For the Record

Committed
To Ohio State, quarterback Terrelle Pryor (above) of Jeannette (Pa.) High. Pryor, who was widely considered to be the top unsigned recruit in the nation, is the first high school player in Pennsylvania history to both run and pass for more than 4,000 yards. Pryor picked the Buckeyes over Michigan, Penn State and Oregon.

Won
By Jeffrey Buttle, the World Figure Skating Championship. The 26-year-old native of Ontario won without attempting a quad jump, which led to whining from runner-up Brian Joubert of France. But Buttle's long program was packed with triples and combinations, and he performed it nearly flawlessly to handily beat Joubert, the defending world champ. "We worked whole sessions on spins and on stroking and all the in-betweens—because that is figure skating," Buttle said. "It is everything that happens in the four minutes and forty seconds [of the routine], and it's not really about the jumps."

Retired
After a career in which he was named to three All-Star teams, catcher Javy Lopez, 37. In 15 seasons—12 of them with the Braves—Lopez batted .287 and hit 20 homers six times. He sat out last year after being cut by the Rockies and attempted to make the Braves as a backup this season. But when the Braves told him they wanted to send him to the minors, Lopez decided to retire instead. "I know fans of Atlanta are disappointed," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. "Every time he came up to bat during spring training, the loudest ovation was for Javy."

Banned
By the Chinese government, live television shots from Tianan men Square during this summer's Olympics. NBC and the several other major international rights holders had planned on using the 108-acre park in the heart of Beijing as a backdrop for their Olympic coverage. But the Chinese government— apparently motivated by recent protests in Tibet—has decided to keep cameras out of the park, which was the site of pro- democracy student demonstrations in 1989. A spokesperson for NBC had no comment on the announcement.

Diagnosed
With prostate cancer, Yankees spring training instructor Graig Nettles. The 63-year-old former All-Star third baseman went for a checkup after his younger brother Jim found out he had the disease. Doctors told Nettles that he could wait until after spring training to have surgery. "They told me we got it early," said Nettles. "It's curable and treatable. So I've got to think positive."

Proposed
By the Chiefs, a rule that would bar NFL players from wearing their hair long enough to obstruct the name on their jersey. The proposal is expected to be voted on by the NFL competition committee this week. In 2006 Chiefs running back Larry Johnson picked up a 15-yard penalty when he grabbed the hair of Troy Polamalu (left) while tackling the Pittsburgh safety.

Qualified
For the Olympics, the U.S. soccer team. Needing to finish in the top two in the eight-team qualifying tournament they hosted, the Yanks clinched a spot in Beijing by beating Canada 3--0 in the semifinals last Thursday, as Freddy Adu scored two goals on free kicks. The U.S., which failed to qualify for the 2004 Games, lost to Honduras in the final, a game it played without Adu and several other regulars.

Punk'd
By the Cubs, their strength and conditioning coach, Tim Buss. Last week Buss discovered that his 1995 Sentra with 106,000 miles on it had been trashed—the windows were broken, the body dented and the trunk rolled up—and left on a ramp near the Cubs practice field in Mesa, Ariz. The players feigned ignorance ("It's a shame," Jon Lieber deadpanned), but Buss suspected they were guilty. Later that day the players called him over. "What are you going to do now, set me on fire?" Buss asked. Instead, they presented him with a new $25,000 Xterra. "They're great guys," Buss said.

They Said It

TY ROGERS, Western Kentucky guard, on his buzzer-beating, overtime three-pointer that beat favored Drake in the first round of the NCAA tournament:
"It kind of worked out good."

SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE

Axel Buescher was stripped of his German national carom billiards title after testing positive for an EPO masking agent.

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G.M. ANDREWS/PRESS-REGISTER/AP (ROGERS)

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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (POLAMALU)

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STEVE ICKES/ICON SMI (PRYOR)