In brief: Softball veteran ‘King’ Feigner dies at 81

Eddie Feigner, the hard-throwing softball showman who barnstormed for more than 50 years with “The King and His Court” four-man team, died Friday. He was 81.

Feigner, the former Marine known for his trademark crewcut and bulging right arm, died in Huntsville, Ala., from a respiratory ailment related to dementia.

With a fastball once clocked at 104 mph, The King threw 930 no-hitters, 238 perfect games and struck out 141,517 batters while playing more than 10,000 games. He was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame in 2000.

A stroke in 2000 ended his playing career at age 75.

Tennis

Blake falls in Davis Cup

James Blake was unhappy with his serve and unhappy with the officiating at Ostrava, Czech Republic. And the United States was in a familiar spot – scrambling in a Davis Cup match played on clay.

Blake lost to Tomas Berdych 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, leaving the U.S. tied 1-all with the Czech Republic. Andy Roddick defeated Davis Cup rookie Ivo Minar 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to give the U.S. the early lead in the first-round World Group series.

College football

Montana signs coach

Montana football coach Bobby Hauck signed a one-year contract, rejecting a three-year deal the school offered last fall.

The contract calls for a base salary of $124,200, plus radio and television and football camp revenue, incentives for attendance and academic success and other benefits.

“Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema was rewarded for his highly successful first season with a new five-year, $7.5 million contract.

Wisconsin approved an amended contract that will increase Bielema’s salary from $750,000 to $1.3 million this year, after guiding the Badgers to a 12-1 record last season.

Winter sports

Mancuso medals again

Julia Mancuso became the first American skier to medal at major competitions in three straight seasons, capturing second place behind Anja Paerson of Sweden, who finished in 1 minute, 57.69 seconds, in the women’s combined race at the world championships in Are, Sweden.

“Zach Lund won a World Cup skeleton meet for his third victory of the season, with U.S. teammate Eric Bernotas the runner-up – 0.07 seconds behind in Cesana, Italy.

Lund, the World Cup leader, had a combined time of 1 minute, 55.37 seconds.

College basketball

Former coach dies

Shelby Metcalf, whose homespun humor often overshadowed his penchant for winning basketball games at Texas A&M, died after a long illness at College Station Hospital, Texas, on Thursday. He was 76.

In 27 seasons as coach of the Aggies, Metcalf won a record 239 Southwest Conference games and six league titles. He had a career record of 438-306.