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The next step in deciding the future of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame comes Friday.

Members of the board of directors and trustees will meet in person and via conference call to discuss options after the city gave the museum a 30-day eviction notice.

"It will be about... the city has taken their action, so what is our plan knowing that action is in place?" hall director Ted Hayes said. "The underlying factor in whichever direction we go is one of funding. Without proper funding, our options are obviously limited. Even so, there are always options."

City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to terminate the hall's lease. The city was forced to make the hall's six-month rent payment of $97,000.

Bob Hanson, a hall board member and president of the Greater Wichita Sports Commission, sees two options. The hall needs to find more money, or it will close. The city's deadline means the hall must move quickly.

Wichita State will turn to a catcher to help its depleted infield for the 2009 season.

Western Oklahoma State College's Will Baez orally committed to WSU this week. Baez (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) will be a junior this season at WSU.

And don't worry, he owns plenty of experience at second base. Western needed him to catch, so he did. He earned second-team NJCAA Division II All-America honors for a team that advanced to its World Series.

"I've been a second baseman my whole life," he said. "I'll be fine."

Baez, from Dedham, Mass., should be fine with the bat. He hit .435 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs. He compiled an .871 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage.

Turns out Kansas basketball coach Bill Self didn't need to go home to sign a contract of historical proportions.

On Wednesday, nearly four months after turning down big money from Oklahoma State to stay at KU, Self inked his name to a new contract that will pay him $3 million a year for the next 10 years. The $30 million total compensation, which will be reached only if Self remains the KU coach until March 2018, is the largest known financial commitment a university has made to a college basketball coach.

"I was not aware of that," said Self, who was playing golf Wednesday afternoon at Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey. "Certainly, that number is great for me. But, when you look at that big number 30, that's also over a 10-year period. A lot of contracts are for five to seven years."

Florida's Billy Donovan is paid around $3.5 million per year, but his contract is for six years. Self, after leading the Jayhawks to their first national championship in 20 years, was most concerned with security in his talks with KU athletic director Lew Perkins.

"The 10 years is what I wanted," Self said. "Lew asked me. I said, 'I'd like to do 10.' He was fine with that."

Kansas wide-receivers coach David Beaty walked over to running back Jocques Crawford, who was slouched in his seat and counting down the minutes until he could disappear from his first media scrum as a Division I football player.

"Hey, cover boy," Beaty said.

Beaty and Crawford shared a knowing laugh. On Tuesday afternoon at KU media day, Crawford couldn't help but feel as if he were swimming in a fishbowl.

"I'm overwhelmed," said Crawford, the junior-college transfer and native of Memphis, Tenn. "Just for the fact that I haven't even played a D-I down yet. This is a lot. I just feel very blessed."

Crawford, the 2007 national junior-college player of the year, is the most anticipated Kansas football recruit to step on campus for coach Mark Mangino. And the reasons are plentiful:

Ehimen Orupke will not play basketball for Wichita State this season. The Shockers hope his absence is only temporary.

Orupke, a 7-foot center from Nigeria, was denied by the NCAA a waiver to certify him as eligible for NCAA Division I athletics. He will attend Three Rivers (Mo.) Community College and WSU coaches will continue to recruit him.

"It is very disappointing, not only for Ehimen, but for WSU," WSU coach Gregg Marshall said in a news release. "It is our hope one day he will be able to wear the black and yellow, which is one of his dreams and goals."

Marshall said he is optimistic about Orupke returning to WSU.

"He's a pretty loyal kid," Marshall said. "He obviously knows we put a lot of work into him."

Rays 8, Indians 4 -- Evan Longoria, Dioner Navarro and Cliff Floyd homered to help the Rays get the win.

• Longoria's two-run drive in Tampa Bay's four-run seventh was his 22nd of the season, setting a team record for a rookie. Longoria hit two long drives that landed in foul territory then took a pitch before connecting against Rafael Betancourt.

Blue Jays 4, Athletics 3 -- Kevin Mench singled in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Blue Jays extended the Athletics' season-long losing streak to eight games.

• Toronto trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth against Oakland closer Huston Street. Alex Rios led off with a single and scored one out later when Rod Barajas doubled over the head of left fielder Ryan Sweeney.

Rangers 8, Yankees 6 -- Josh Hamilton hit his 27th homer, rookie Matt Harrison pitched well into the seventh inning for Texas.

Eliminated -- Wichita 18-under Sluggers (0-2), Park City Cowboys (0-2), San Antonio Phantoms (0-2), Houston Apollos (0-2), Austin Gold Sox (0-2).

Have not played -- Liberal BeeJays, Fort Lauderdale Superstars, Santa Barbara Foresters, Lake Havasu (Ariz.) Heat.

Wichita's Leonard Landeros pitched eight shutout innings to lead the Wingnuts to a 3-0 win over Lincoln on the road.

