The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • D3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: SPT DATE: 10-13-2006 EDITION: MET ZONE: MET PAGE: D3.0 DEADLINE: 0.27 COMPOSETIME: 00.51 CMYK Orlando Sentinel FINAL FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1 3, 2006 D3 Vijay making return to Disney 'I'm not going to say if you don't make it, if you don't win it, you're a failure. I'm not going to put that on my South Carolina basketball Coach Dave Odom on his team's attempt to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 3 seasons mitment list. Vijay Singh, whose victory at Disney three years ago helped him temporarily supplant Woods as the top player in the world and top dog on the tour money list, joined the field of 144 players on Thursday, becoming the first player in the world top 10 to commit to the Lake Buena Vista event. Singh has had a wild ride at Disney since winning in 2003. He finished in a tie for second in 2004 and then missed the cut last year, as did Woods.

The latter has until 5 p.m. today to commit to Disney, where he won the second of his 54 tour titles as a rookie in 1996. Singh, No. 5 in the current world rankings, has had an uneven year by his recent standards. He has recorded only one victory but has posted 12 top-10 finishes worldwide.

"We're very excited to have him back," Disney tournament director Kevin Weickel said. "He's been one of the most consistent players in the world for years and always seems to play well here." Also added was veteran American standout Davis Love III, who won last week in Greensboro, N.C. Love has a nice pedigree at Disney, though he never has won. He finished second in 1998 and 2001 and Vijay Singh has entered next week's tournament. Still no word from Tiger.

By STEVE ELLING SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Tournament officials at Disney World still are awaiting word from the No. 1 player in golf regarding whether he will play next week in the PGA Tour's Funai Classic. In the meantime, the last player not named Tiger Woods to be ranked No. 1 in the world just added his name to the com- THE MORNING BUZZ Landis goes public with doping defense 2 ailing Magic players to return soon has five top-10 finishes. Among active players, only Woods (six) has more top-10 finishes at Disney than Love.

Woods, Singh and Love top the Disney career list.Lake Nona's Ben Curtis, 29, a two-time winner this year, also joined the field. Curtis, with three wins in his tour tenure overall, is currently the lone American-born player under age 30 with multiple victories. The tournament, which stands as the penultimate full-field event of the 2006 schedule, begins Thursday at the Palm and Magnolia courses. Steve Elling can be reached at sellingorlandosentinel.com. Tonights Game ic's victory against Charlotte.

Coach Brian Hill said he likely will change his starting lineup, meaning he could go with PF Darko Milicic andor PG Travis Diener. HORNETS UPDATE: New Orleans Oklahoma City was one of the busiest teams in the offseason, acquiring Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler and Bobby Jackson and parting ways with PFC PJ. Brown, PG Speedy Claxton and SG J.R. Smith. PG Chris Paul, who played with Team USA in the FIBA World Championship, is the reigning rookie of the year.

The Hornets will return to New Orleans for six games including the home opener with plans to return permanently next season after being relocated last year by Hurricane Katrina. WHAT TO EXPECT: The Magic will have their hands full defensively, trying to stop PF David West and Paul. BRIAN SCHMITZ By BRIAN SCHMIH SENTINEL STAFF WRITER OKLAHOMA CITY Better late than be placed on injured reserve. Nearly two weeks after the opening of training camp, the Orlando Magic slowly are seeing their team being put back together. Because of injury and illness, some assembly has been required.

This weekend, beginning with tonight's exhibition game against the Hornets in Oklahoma City, the Magic will welcome back starting power forward Tony Battie (sore right knee) and backup point guard Carlos Arroyo (strained abdominal muscle). The Magic had only 11 of their 17 players available for their preseason-opening victory Tuesday night in Charlotte against the Bobcats. Coach Brian Hill said after Thursday's practice that he expects Battie and Arroyo to play in one of the two back-to-back games, either against the Hornets or against the Spurs on Saturday night in San Antonio. That leaves four other players, including starting point guard Jameer Nelson (concussion) and starting small forward Hedo Turkoglu (flu-like symptoms), still trying to recover from ailments. Nelson is being held out as a precaution, saying the medical staff doesn't want him risking another blow to the head.

