ATLANTA - St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson and Connecticut's Diana Taurasi were selected as the 2004 Naismith college basketball players of the year Tuesday.

Taurasi won for the second consecutive year.

Nelson, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, was the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. Nelson led St. Joseph's to an undefeated record in the regular season and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Taurasi, a 6-foot senior guard, already has led Connecticut to two NCAA championships - 2002 and 2003 - and a Final Four appearance in 2001.

NEW YORK - The New York Jets are close to a deal for a $1.4 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side.A source close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal, which faces opposition from many neighborhood residents, could be announced within a week.The proposal also would expand the nearby Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.The Jets would spend $800 million on the stadium. The city and state would spend $600 million on a deck over the existing rail yards and a roof that would allow the stadium to be used as convention space.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Miami's top football recruit turned himself in to police Tuesday on a felony charge of illegally setting off fire extinguishers and was released on $5,000 bond, his lawyer said.Willie Williams, a high school All-American linebacker, was in custody for several hours before bonding out on the charge from a January recruiting visit to Florida, attorney Paul Cohen told The Associated Press.Williams also faces two misdemeanor charges from the same visit, for hitting a man at a bar and grabbing a woman against her will. No bond was required for those charges.BC-Sports Briefs,0990Tuesday's Sports in BriefBy The Associated PressBASEBALLMESA, Ariz. - Mark Prior will start the season on the 15-day disabled list because of inflammation in his right Achilles' tendon.The Chicago Cubs star has been throwing off the mound in spring training, but has not pitched in a Cactus League game because of the injury. He was originally scheduled to start the team's third game of the season on April 8 at Cincinnati.If Prior doesn't pitch in any major league exhibition games, he would be eligible to come off the disabled list on April 10. The Cubs hope to have him for their first homestand April 12-19.TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Mariano Rivera and the New York Yankees agreed to a $21 million, two-year contract extension through 2006.Rivera's extension includes a $10.5 million team option for 2007 that could become guaranteed based on games finished the previous two seasons.He will make $8.89 million in 2004, the final season of a four-year contract.Neither side wanted to negotiate during the season, and Rivera didn't want to become a free agent.He was 5-2 with a career-low 1.66 ERA last year and had 40 saves in 46 chances, increasing his career total to 283.NEW YORK (AP) - Umpire Gary Darling was promoted to a crew chief after 18 years as a major league umpire.Darling, 46, worked last year's World Series, the 1993 and 2003 All-Star games, the 1992 league championship series and five division series. He replaces Mark Hirschbeck, who has been sidelined by injuries.COLLEGE BASKETBALLHOUSTON (AP) - Tom Penders was hired to coach at Houston, the once-powerful program that hasn't won an NCAA tournament game in 20 years.Penders and the university agreed to a five-year contract, but terms weren't finalized, officials said. Penders, a coach at Texas for 10 years, replaces Ray McCallum, who was reassigned March 8 after going 44-72 in four seasons.Penders, 58, is best known for resuscitating Texas after his arrival in 1988 after successful stints at Tufts, Columbia, Fordham and Rhode Island. He led Texas to a 208-110 record and eight NCAA tournaments, including a regional final in 1990.FIGURE SKATINGDORTMUND, Germany (AP) - Evgeni Plushenko of Russia won the short program with a high-energy performance putting him in ideal position to defend his World Figure Skating Championships title.Brian Joubert of France finished a clean program that included a quad-triple combo and was second to Plushenko, lagging behind the Russian in artistry and lacking exciting spins. Stefan Lindemann of Germany was third.American Michael Weiss had a respectable showing and was fifth overall after the short program. Newly crowned U.S. champion Johnny Weir is sixth entering the free program on Thursday.RUGBYBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Members of Romania's national rugby team tested positive for a substance that causes drowsiness and might have been impaired during a match against Russia.Romanian players said they felt sleepy during Saturday's 33-24 loss in a European Cup match, and asked to be tested.Doctors discovered traces of phenothiazine, a substance that causes sleepiness, in the urine of 12 players a day after the loss, Romanian Rugby Federation spokesman Radu Constantin said.COLLEGE FOOTBALLTUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Former Alabama coach Mike Price is suing the university's president over actions that led to his dismissal following a visit to a strip club.The suit, filed in state circuit court in Tuscaloosa, accuses president Robert Witt of fraud and misrepresentation and asks for a jury to decide on a monetary award, said Price's attorney, Stephen Heninger.SKIINGGIRDWOOD, Alaska (AP) - Libby Ludlow ended the U.S. Alpine Championships by taking her first national title, claiming the giant slalom by beating five-time medalist Julia Mancuso.Mancuso wasn't far from sweeping all the golds one year after winning national titles in the downhill, super G and giant slalom. Instead, she had to settle for silvers this year in all four individual events.AP-ES-03-24-04 0413EST