Recordpub.com - Thursday's Sports Wire

Browns receive

blackout extension

Associated Press

BEREA — The NFL has given the Cleveland Browns a 24-hour extension to sell the remaining tickets for Sunday’s game against San Diego and avoid a TV blackout.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Browns said there were “a few thousand tickets” left. For a game to be aired on local TV, the league requires a game to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff.

The Browns have until 4 p.m. Friday to sell the tickets. The team has not had a game blacked out since its expansion return in 1999.

Jones and Solich will match wits

in MAC title game

DETROIT — Frank Solich has revived his career, giving Ohio a legitimate football team.

Central Michigan coach Butch Jones is just getting started, winning so many games in three years that his boss is afraid of losing him.

Solich and his Ohio Bobcats will face the Jones-led Central Michigan Chippewas on Friday night in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Solich was fired by Nebraska after going 9-3 in 2003 and 58-19 overall. Ohio hired him in 2005 and he has given the school a chance to win its first MAC title since 1968.

Central Michigan made Jones a head coach for the first time when Brian Kelly left to lead Cincinnati.

Earnhardt Jr.

says Danica talks still ongoing

LAS VEGAS — Dale Earnhardt Jr. says negotiations are still ongoing with Danica Patrick, but he’s not sure if a deal will be completed with JR Motorsports.

Earnhardt’s team fields Nationwide Series cars and the second-tier series is the likely starting point for the IndyCar driver.

Iverson glad to

be back in Philly

PHILADELPHIA — A tearful Allen Iverson is happy to be back with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Iverson is returning to the franchise where he was an MVP, calling it an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. The 10-time All-Star guard signed a non-guaranteed deal with the 76ers on Wednesday, and said at the Wachovia Center that he’s ready to prove he can still play.

“I want to retire here,” Iverson said Thursday.

Poulter, Johnson tied for lead

at Tiger’s event

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Ian Poulter and Zach Johnson are tied for the lead at 4-under 68 after the first round of the Chevron World Challenge, and only one of them was happy about it.

Poulter was in control at Sherwood Country Club until a few wild shots on the final hole led to a double bogey. Johnson, who already is looking ahead to the 2010 season, made up most of his ground on the par 5s.

The tournament is missing its host — Tiger Woods, who withdrew citing injuries from a car accident last week outside his home.

Padraig Harrington, winless this year, had a 69 on a beautiful day among the foothills of Conejo Valley.

Vikes RB Peterson gets 109 mph speeding ticket

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson could lose his driver’s license after police clocked him driving at 109 mph — nearly twice the posted speed limit — on a suburban Minneapolis highway last weekend.

Peterson told The Associated Press on Thursday that he “got a little speeding ticket. I need to be more aware of the speed I was going and not let it happen again.”

Peterson was pulled over just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday while driving his BMW in a 55-mph zone.

Mangino resigns

as Kansas coach

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas coach Mark Mangino has resigned just two years after leading the Jayhawks to the greatest season in their checkered football history.

The university made the announcement Thursday as athletic director Lew Perkins met with players to give them the news.

The school said last month it would investigate Mangino’s treatment of his players. In the following days, many former players described insensitive, humiliating remarks they claim he made to them in the heat of games or practice, often in front of others.

But next came a wave of support by former and current players who remained loyal, insisting Mangino had strengthened the long-struggling program with structure and discipline, crediting the rotund 53-year-old with making them better players and men.