Sports Digest

SAN JOSE -- Dick Tomey created countless long-term relationships during his 29 years as a head football coach.

The Gold Room in the Simpkins Center was overflowing Monday with his latest friends, colleagues and players when Tomey announced he was retiring from coaching, effective following San Jose State's game against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 5.

The 71-year-old coach said this was an opportunity for he and his wife, Nanci Kincaid, to "open a new chapter."

"We have a lot of responsibilities left on the mainland, including six grandchildren to visit, but effectively we will be going back to the place we love the most and that's Hawaii," said Tomey, who has 182 wins during stints at Hawaii, Arizona and San Jose State.

Tomey's first college head coaching job was at Hawaii, which he built into a powerhouse when he took over in 1977. He left for Arizona in 1987 and built the Wildcats into a top 10 power before leaving after the 2000 season.

He took over at San Jose State in 2005 and found a program in turmoil. Academic penalties cost the Spartans 57 scholarships and limited spring practices during his tenure at the school. He leaves with the most wins (24) of any San Jose State coach in 20 years and with an academic support system firmly in place.

Tiger Woods to be

honorary captain for Big Game

STANFORD -- Tiger Woods will be an honorary captain for Stanford when the 14th-ranked Cardinal take on rival California in the Big Game on Saturday.

Coach Jim Harbaugh says it will be an honor to share the sidelines with "the greatest competitor of our generation." Woods has won 14 major championships and is the top-ranked golfer in the world.

He will also be honored at halftime when he will be presented with a plaque signifying his induction into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.

Woods spent two years at Stanford, winning the Pac-10 and NCAA championships in 1996.

Jahvid Best ruled out of Big Game

SAN FRANCISCO -- California star tailback Jahvid Best will not play in the Big Game against Stanford this week as he recovers from a concussion.

Coach Jeff Tedford said Monday there is "no chance" Best would play Saturday against No. 14 Stanford. Best sustained his second concussion in an eight-day period when he fell on his back and head from about 8 feet in the air on Nov. 7 against Oregon State.

Best returned to the team late last week and was an honorary captain before the Golden Bears beat Arizona last Saturday.

Best has 16 touchdowns and 867 yards rushing this season.

Warriors guard Watson

tests positive for swine flu

OAKLAND -- Golden State Warriors guard C.J. Watson has tested positive for the swine flu.

The team said Monday that Watson is being treated for the illness and that the team is taking precautions mandated by the league.

Watson will not be with the team for the Warriors' games Tuesday at the Cleveland Cavaliers or Wednesday at the Boston Celtics.

Hall of Fame trainer

Bobby Frankel dies at 68

LOS ANGELES -- Bobby Frankel possessed a gift for coaxing top performances out of ornery, high-strung thoroughbreds, a gruff Hall of Fame trainer who was hard in his dealings with humans but gentle with the animals in his barn.

Frankel died of cancer Monday at his home in Pacific Palisades, jockey agent Ron Anderson said. He was 68.

Frankel had been running his stable by phone for most of the year while undergoing treatment and concealing details of his illness from most of his colleagues, a remarkable feat in an industry fueled by gossip.

"He was a secretive guy," Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said from Santa Anita. "He's from the old school of training -- nobody needs to know your business."

Frankel began his career at Belmont Park and Aqueduct in New York, one of the cheap hired hands who walk horses around the barn after morning workouts. He took out his trainer's license in 1966 and won his first race with Double Dash at Aqueduct that November.

He built an early reputation as "King of the Claimers," taking the cheapest horses and turning them into high-priced stakes winners.

Frankel saddled 3,654 winners and earned $227,949,775 during his 43-year career, according to Equibase. He was second only to D. Wayne Lukas in money won, and they were the only trainers to earn more than $200 million.

The Brooklyn-born Frankel oversaw a coast-to-coast string of horses, never losing his New York accent or brusque demeanor that came off as intimidating to most who sought him around the barn.