Nelson was injured in a training-camp collision with Dwight Howard. Turkoglu "could play now," said Hill, but the club wants to see the results from his blood and urine tests this week. Rookie shooting guard J.J. Redick (torn tissue on the bottom of his left foot) at least was wearing a basketball shoe on Thursday, having shed a protective boot he has worn the past few days. Redick will be out another week, as will forward Trevor Ar-iza (sore toes on right foot) "It has been a MASH unit," Hill said.

"But at least we're getting better. We're heading in the right direction." Hill said that he will rest shooting guard Grant Hill in one of the two games this weekend. Grant looks fully recovered from nonsurgical rehabilitation of a sports hernia injury this summer, scoring 16 points against the Bobcats. Brian Hill said he will juggle his starting lineup against the Hornets and Spurs. He started CHUCK BURTONTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS guard Keith Bogans during the Magic's win over Charlotte on Tuesday.

Downs Jr. to consecutive six-to-36-month sentences for corruption of minors and criminal solicitation to commit simple assault. A jury convicted Downs in September. MORE YOUTH SPORTS: Pitchers in the Little League World Series will be held to a pitch count similar to the limit used during the regular season. Starting in 2007, the number of pitches thrown in a game will determine how long that player must rest before returning to the mound, organizers said.

COLLEGES Kansas loses scholarships Kansas avoided postseason bans on its football and basketball programs, but the NCAA added an extra year to the school's self-imposed two-year probation and cut additional scholarships. The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions found a lack of institutional control and extended the penalty through Oct. 1 1 2009. The committee also cut three football and one men's basketball scholarship for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. MORE COLLEGES: Former Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady will receive the John R.

Wooden Legends of Coaching award in April. Keady had a 51 2-270 record at Purdue and led the Boilermakers to six Big Ten titles. OLYMPICS French leader convicted The president of the French Olympic Committee was convicted on corruption charges and received a three-month suspended sentence. Henri Serandour, also an International Olympic Committee member, was accused of giving two lucrative jobs to a communications company that had hired his wife, former swimmer Catherine Poirot.The 69-year-old Serandour could be suspended by the IOC following the guilty verdict in the criminal court trial that began in June. Compiled by Lyndsay Sutton BARBARA GINDLEFE Andy Roddick fought back from a loss in the first set Thursday to defeat Richard Gasquet 6-7 (5), 6-1 6-3 in the Vienna, Austria.

1960 Bill Mazeroski opens the bottom of the 9th with a home run to give Pittsburgh a 1 0-9 victory and the World Series title over the N.Y. Yankees. Floyd Landis took his case to the public Thursday with an online presentation that included key elements of his defense against doping charges. Exhaustive as it appeared, his attorney said, 'This is by no means everything." Landis is scheduled to go before an arbitration panel in January or February and formally appeal doping violations that could cost him his Tour de France title and a two-year ban. Rather than wait several months to present his defense in a public form, portions of it were posted on his web site, www.floyd landis.com.

Included in the multimedia presentation was a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Arnie Baker, a retired doctor and longtime coach and adviser, as well as several hundred pages of documents and a motion to dismiss the charges that Howard Jacobs, Landis' attorney, had filed earlier. MORE CYCLING: The Italian Olympic Committee recommended that doping accusations be dropped against Giro d'ltalia cycling champion Ivan Basso, one of nine riders barred from this summer's Tour de France. Basso and 1 997 Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich were among those excluded from the Tour after being implicated in a Spanish doping investigation. TENNIS Roddick rebounds Andy Roddick rebounded from a tough first set to beat Richard Gasquet 6-7 (5), 6-1 6-3 and advance to the quarterfinals of the BA-CA Tennis Trophy in Vienna, Austria. Second-seeded David Nalbandian had a far easier time, defeating Oliver Marach 6-2, 6-3 to also make the quarters.

