Sporting Briefs:Irvin punishment set at 5 games

The other shoe dropped, and it wasn't nearly as bad as the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys knew it could have been.

The NFL handed Michael Irvin a five-game suspension after the wide receiver's no contest plea to cocaine possession.

"We were surprised to a certain degree because we had heard it might be eight games, so I guess five just fell right into the slot," Cowboys personnel director Larry Lacewell said.

The Cowboys couldn't win without Emmitt Smith. Now the question is can they survive until October without Irvin.

"Any time you lose a great football player, you're going to struggle, but this team has a knack of overcoming adversity," Lacewell said.

The five-game suspension will cost Irvin more than 500,000 -- he makes $102,647 per game -- and force the man who caught 111 passes last year to sit out games against the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.

Irvin can practice with the team and even play in exhibition games, but was not expected to report to training camp anytime soon.

Irvin doesn't plan to appeal the NFL's decision.

Boulder City fisherman takes 1st

Byron Valvick of Boulder City earned the $5,000 first prize for winning the Pro Division of the Western Outdoor News U.S. Open fishing tournament at Lake Mead. Valvick's total weight taken was 35.3, which outdistanced runner-up John Murray of Phoenix who took 34.67 in the three-day tournament that concluded Wednesday.

Three Gators suspended

Florida junior tailback Fred Taylor, freshman cornerback Dock Pollard and sophomore offensive tackle Pat Browning will miss games due to "conduct inappropriate for a Florida football player," coach Steve Spurrier said. Taylor has been suspended by a student judicial committee for September because of his role in a book-theft incident. He is charged with petty theft, a misdemeanor. It is the second suspension in as many years for Taylor. Last September, he was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card and received deferred prosecution. Taylor, Pollard and Damian Hill were arrested in April after textbooks were stolen and sold. Charges against Pollard were dropped because of insufficient evidence, and his suspension has nothing to do with the incident. Hill was dismissed from school for off-field and academic reasons.

Muster cruises in opener

Top-seeded Thomas Muster defeated Emilio Sanchez of Spain 6-3, 6-3 in his first singles match at the $435,000 Generali Open at Kitzbuhel, Austria. The Austrian will face Argentina's Mariano Zabaleta, a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) winner over Spain's Jordi Burillo, in the third round. In other second-round matches, Emilio Alvarez upset fellow Spaniard and seventh-seeded Francisco Clavet 6-3, 6-3, while ninth-seeded Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine topped Alexander Volkov of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (8-6).

MetroStars blank Clash

Rob Johnson scored in the 29th minute and Tony Meola earned his league-leading sixth shutout as the New York-New Jersey MetroStars beat the host San Jose Clash 1-0 in Major League Soccer. Midfielder Tab Ramos set up the only goal in front of 15,096 at Spartan Stadium. He dribbled into the penalty area and drew Clash goalkeeper Dave Salzwedel off his line. Ramos then passed to Johnson, who pushed the ball into the net from the 6-yard box. The MetroStars (9-10) moved within one point of second place D.C. United in the Eastern Conference. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Clash (10-9).

In other MLS action:

* Scott Benedetti and Shaun Bartlett scored goals as the host Colorado Rapids beat the New England Revolution 2-0. Colorado (9-12) stopped a four-game losing streak and snapped New England's four-game winning streak. The Revolution (9-9) were missing defender Alexi Lalas, who was with the U.S. Olympic team.

Harness racer in fatal accident

Harness racer Don McIlmurray died Wednesday, two days after he was thrown from his sulky in a training accident at Hazel Park Harness Raceway in Detroit. He was 65. McIlmurray was working a 2-year-old on the track when they made contact with another horse and driver. Both drivers were thrown from their sulkies, but the other driver was not hurt.

Zhamnov, Coyotes at impasse

Russian center Alexei Zhamnov and the Phoenix Coyotes are engaged in a faceoff away from the ice. "Alex won't be coming back," agent Ron Salcer said. "We've requested that they trade him." Bobby Smith, executive vice president of the team which officially moved to Phoenix July 1 from Winnipeg with a new name, a new head coach, new owners and mostly new executives, doesn't think that will happen. "He's a very gifted player, and we feel he's going to be in our lineup this season," Smith said. Zhamnov, 25, has missed 63 regular-season games over the last four years, including 24 last season after a vicious hit. A problem related to a disk in his lower back accounted for the rest.

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