Tim Welsh was fired as Providence's basketball coach yesterday after his third losing season in four years. He spent 10 years at the Big East school and had one year left on his contract.

"He represented the college with dignity and class," athletic director Bob Driscoll said. "However, I felt that it was in the best interest of the program and Providence College to make a change in leadership."

His team went 15-16 this season, with starting point guard Sharaud Curry limited to one game because of injury. The Friars lost to West Virginia, 58-53, in the opening round of the Big East tournament Wednesday, dropping their record under Welsh in that event to 1-9.

The head coach walked onto the field wearing the familiar navy cap with a maize 'M' on the front, but that was about all that looked the same when Michigan began its first spring practice. The ball and players were flying all over as Rich Rodriguez began the installation of his spread-option offense. The coach, hired away from West Virginia, has fans hoping he can breathe life into an offense that many often found stale and predictable. "It was ugly at times and I was encouraged at times," Rodriguez said after the session. "Typical first practice."

The Atlanta Falcons are negotiating a trade that would send outspoken cornerback DeAngelo Hall to the Oakland Raiders for a second-round pick in the NFL draft. A source familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been finalized, said the Falcons were discussing a trade for the 36th overall selection.

Thiel College freshman Josh Jones, a New Castle High graduate, won the high jump title at the NCAA Division III indoor championships yesterday in Ada, Ohio. Jones cleared 6 feet, 11 inches. He is the first Thiel athlete to win an indoor national title.

Georgia Southern set an NCAA record for all divisions by hitting 14 home runs in a 26-8 victory against Columbia. The previous Division I record was 13 homers by Alabama in 1999 and Cal State Northridge in 1996. The Division II mark is 12 by St. Mary's (Texas) in 2001, while the Division III record is 13 by Wooster in 1986.

Niagara defeated Robert Morris, 6-3, in a College Hockey America semifinal. The loss ended Robert Morris' season at 15-15-4.

• Mercyhurst (15-18-7) scored two goals in the third period to upset top-seeded Army, 4-2, in the semifinals of Atlantic Hockey Final Five. Mercyhurst plays Air Force today.

• California (Pa.) defeated San Diego State, 7-3, to win the ACHA Division 3 national championship.

• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defeated Albany, N.Y., 2-0. Ryan Lannon and Kurtis McLwan had the goals for the Baby Penguins.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal and Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round of the Pacific Life Open with straight set wins at Indian Wells, Calif. Nadal, the No. 2 seed, beat qualifier Santiago Giraldo, 6-3, 6-3. The third-seeded Djokovic bested Andreas Seppi, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

• Once again, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova needed a tiebreaker to settle the score. Playing "Dream Match 2008" before a sellout crowd at Tokyo's Ariake Stadium, Graf defeated Navratilova, 8-7, after winning a tiebreaker 10-5.

Undefeated middleweight Pawel Wolak stopped Dupre Strickland at 3:06 of the second round to improve to 20-0 at The Theater in Madison Square Garden. James Moore, another undefeated middleweight, improved to 15-0 with a unanimous 10-round decision over J.C. Candelo.

• WBC lightweight champion David Diaz won a majority decision over Ramon Montano in Las Vegas. Steven Luevano defended his WBO featherweight title with a lackluster unanimous decision over Terdsak Jandaeng.