BRIEFLY ACC REQUESTING FOOTBALL TITLE GAME.

Byline: - Daily News Staff and Wire Services

The Atlantic Coast Conference has asked the NCAA to change a rule that would allow the league to hold a potentially lucrative football championship game.

The ACC expanded to 11 schools two weeks ago by adding Miami and Virginia Tech, but under NCAA regulations only conferences with 12 or more teams can stage such a title game - some of which make as much as $12 million.

Three conferences - the Southeastern, Big 12 and Mid-American - now are authorized to hold league championship games.

--University of Washington special assistant to the president Norm Arkans said he expects to schedule a hearing next week on Rick Neuheisel's final appeal to keep his job as football coach.

BASKETBALL: The United States men failed to advance to the final of the World Junior Basketball Championships, losing to Australia 106-85 in a second-round game in Thessaloniki, Greece.

--San Diego State assistant basketball coach Marvin Menzies has been hired as an assistant at USC.

--Three days after Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy was last heard from, someone made a call from his cellphone to a New York-area limousine driver, according to phone records reviewed by Dennehy's girlfriend.

The limo driver, who in an interview with the Dallas Morning News agreed to be identified only by her first name, Christina, said she does not recall getting such a call, does not know about the Dennehy case and has not been contacted by police from Waco, Texas.

HORSE RACING: Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone rode two winners, including No Kings in the feature race, at Hollywood Park for her first victories since returning from a four-month layoff because of back injuries.

SWIMMING: Russia is piling up an early lead in the medal standings at the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona, Spain. The high-profile events, in which the United States and Australia are expected to collect their share of medals, don't begin until Sunday. But so far, the Russians lead with four golds and seven overall.