$10M OK'd for Chester project

The Delaware River Port Authority is putting $10 million toward a revitalization project that includes plans for a professional soccer stadium in Chester.

The bistate agency approved the funding at its meeting yesterday. Members shifted the money from another project.

The money now will go toward infrastructure improvements in Chester, which is in the running for a Major League Soccer franchise.

DRPA officials say their money will go toward the surrounding development, not the stadium.

Philly File

* The Philadelphia Barrage, two-time defending champions of Major League Lacrosse, and Rochester Rattlers will play the first pro lacrosse game in North Carolina on June 21. The game will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, a locale where officials have said they want to put a team.

* Three area Paralympians are among 25 nationally who have been awarded grants to pursue a spot in the Olympics through The William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes. They are swimmer Caitlin Chas-ar, of North Wales, Pa.; track and field athlete Bridgette Ingram, of Maplewood, N.J.; and rower Megan Kalmoe, of Princeton, N.J.

Colleges

* The NCAA placed Central Oklahoma on 3 years of probation and sanctioned its former coach for a number of major and secondary rules violations within the football program at the Division II school. Besides the probation, penalties include a reduction of 10 football scholarships, spread over a 3-year period; ineligibility for telecast opportunities for 2 academic years; and a public reprimand and censure.

* Former Kansas City Chiefs coach Frank Gansz, who has been out of football since 2001, was hired to coach special teams at SMU. Gansz brings 37 years of experience to new SMU coach June Jones' staff, including a stint as an Eagles assistant.

Auto Racing

* Jacques Villeneuve has lured former IndyCar owner Barry Green out of a semi-retirement in Australia as the driver regroups for a renewed effort to make a successful transition from open-wheel racing to NASCAR. Green, who owned teams that Villeneuve rode to championships in the 1990s, will work with the onetime Formula One world champion to find the sponsors he needs to get a fulltime ride either in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide series. *