NBA career assists and steals leader John Stockton plans to retire after 19 seasons, and he met with Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan and owner Larry Miller to tell them.

"I think I'm finished," Stockton said yesterday. "I informed those guys and that's the direction I'm headed. I just said, 'I think it's time to move on.' "

The 41-year-old point guard's 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals both rank first in league history. And all came with the Jazz.

Utah's season ended on Wednesday with a 111-91 loss to the Sacramento Kings, who won their first-round playoff series, 4-1.

During the season, Stockton shrugged off queries about his future, repeatedly answering the question "Will this be it?" with the answer "I don't know."

Despite his age and playing his fewest minutes since the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, he remained among the league leaders at point guard, finishing fifth in the NBA with 629 assists. Stockton averaged 10.8 points this season, down from his career high of 17.2 in the 1990s.

Volleyball

Playing to Higher Level

Lewis is already the first Division II school to reach the final of the NCAA men's volleyball tournament. Today against top-seeded Brigham Young, Lewis will try to become the first Division II school in the 34-year history of the tournament to win it.

BYU (23-6) will be trying for its third championship in five years.

"It's just huge for our program," Lewis Coach Dave Deuser said. "It's one thing to get to the national championship final four but a lot of people feel, 'Can you play with the big guys?' I make it a point to put together the toughest schedule we can so that the guys won't freak out when UCLA, Pepperdine or BYU is on the other side of the net."

Third-seeded Lewis (28-5), a small Catholic college in Romeoville, Ill., advanced to the title match at Long Beach State by beating second-seeded Pepperdine on Thursday.

Lewis, which entered the tournament with the nation's best hitting percentage (.388), displayed its defensive skill against Pepperdine with a school-record 71 digs.

Leading the Flyers is outside hitter Gustavo Meyer, a first-team all-American who played for Mexico's national team.

"They are a scary team," BYU Coach Tom Peterson said.

Olympics

Vancouver Is Favorable

Vancouver emerged as the favorite to land the 2010 Winter Olympics, which could hurt New York's chances for the Summer Games two years later. The western Canadian city got a boost when it received the best overall review in an International Olympic Committee report on the three 2010 bids, two months before the site is chosen.

New York already faces strong competition in its effort to win the 2012 Olympics, and its odds could be harmed further if Vancouver receives the Games. The thinking is that the IOC probably would not award two consecutive Olympics to North America.

Baseball

Promotion Called Off

A minor league baseball team in Davenport, Iowa, thought better of holding a promotion poking fun at Larry Eustachy after realizing the Iowa State basketball coach acknowledged being an alcoholic.

The Quad City River Bandits called off "Larry Eustachy's Iowa State Night at the Ballpark," which was to include cheap beer and a kissing booth. Eustachy's job is in jeopardy after newspapers reported that Eustachy had partied with students at Missouri and Kansas State following losses this season. Photos from a party in Columbia, Mo., show the 47-year-old coach holding a can of beer while kissing and being kissed on the cheek by young women.

Soccer

Cup Move Possible

Soccer's governing body will discuss whether to move or postpone the Women's World Cup final because of the outbreak of the SARS virus in China and consider a proposal to add four teams to the men's tournament in a meeting today in Zurich.

The 16-team women's tournament is scheduled for Sept. 23-Oct. 11 in and around Shanghai. . . .

Defender Jen Grubb scored twice as the Washington Freedom overcame an early deficit to defeat the minor league Hampton Roads Piranhas, 4-1, in an exhibition in Virginia Beach. Lori Lindsey and Abby Wambach also scored for Washington.

Basketball

Miller Signing Expected

Mystics guard Coco Miller arrived in Washington and is expected to sign her contract today. Miller, the WNBA's most improved player last season, was the team's third-leading scorer last season with 9.3 points per game.

Television

Riggins Cast in 'Light'

Former Redskins running back John Riggins has joined the cast of "Guiding Light," the CBS daytime drama. Riggins will play an ex-Marine on the show.

Utah guard John Stockton, named one of the NBA's 50 greatest players, accumulated 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals over his 19-year career.