PHILADELPHIA -- Junior quarterback Armanti Edwards of three-time defending national champion Appalachian State is one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top player in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision. The others are senior running back Herb Donaldson of Western Illinois and senior quarterback Rodney Landers of top-seeded James Madison. The winner will be named on Dec. 18 in Chattanooga at The Sports Network's awards banquet in conjunction with the Division I championship game the next night at Finley Stadium. The 6-foot, 184-pound Edwards is the NCAA leader in passing efficiency (178.99) and ranks seventh in total offense with 3,517 yards. He's thrown or run for 39 touchdowns. Donaldson (5-11, 225) led the FCS with 162 rushing yards per game this year, with 21 touchdowns, and is the leading career rusher in Missouri Valley conference history with 4,746 yards. Landers (6-1, 220) ranks seventh nationally in rushing with 1,543 yards and has passed for 1,362 yards, with a combined 33 TDs. He has 6,107 yards of total offense for his career.
CYCLING * AUSTIN, Texas -- Lance Armstrong says he will ride in the 2009 Tour de France, marking the first time he will compete in that race and the Giro d'Italia in the same year. "I'm committed to riding for the best guy," Armstrong said Monday, acknowledging the taxing schedule could leave him riding in a supporting role in France. Armstrong's Astana team includes 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador and is loaded with other talented riders.
BASKETBALL
* GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Stephon Marbury's future with the New York Knicks was "not resolved" Monday during a meeting with team president Donnie Walsh, according to the players' association attorney representing him. Marbury arrived at the team's practice facility at 2:25 p.m. and met with Walsh for about 20 minutes. His representative, Hal Biagas, walked out of the building shortly after 3 p.m. and into the car where Marbury was waiting.
* HOUSTON -- The franchise that won the WNBA's first four championships is disbanding. League president Donna Orender told Houston television station KRIV on Monday that the league-owned Houston Comets would be shut down because new owners couldn't be found. Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander, the original owner of the Comets, sold the team to Houston businessman Hilton Koch last year. The WNBA took over the franchise earlier this year.
Baseball
* SEATTLE -- The Seattle Mariners have hired Ty Van Burkleo as bench coach and Lee Tinsley as first base coach. New Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said Monday that he is bringing Van Burkleo with him from Oakland. Van Burkleo was in his second season as the hitting coach for the Athletics in 2008. Tinsley spent last season as the first base coach and outfield coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks .
TENNIS
* WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The city of Surprise, Ariz., will host the 2009 Fed Cup quarterfinal between the United States and Argentina on Feb. 7-8. The U.S. Tennis Association picked the site. The five matches will be played in a temporary stadium at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex. The United States leads Argentina 2-1 in Fed Cup play.
Wire Reports
