Sports briefs 11/14/03

Baseball

Former major leaguer Ozzie Canseco intends to plead guilty next week to possessing an illegal anabolic steroid and to a felony traffic charge, his attorney said. The former Cardinal and twin brother of former All-Star slugger Jose Canseco was charged in May with possessing an illegal anabolic steroid, driving with a revoked license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Basketball

Kobe Bryant made his first court appearance before the judge who will handle his sexual assault trial, saying nothing as the parents of his accuser sat just a few feet away. It was the first time family members of the 19-year-old woman have attended a hearing in the case and the first time they have seen the Los Angeles Lakers' guard in person, a prosecution spokeswoman said. Bryant sat quietly through the 12-minute procedural hearing.

Colleges

Kalen Grimes, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward from Hazelwood Central in St. Louis, was one of three high-school players to sign with the Tigers, the team announced. Grimes averaged 13.3 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks last year for the Hawks. Guard Jason Horton from Cedar Hill High School outside Dallas also signed with Missouri. He averaged 16.8 points and 6.5 assists last season. Glen Dandridge of Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C., also signed and averaged 18 points and nine rebounds as a junior at Mount Zion.

Notre Dame is staying as a football independent for now. In response to a USA Today report that the school had inquired about full membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference, athletic director Kevin White said the university would "monitor the landscape." The newspaper, citing officials in the ACC, said Notre Dame was "inquiring" about joining the conference. One official also said the school also contacted the Big Ten. School officials have said Notre Dame, a member of the Big East conference in other sports, has been approached by several conferences about joining.

Football

Oakland Raiders running back Tyrone Wheatley hit a photographer outside a federal courthouse hours before he testified before a grand jury probing a nutritional supplements lab. Wheatley threatened and cursed at a group of photographers and TV cameramen outside the building, then raised his right fist and slapped photographer Noah Berger hard on the right wrist when Berger raised his camera.

Rich Gannon had surgery on his injured throwing shoulder and is expected to rejoin the Oakland Raiders in the next few days. The operation took place in Minnesota and was performed by the same doctor who did his shoulder surgery after his 1993 season with Washington.

Golf

Lorie Kane shot a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Karrie Webb in the LPGA Tournament of Champions at Mobile, Ala. Kane and Webb were the only players to break par, with the field averaging 75.9 strokes.

Michelle Wie, 14, accepted a sponsor exemption to play in the Sony Open in January, putting her in position to become the youngest woman to play in a PGA Tour event.

Motorsports

Greg Biffle won the pole for the season-ending NASCAR Busch series race on the reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway. Biffle, who also races Sunday in his regular Winston Cup ride, got his second Busch pole of the season with a lap of 177.416 mph in a Chevrolet. That eclipsed Jeff Green's year-old Busch track record of 152.031 mph.

CART released its 19-race 2004 schedule and warned it could run out of money next month before shareholders consider a buyout offer. The series also disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it was in default on financial obligations.

-- From wire reports