The Enquirer and wire reports

Northern Kentucky University athletic director Jane Meier on Tuesday said the addition of three Missouri universities to the Great Lakes Valley Conference, starting with the 2005-06 season, will "enhance competition within the region" and "make the conference more financially viable."

Drury University of Springfield, Mo.; Rockhurst University of Kansas City; and the University of Missouri-Rolla will bring the GLVC's membership to 14 schools, which includes NKU. The addition will make the GLVC the fifth-largest conference in Division II.

"One of the drawbacks is that Indianapolis used to be the center of the conference, and we were near the center," Meier said. "Now, we're on the far eastern edge."

UK FOOTBALL: Bo Smith, projected to be a starting cornerback this season, is recovering after surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Yim injured, out of Olympics

Olympic hopeful gymnast Tabitha Yim ruptured her right Achilles' tendon during training Tuesday, ending her chances of making the Athens Games. Yim will have surgery today, but recovery is expected to take several months. Two-time national champ Courtney Kupets was on crutches for two months after tearing her Achilles' last summer, and it was about four months before she could do serious training. Yim, 18, finished fourth at the Olympic Trials Sunday and was one of a dozen gymnasts invited to a selection camp next month to compete for the four remaining spots.

MSU football coach plans to climb mountain

Thrill-seeking Michigan State football coach John L. Smith, 55, has run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, barrel-rolled as an Air Force jet passenger at 600 mph and jumped from a Cessna at 14,000 feet. Next month, Smith plans to climb a 19,340-foot peak on Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro. "We've got our Spartan flag we're going to plant on top," Smith said.

Golf

PAR-3 SHOOTOUT: Fred Couples, 44, sank a 36-foot putt for a birdie on the 11th hole, followed with an 8-footer on the next hole to earn $220,000 and went on to win the skins event at Gaylord, Mich. Couples netted $270,000, including $50,000 for being closest to the pin five times.

Lee Trevino won a three-hole playoff with a birdie to claim the final $80,000 in the skins. Trevino and Masters champion Phil Mickelson tied for second, winning $130,000 apiece. Fuzzy Zoeller won $10,000 for being closest to the pin once Monday.

CVS CHARITY CLASSIC: Jay Haas made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to give his father-and-son team a one-stroke victory at Barrington, R.I. Jay and his son, Bill Haas, shot a 9-under 62, finished with a two-round total of 20-under 122 and won $250,000.

GCGA STROKE PLAY: Ana Brown of Glenview Golf Club defeated 2002 winner Kim Keyer-Scott on the first playoff hole to win the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association women's tournament at Summitt Hills Country Club. Both finished the two-day, 36-hole event at 147.

Auto racing

Hockey

WALTON WINS AWARD: Hershey Bears announcer John Walton, former Cincinnati Mighty Ducks broadcaster and Reds public address announcer, was named the recipient of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding radio coverage in radio by the AHL for the 2003-04 season. Walton, a Miami University grad, joined the Bears in 2002 after three years with the Ducks.

MIGHTY DUCKS: Cincinnati goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, left wing Michael Holmqvist and center Tony Martensson were among the seven players to whom Anaheim tendered qualifying contract offers. Anaheim retains their rights, and they become Group II (restricted) free agents Thursday.