mercedes Golf Championship at Kapalua, Hawaii.
Appleby, at 3-under 143, is trying to become the first player in nearly 50 years to capture the winners-only tournament three straight times.
David Toms missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that could have caught Appleby, settling to join U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell (72), former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk (72) and three-time major champion Vijay Singh (74) at 144.
•Thomas Hearns’ pretrial hearing on a charge that he struck his 13-year-old son was postponed so the former boxing champion’s lawyer could gather more information.
Hearns, 47, is to return to the Southfield, Mich., court on Jan 26. If convicted of the misdemeanor assault and battery charge, he faces a maximum penalty of about three months in jail and a $500 fine.
•At St. Louis, Christine Sinclair of the University of Portland and Jason Garey of Maryland won the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy as NCAA Division I soccer players of the year.
•Stanford junior forward Fred Washington will have season-ending surgery on his left knee to repair a torn patella tendon. Washington was averaging 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in six games this season.