Landeros struck out five, walked three and gave up three hits before giving way to Byron Embry, who picked up the save.

Michael Thompson hit his eighth home run of the season in the seventh inning. Bub Bergstrom and Steve Pearson also delivered RBIs for Wichita.

Wichita State's infield received immediate help with a commitment from second baseman Will Baez of Western Oklahoma State College.

Baez (5-foot-9, 180 pounds) will be a junior this season at WSU. He visited Monday and quickly agreed to become a Shocker.

"Wichita State is Wichita State," he said. "I'm really very, very grateful for this to happen. I didn't think I was going to get this opportunity."

Baez, from Dedham, Mass., caught for Western and will play second base at WSU. He was a second-team NJCAA Division II All-American for a team that advanced to its World Series. He hit .435 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs, an .871 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage. He stole 40 bases in 43 attempts.

WSU lost infielders Dusty Coleman and Logan Watkins to professional teams this summer. After Coleman signed last month, coaches began an intense search for help on the infield.

South Carolina point guard Kenny Manigault is going a long way from home to play college basketball.

He already feels comfortable at Wichita State, however, and has given the Shockers an oral commitment.

"I liked the campus and the coaching staff," he said. "I met the players, and they were cool."

Manigault has followed the career of Shocker coach Gregg Marshall since Marshall coached at Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C. He visited WSU in late June and hit it off with freshman center Garrett Stuz. The two text message frequently.

Good news for Stutz: Manigault likes to get the ball to the big men.

At Crestview C.C. (North)

No. 1 tee

7:15 a.m. --Casey Wittenberg, Memphis, Tenn.; Bradley Hughes, Melbourne, Australia; David Gossett, Austin, Texas

7:25--B.J. Staten, Dallas; Mike Heinen, Lake Charles, La.; Tyler Aldridge, Nampa, Idaho

7:35--David Hearn, Brantford, Ontario; Joe Daley, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Danny Briggs, Franklin, Tenn.

Money

Paul Azinger stepped to the tee at Oakland Hills' par-3 ninth and his caddie told him how far it was to the front of the green.

As he tapped the 3-wood in the bag, he said: "247."

Azinger laughed, grabbed the recommended club and hit a spectacular tee shot onto the green that wound up very close to the pin.

"They're going to erect a statue of me here," Azinger joked to the gallery Wednesday during a practice round for the PGA Championship that starts today.

"The Monster," though, got the last laugh because Azinger missed the putt.

David Gossett has never lost the look of a polished professional golfer. Well-dressed and well-mannered, Gossett politely thanked his pro-am partners Wednesday afternoon for supporting the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.

But the fact the 29-year-old Gossett, a former U.S. Amateur champion, is even playing at Crestview Country Club this week offers a clue to the type of battle scars golf can inflict.

Gossett came to Crestview seven years ago occupying the passing lane on a fast track to success. Playing his rookie season on the Buy.com Tour (now Nationwide), the former University of Texas standout shot four rounds in the 60s and tied for second in the Wichita Open behind Jason Dufner. It was Gossett's fourth consecutive top-10 finish.

Two weeks later, it seemed it would also be Gossett's farewell to the tour.

Gossett received a sponsor exemption into the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic and parlayed it into his first professional victory. He pocketed $504,000 and temporary security on golf's most elite stage.

Phil Mickelson already had crossed the finish line the last time he showed up at Oakland Hills.

Now, he can only hope he is hitting his stride.

Mickelson is the betting favorite at the PGA Championship, his last chance to win a major in a year that has been filled with disappointment at the biggest events.

There was a 75 in the third round of the Masters that knocked him out of contention. There were no drivers in his bag at the U.S. Open for two rounds. And he lost a ball at Royal Birkdale on his way to a 79 in the first round, a major that ended before he could settle in for a cup of tea.

Not that this year has been a disaster by any means.

J.L. Lewis' incentive to play in the Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open extends beyond the golf course.

The PGA Tour veteran grew up a short drive away in Emporia. His parents, John and Donna, still live there. A sister, cousins and high school friends have settled in the Wichita area.

But if the Nationwide Tour were playing a million miles from Crestview Country Club this week, you still might find the 48-year-old Lewis teeing it up.

"I need to stay competitive," Lewis said. "I don't really care if it's on this tour or the other tour, I'm going to do it."

With more than $7.5 million in career earnings, Lewis certainly doesn't need a financial boost. But after spending a large chunk of the past two years sidelined with a knee injury, Lewis, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, is trying to sharpen his game.

When he wasn't rolling in 20-foot putts on the practice green Tuesday afternoon at Crestview Country Club, Ryan Hietala looked like the groom in a receiving line.

There were plenty of handshakes and congratulations for the winner of last week's Cox Classic in Omaha.

