Sports briefs

Ferrero beats Nadal at Rome Masters Rafael Nadal lost on clay for only the second time in 105 matches, falling to countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-1 Wednesday in the second round of the Rome Masters.

Nadal's last loss on clay came against Roger Federer in May 2007. Before that, he had won a record 81 consecutive matches on clay, a streak that began in 2005.

He also has a large blister on the bottom of his right foot and only four days to recover for next week's Hamburg Masters.

The Rome Masters is an important clay-court warmup for Roland Garros, which begins May 25 with Nadal the three-time defending champion.

South Carolina hires Staley Dawn Staley, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, will leave Temple to become the women's basketball coach at South Carolina. She will replace Susan Walvius, who resigned after 11 seasons.

• Florida State offensive Daron Rose is ineligible for the season and will attend a junior college, school officials said.

• Florida International was placed on four years' probation by the NCAA and will lose scholarships for a variety of infractions. The men's basketball program lost one scholarship and its baseball program lost 1.5. The football program was stripped of three scholarships. In all, 11 sports lost scholarships.

• Eli Holman, the 6-9 freshman center who left Indiana last week after throwing a tantrum in new coach Tom Crean's office, will enroll at Detroit Mercy.

• Junior forward Cheyenne Moore and freshman guard Miles Beatty were dismissed from the George Washington men's basketball program.

• Joe Hamilton, Georgia Tech's assistant director of football player personnel, resigned a day after being charged with marijuana possession, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run.

Nicklaus honored Jack Nicklaus received the PGA Tour's lifetime achievement award in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for his contributions to the sport.

Nicklaus has 73 tour victories, 118 total victories and a record 18 professional majors. He also helped establish the tour 40 years ago and has spearheaded countless charitable programs.

Already a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Nicklaus became the eighth recipient of the lifetime achievement award. He joined Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Jack Burke Jr., Pete Dye and Deane Beman.

Swiss top Swedes Switzerland beat Sweden 4-2 at the IIHF World Hockey Championship at Quebec City. Thierry Paterlini, Andreas Ambuhl, Thibault Monnet and Thomas Ziegler scored for the Swiss.

• Tampa Bay center Jeff Halpern ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the championships and is expected to be sidelined until at least December.

Horse racing: Recapturetheglory, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, will run in the May 17 Preakness, co-owner Ronnie Lamarque said.

FROM NEWS SERVICES