NASCAR’s Wallace Will Race One More Season

NASCAR driver Rusty Wallace will retire after the 2005 season, saying he is concerned about getting hurt and wants to leave at the top of his game. His decision was influenced by the death of rival Dale Earnhardt in a Daytona 500 crash in 2001.

“It kind of got to me,” Wallace said Monday at a news conference at the Daytona International Speedway complex. “It made me feel nervous. It made me think hard about it.”

The 48-year-old Wallace has won 55 races. He made his NASCAR debut in 1980 and has won almost every major race except the Daytona 500.

“This is my last shot at the Daytona 500,” Wallace said. “The Daytona 500 is still the granddaddy of them all. It’s the race I haven’t won and I’m going to try my darndest to win it.”

Wallace, who drives for Penske Racing South, intends to stay in racing as a team owner and mentor for younger drivers after he retires.

Brothers Mike and Kenny and 17-year-old son Stephen are drivers. Stephen Wallace was hospitalized overnight last week after crashing at Bristol Motor Speedway during a race.

Rusty Wallace also owns a Busch team and recently hired Jamie McMurray to drive for him.

“It’s hard for a great driver to say, ‘Look, it’s time,’ ” said Roger Penske, majority owner of Penske Racing South. “But I think that’s the position of a great driver to say ‘I know when it’s time for me to move on.’ ”

Wallace became a full-time competitor on the circuit in 1984, when he was rookie of the year. He claimed the series national driving title in 1989 and finished runner-up for the championship in 1988 and 1993.

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Hockey

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped all 12 shots, and Saku Koivu and Niko Kapanen were among four goal scorers in Finland’s 4-0 win over the Czech Republic in the World Cup of Hockey opener at Helsinki, Finland.

Koivu of the Montreal Canadiens and Kapanen of the Dallas Stars were joined on the score sheet by Jukka Hentunen, who plays in Switzerland, and Mikko Eloranta, one of only two players on the team who plays in the Finnish League.

Finland outshot the Czech Republic, 34-12.

Koivu’s line, with Teemu Selanne of the Colorado Avalanche and Jere Lehtinen of Dallas, were reunited for the first time since the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan, when Finland beat Canada for the bronze medal.

“We played well, but every team will improve,” Koivu said.

“I was a bit surprised the Czechs were not better. The key was that we were moving very well and could put pressure on their defensemen, and they had to take penalties.”

Sweden and Germany, the two other European pool teams, meet today in Stockholm.

This was the first non-exhibition game for the Czechs since the death of coach Ivan Hlinka, who was killed in an automobile accident in the Czech Republic on the eve of the tournament.

Hlinka, a former coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was replaced by former NHL player Vladimir Ruzicka.

Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios was selected as captain of the U.S. team for the World Cup tournament.

Chelios, 42, was also captain of the U.S. team at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, as well as at the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan.

The team also selected six assistant captains: forwards Bill Guerin, Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Keith Tkachuk and Doug Weight and defenseman Brian Leetch.

The United States plays its first game today against Canada in Montreal.

Greg Carvel, who spent the last five seasons with the Mighty Ducks, has been hired as an assistant coach by the Ottawa Senators. Carvel was an assistant coach with the Ducks last season. He previously served as the team’s director of scouting and video coach.

The Phoenix Coyotes signed forwards Jason Chimera and Mike Rupp.

Chimera had four goals and eight assists in 60 games with Edmonton last season. Rupp had one assist last season in six games with Phoenix.

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Miscellany

Former NBA star Charles Barkley is under investigation for indecent assault, police in Philadelphia said.

A woman reported she was assaulted by Barkley at a nightclub, Cpl. Jim Pauley said.

“We want to stress that no charges have been filed,” Pauley said. “This incident is under investigation.”

Police received the report Friday, Pauley said. The investigation is being conducted by the department’s Special Victims Unit, and police did not release any details of the allegation.

The Connecticut assistant men’s basketball coach who resigned after being arrested in a prostitution sting agreed to perform 10 days of community service at Hartford, Conn., and undergo counseling.

Clyde Vaughan, 42, entered a conditional plea in Hartford Community Court to settle charges of soliciting prostitution and interfering with police. If he completes the community service and counseling, the charges will be dismissed.

Tom Lochner was chosen as women’s basketball coach at La Salle to replace John Miller, who resigned in July amid allegations he failed to report a rape involving one of his players.