Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
More than a century after it began playing football as an independent, Army has broken with tradition and joined a conference.
The Black Knights will begin playing in Conference USA in 1998, giving the league eight teams. Conference members include Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Tulane, with East Carolina to begin play this fall. Alabama-Birmingham will join in 1999.
"This is an exciting day," Army coach Bob Sutton said Monday. "From a football aspect, we recognize that it will be a great challenge for us. We've played East Carolina before, we've played Louisville before, so we know the competition that we will be involved in. The challenge for us is to be able to do that week after week."
The move leaves Navy as the only service academy without a conference affiliation. Air Force is in the Western Athletic Conference.
Buser nears Iditarod finish
Martin Buser overcame a late-race rush by Doug Swingley during the night, and arrived at the White Mountain checkpoint with a lead of about 90 minutes as Alaska's Iditarod Trail sled dog race headed into the final stages. Buser, a two-time Iditarod winner from Big Lake, left Elim at 8:33 p.m. Alaska time with Swingley just five minutes behind. But Buser was running 11 dogs to Swingley's eight, and Buser's were better rested. He's expected to arrive at the finish line in Nome tonight.
Ex-Chaparral player arrested
A Utah State football player has been arrested after a police officer was struck in the face while breaking up a fight outside a fraternity house in Logan. Jordan Bauerle, 19, a freshman offensive lineman from Las Vegas, was booked into the Cache County Jail Saturday on suspicion of misdemeanor assault on a police officer and two other men, and illegal possession of alcohol. Bauerle was a first-team Southern AAA All-Conference guard at Chaparral High School.
Bobby Unser Jr. busted
Bobby Unser Jr. was arrested on charges of drunken driving and marijuana possession. A police officer in Corrales, N.M., just outside Albuquerque, stopped the son of three-time Indy 500 winner Bobby Unser on Saturday after the younger Unser's car allegedly crossed the center line. Police said he failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breath test and a marijuana cigarette was found in his pocket.
Northwestern hires coach
Northwestern has picked Tennessee coach Kevin O'Neill to try and revive the Wildcats' ailing basketball program. O'Neill, who replaces ousted coach Ricky Byrdsong, rebuilt the program at Marquette and was in the process of trying to do the same at Tennessee. The Wildcats went 7-22 this season and won only five Big Ten games in Byrdsong's last three years.
Stars seeking announcer
The Las Vegas stars are looking for a public address announcer for the 1997 Pacific Coast League season. A tryout will be held at 5 p.m. March 18 at Cashman Field. People interested in the position should have experience in broadcasting or related field. Candidates should contact the Stars media relations staff prior to the tryout.
Ex-Ram imprisoned
Former Los Angeles Rams cornerback Darryl Henley is going to prison for trying to hire a hitman to kill two people. Henley, 30, was sentenced Monday to 41 years in prison for drug offenses and for trying to hire someone to murder a judge and his former girlfriend. The former player pleaded guilty in October to soliciting the murder of U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor, who was overseeing his drug-trafficking trial, and Tracy Donaho, an ex-Rams cheerleader and a key witness in the case. "You've really screwed up your life, didn't you?" U.S. District Judge Manuel Real asked Henley. "Yes, sir," Henley responded.
Foreman to defend title
George Foreman, 48 and more than two years removed from his knockout of Michael Moorer, will defend the World Boxing Union heavyweight title against Lou Savarese on April 26 in Atlantic City, N.J.
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