Hietala said his cell phone filled with more than 100 text messages and 100 voice mails after his playoff victory over David Branshaw on Sunday, Hietala's first Nationwide Tour title since the 2005 Louisiana Open.

"Mentally, I've recovered a little bit," said Hietala, 34, who lives in Boise, Idaho. "Physically, no, I'm still a little bit exhausted from the heat and the stress and the pressure and everything. Mentally, I've known it's always been there, so it's time to move on and get back to work this week in the same type of conditions."

Hietala had played 90 tournaments on the Nationwide and PGA tours since his last win without registering a top-10 finish. Then came Sunday at Champions Run, when he rallied from four shots behind to catch Branshaw, then claimed the trophy with a par on the first sudden-death playoff hole.

Where: Crestview Country Club, 1000 N. 127th St. East

When: Today-Sunday

Tickets: Practice rounds through today are free. Beginning Thursday, daily grounds passes are $10 and available at the gate (seniors 62 and older, children under 13 free).

Three-day grounds passes will be sold Thursday for $10 at Wichita-area Dairy Queen locations, with proceeds to the Children's Miracle Network.

Parking: $3 parking is located at the Warren Theatre East, 11611 E. 13th. Free shuttle transportation will be provided.

First Round Results

At Sim Park

Boys 10-year-old, Nine Holes--1. Nicholas Wagner 53, 2. Jacob Wilson 55, 3 (tie). Thomas Wells, Jacob Wilson, Maxe Iseman 55, 6. Trent Paske 59; WD. Alec Wilbert. 11--1. Alex Graf 43;2. (tie) Steven Harshberger, Kale Reynolds, Ian Trebilcock 44; 5. Jake Ewert 46; 6. Quincy Stith 47; 7. (tie) Nolan Gerdes, Evan Halsey 48; 9. Geoffrey Amend Jr. 49; 10. Patrick Hullins 51, 11. Matthew Wells 52; 12. A.J. Dunmire 53; 13. Thomas O'Connor 55; 14. Caleb Jurgensen 56; 15. Luke Singer 57; 16. Jared Burns 58; 17. Keaten Mans 59; 18. Brant Millerborg 61; 19. Trey Martin 92. 18 Holes, 12--1. Sam Stevens 70, 2. Caleb Haight 83, 3. Nicholas Auer 84; 4. Cameron Dawson 87; 5. Joseph Hayes 94; 6. Karsten Meier 98; 7. (tie) Cole Rother, Stephen Huber, Levi Iseman 100; 10. Hayden Padgett 107; 11. Joe Lienhard 115; 12. Ian Tomlinson 176; 13. K. Jared Higgins 209; WD. Matthew Gilbaugh. 13--1. Dominic Lara 81; 2. Riley Kemmer 82; 3. Michael McClain 87; 4. (tie) Kyle Bomgardner, Patrick Maloney 98; 6. Aaron Ziesch 101; 7. Beau Desmarteau 102; 8. Jack McGrath 104; 9. Joseph Cummings 108. 14--1. Hunter Leichner 68; 2. Shane Gilbert 72; 3. Kramer Howell 73; 4. (tie) Adam Ray, Gage Scheer 76; 6. Cooper Hoefling 81; 7. Corbin Rother 89; 8. James Engel 90; 9. Rylee Gale 91; 10. Jack Iseman 93; 11. Mike Morris 94; 12. Cameron Buster 103; 13. Josh Cleland 104; 14. Tommy McGrath 110. 15--1. David Auer 71; 2. (tie) Ben Dreiling, Trey Hayden 77; 4. Ethan Wells, Austin Swisher 81; 6. (tie) Luke Peter, Nelson Padgett 82; 8. (tie) Kory Glasgow, Travis Mitchell 83; 10. Michael Fox 84; 11. Nate Hoffman 89; 12. Micky Shreves 90; 13. Clayton Latimier 92; 14. (tie) Brady Ziesch, Connor Goodman 93; 16. Christopher Hybl 94; 17. Kameron High 99; 18. Austin Solis 100. 16--1. A.J. Gebert 69; 2. (tie) Caleb Childs, Alex Carney, Michael Ringer 71; 5. (tie) Max Lazzo, Mark Anderson 72; 7. (tie) Brett LeMaster, Benjamin Hatfield 74; 9. (tie) Daniel Marsh, Alex Iseman 75; 11. David Campos 76; 12. Grant Burnside 79; 13. (tie) Nathan Pfeifer, Ben Reiswig, Luke Arneson 83; 16. Nick Thompson 85; 17. (tie) Robby Hudson, Will Stuart 91; WD--Kyle Wright. 17--1. Eric Mode 68; 2. Jake Gose 71; 3. Kevin Diehl 76; 4. (tie) Ryan Bette, Trey Creitz 79; 6. Luke Meisch 80; 7. Douglas Murdoch 81; 8. Brad Seiler 82; 9. (tie) Scott Cooper, Corey Urban 83; 11. Austin David 87; 12. Benjamin Holderby 89; 13. Andrew Vu 90; 14. Weston Cook 95. 18--1. Trevor Johanson 68; 2. Elliot Soyez 70; 3. (tie) Cooper Pierce, Kevin Horm 72; 5. Josh Dennis 74; 6. Logan Rotha 76; 7. Chad Schwartz 77; 8. Eric Regier 78; 9. Benjamin Meether, Tyler Corcoran 89; WD--Billy Hagerman.

