SPORTS BRIEFS: Thursday, June 10, 1999

Jim Finn signs 3-year contract with Bears As is standard for NFL draft picks, the contract will become effective only if the former Penn running back makes the Bears' opening day roster. Finn was named Ivy League Player of the Year in 1998 after finishing with 1,450 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. He was co-captain of the Quakers' Ivy League Championship team and instrumental in the team's 8-2 record and high-powered offense. A tailback at Penn, Finn is expected to move to the fullback position in the NFL. -- Jason Bodnar Penn hires two W. Hoops assistant coaches Penn has announced that Danya Smith and Joe McGeever have been hired as assistant women's basketball coaches for the Quakers. Smith and McGeever replaced former assistants Renate Costner and Devonna Williams to complete the restructuring of the women's basketball coaching staff. Kelly Greenberg had been hired as head coach on April 30 to fill the vacancy left by Julie Soriero's resignation. Smith served as assistant coach at Rhode Island from 1996 to 1999, acting as interim head coach after Linda Ziemke was suspended and subsequently relieved of her duties. Smith also played college basketball at Rhode Island, becoming the 11th Division I women's basketball player to tally more than 1,000 points and record more than 750 assists. The former Rhode Island assistant ran the Rams' Women's Basketball Camp for three years and served as director of the Rhode Island Women's Basketball Clinic in 1996. McGeever joins Penn after a four-year stint as assistant director of financial aid and admissions at West Chester University. Prior to that, McGeever served as assistant women's basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Towson University from 1988-1996. He has also worked for the Philadelphia Department of Recreation and was varsity basketball coach at Archbishop Wood High School from 1992 to 1998. The 1971 Temple graduate was instrumental in implementing Towson's recruiting program and held the position of assistant director of the Towson Basketball Camp. Both Smith and McGeever will begin their tenure at Penn immediately. -- J.B.