August 5, 2007

Names in the Game

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Kevin Costner is willing to help Omaha keep the College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium, if that's what the community wants.

"I haven't necessarily agreed to do anything, but I'm in support of the stadium," he said Friday from New Mexico, where he's shooting a comedy called "Swing Vote."

An Omaha group called Save Rosenblatt is seeking Costner's assistance. His publicist told him about the effort Friday.

The city has submitted two plans to the NCAA to ensure the series stays in Omaha.

One calls for a new downtown stadium. The other calls for a major renovation of Rosenblatt, which was built in 1948. An NCAA response is expected this fall.

"What do you give up on and what do you start anew? That's a big philosophical question," Costner said, "and I'm going to stay out of that.

"If the series wants to move downtown to a new stadium, and that's what the citizenry wants, that's great, too."

He wasn't sure in what ways he could help but he was eager to chip in to support Omaha.

"I've always enjoyed my time there and have been well-treated," he said.

In 1995, 1999 and 2001, Costner attended the series to support his alma mater, Cal State-Fullerton.

Baseball has figured prominently in Costner's film career, most notably in "Field of Dreams," ''Bull Durham" and "For Love of the Game."

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WALLER, Texas (AP) _ A.J. Foyt plans to oversee his ABC Supply Racing team in the IndyCar Series race in Michigan this weekend, relieved he survive a plunge into a lake while operating a bulldozer.

The four-time Indianapolis 500 champion escaped injury but got quite a scare Thursday when the bulldozer went into a lake and landed upside down in the water.

Foyt was working on the edge of the lake when the bank underneath gave way. He estimated the bulldozer dropped about 15 feet into the lake.

"It scared me," the 72-year-old Foyt said in a statement released Friday. "It was such a helpless feeling when that dirt broke away and I was going down and down."

Foyt said the steel cage "probably saved my life, because without it, the dozer would have crushed me." Once in the water, Foyt crawled through the front of the cage to swim out. He didn't go to a hospital.

Foyt was attacked by bees and stung nearly 200 times when he was using a bulldozer to clear land on another piece of property in August 2005.

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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) _ America Online founder Steve Case announced plans Friday to open an $800 million beach resort backed by husband-and-wife tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

The luxury resort, to open in Costa Rica in 2010, will feature two boutique hotels, a tennis center designed by Agassi and Graf and an 18-hole golf course planned by renowned course designer Tom Doak.

Occupying 650 acres on Punta Cacique on Costa Rica's northern Pacific coast, the resort will leave 80 percent of that land undeveloped as a private natural reserve, said Case, who announced the project alongside Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.

Case said his Washington, D.C.-based development company, Revolution Places, will also set up a fund for forest conservation and scholarships.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) _ New England Patriots receiver Stanley Morgan will be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame.

Morgan played 13 seasons with the Patriots from 1977-89 and was selected to four Pro Bowls. He is the 12th inductee and second receiver, joining wide receiver and kicker Gino Cappelletti. He will be honored in a stadium ceremony on Aug. 27.

Three finalists were determined by a nominating committee of media, Patriots Hall of Famers and team staff. Fans voting online beginning in June picked Morgan over Ben Coates and Ron Burton.

Morgan is the Patriots' career leader with 68 touchdowns, 10,352 receiving yards, 39 100-yard receiving games and three 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) _ A 573-pound bluefin tuna caught off the Virginia coast shattered the state record by nearly 200 pounds.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission certified Frederick "Bo" Haycox's catch on June 24, which took four hours to land. The previous record was 398 pounds, 8 ounces, set by E.K. Morrison of Nags Head, N.C., on Nov. 11, 2003.

Haycox caught the big bluefin while fishing with his father, Ricky.

The fish measured 107 inches long and 70 inches around