Patrick Cooper's spring statistics don't make any sense when compared to his summer numbers with the Hays Larks.

One explanation exists: He was a freshman, barely turned 18, when he struggled through a 1-6 season with a 7.71 ERA at Eastern Kentucky. Tuesday, he held the San Diego Waves to one hit over six innings in a 10-0 run-rule victory in the NBC World Series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

That is close to a typical summer performance for Cooper, who threw his second one-hitter with the Larks.

"It is kind of a maturity thing," he said. "I had a rough spring and it definitely didn't go the way I wanted to. But it was a learning experience."

Judging from Tuesday, he learned how to get ahead in the count, put his fastball and slider in the right places.

Wichita's Johnny Stevens shot a 2-under-par 69 Tuesday to earn a three-shot victory over Olathe's Tom Bachelor in the Kansas Golf Association Senior Amateur at Andover's Flint Hills National.

Stevens posted a 36-hole total of 141. Bachelor climbed to second with a 68, while Kansas City's Andy Smith (73) and Baldwin City's Mike Grosdidier (73) shared third at 145.

VOLLEYBALL

Defending champion Truman State is the coaches' choice to win the MIAA. Washburn finished second and Pittsburg State finished third in the voting. Emporia State was fifth, and Fort Hays State ninth in the 11-team MIAA.

FOOTBALL

Mcclatchy news services

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio could take on the role of Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin in a new black comedy, a Russian screenwriter has said.

"As we compared his (DiCaprio's) photos with those of Lenin... the similarity was striking," said Russian screenwriter Alexander Borodyansky. "I should even say that Leo could play the role of the revolutionary leader without make up."

The director of the Moscow International Film Festival, Natalya Semina, said, "It is common knowledge that DiCaprio has Slavic roots. His ancestors on his mother's side emigrated from Russia to Germany."

"Lenin's Brain" (the film's working title) is a black comedy with a $20 million budget. According to the plot, in the late 20th century, Russian scientists create Lenin's clone. He then comes to the United States and sparks a socialist revolution in 2024.

Those magical blue jeans rack up some frequent-flier miles in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," ping-ponging around the globe as the four BFFs learn how to become themselves "without losing each other."

Or something like that.

"Traveling Pants 2" is essentially "Sex and the City" for the younger set, though for all its many narrative faults, "Sex" at least had the good sense of keeping its gal pals more or less together on the same continent.

"Pants" sends its four characters in different directions, reuniting them only at the end, sending the movie into a structural snake pit from which there is no escape. In the opening moments, we learn the girls have been busy in their freshmen year of college and are reuniting for the summer.

Carmen (America Ferrera), who moped through a year at Yale, has been anticipating all kinds of hot fun in the summertime, but the others have made other plans.

Fall is full for Mark Wahlberg.

The 37-year-old actor-producer has upcoming productions in film, television -- and his own family.

Wahlberg will make a rare cameo appearance on "Entourage," the hit HBO series he executive-produces, when the fifth season begins next month. And his third child with fiancee Rhea Durham is due in September.

In October, Wahlberg returns to his action-star roots with "Max Payne," a crime thriller based on a gritty video game. Meanwhile, he'll start training for his role in "The Fighter," playing boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward.

"I'm thrilled," Wahlberg told the Associated Press in a recent interview. "Life couldn't be better."

If you look at the films by David Gordon Green, it might surprise you to learn that the usually somber filmmaker directed "Pineapple Express," one of the most anticipated comedies of the summer.

But if you've ever met him, you know what a sardonic guy he can be.

I met Green in 2001 when we were both attending the Sundance Institute's screenwriting lab.

Then in his mid-20s (though he looked younger), Green was the exact opposite of archetypal filmmaker "auteurs." He wore crumpled T-shirts and spoke with a faint Southern draw (and would sarcastically say things like, "I thought you were my friend").

His no-nonsense personality translated into his no-nonsense approach to film: He stripped his stories of everything that wasn't essential.

What made the cover

• "(Katie Holmes says) Out of my house!" (In Touch)

• "Split! Dr. Phil's wife can't take it anymore" (National Enquirer)

I didn't realize they were on hiatus

• "Posh's thighs are back!" (In Touch)