Nalban-dian's win sets up a match with Fernando Gonzalez. Roddick, seeded third, next will play Jurgen Melzer, who eliminated qualifier Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 MORE TENNIS: Defending champion James Blake reached the quarterfinals at the Stockholm Open in Sweden, defeating Simon Greul 6-3, 6-2. The second-seeded American next will meet Olivier Rochus. Also in Sweden, John McEnroe teamed with Jonas Bjorkman to beat Andreas Vin-ciguerra and Johan Landsberg 6-3, 6-2 in a first-round match Amelie Mauresmo held on to beat Elena Vesnina 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3) and reach the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals in Moscow. Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva rallied to reach the quarterfinals, beating Shahar Peer 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

YOUTH SPORTS Coach sentenced to prison A youth baseball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn't play was sentenced to one to six years in prison. Fayette County (Pa.) Judge Ralph Warman sentenced 29-year-old Mark R. 45 The weather forecast today in Detroit, site of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, is 45 degrees with possible snow. ScOUting Report I Magic at Hornets, 8 WHERE: Ford Center, Oklahoma City. RECORDS: Magic 1 -0; Hornets 1 -0.

BROADCAST: TV None. Radio 580 AM (WDBO); Spanish-language radio 1 030 AM (WONQ). MAGIC UPDATE: Orlando likely will be missing starters PG Jameer Nelson (concussion), PF Tony Battie and SF Hedo Turkoglu, as well as SG J.J. Redick (plantar fascia), Trevor Ariza and PG Carlos Arroyo (strained abdominal muscle). Dwight Howard is coming off an 18-point, 10-rebound outing in the Mag Orlando Coach Brian Hill works with Hill, Dwight Howard, Keyon Dooling, Pat Garrity and Keith Bogans in Charlotte.

He said power forward Dar-ko Milicic and point guard Travis Diener likely will get the nods in at least one of the two games. While the depleted Magic are learning about depth, Brian Hill said having so few bodies makes conducting practices difficult. "It doesn't allow for a lot of substitutions in practice. That's the biggest hindrance," Hill said. And with so many players saddled with foot injuries and being restricted in movement, Hill is concerned about his club's conditioning.

But he is finally glad his team is being put back together, even if it is piece by piece. "That would be great. That would be fun," Hill deadpanned. Brian Schm'rtz can be reached at bschmitzorlandosentinel.com. DANIELS with have "Best part of Marc 'Coach Daniels leaves 740 The Team UCF and to also other opportunities locally." Daniels was named Radio Sports Host" for 2006-07 by Orlando Magazine as of its annual "Best Orlando" voting.

Chris Kampmeier, director of programming for Clear Chan The longtime host of Coach Co. and voice of UCF is released by Clear Channel. By JERRY GREENE SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Marc Daniels, program director and afternoon drive-time talent for 740 AM (WQTM), or 740 The Team, has been released by Clear Channel Communications after 17 years on Central Florida radio, including the past 12 as the "Coach" on Coach Co. The move was made as part of budget cuts, said Daniels, who still will be heard on WQTM as "the voice of UCF sports." Daniels has a separate contract with UCF and also might continue to do play-by-play work on 740 AM for the Orlando Predators "I'm disappointed but not angry because industries change," Daniels said. "I do not plan on leaving the area because this is our home.

I feel fortunate to continue working Daniels, 39, was the first but might not be the last person to go. In fact, his entire show might be gone. On the Web site, there no longer is any mention of local weekday programming from 3 to 6 p.m. the hours Coach Co. has held for the past 12 years.

If WQTM is going through reorganization, one possibility is that national programming could be used throughout the afternoon. Fox Sports Radio provides The Drive on Fox from 3 to 6 p.m. with Chris Myers as main host. Local weekday programming still listed on the Web site includes Dan Sileo from 6-9 a.m. and The Finish Line from 6-9 p.m.

with Jerry O'Neill and the Shot Doctor. However, beginning Monday, O'Neill and Shot Doctor will be on the air from 3-7 p.m. Keep 'n Score from 9 to 1 0 a.m. is a Sentinel show that airs on WQTM but is not owned by Clear Channel. Jerry Greene can be reached at jgreeneorlandosentinel.com.

nel's seven Central Florida stations, said he couldn't talk in detail about the move but did release a statement. "This is a time of great change in our business and part of that change is that longtime WQTM Program Director and afternoon host, Marc "The Coach' Daniels, will be leaving his position," he said. "In his role with 740 The Team, and as the voice of UCF Sports and the Orlando Predators, Marc made a major contribution to our enjoyment of local sports in Central Florida. We will miss his role on The Team. 1 Contrary to popular belief among some in this state, college basketball doesn't start in March; teams are allowed to practice starting today..