FanFare 4/10/03

FanFare 4/10/03

Briefly

Baseball

Atlanta pitcher Paul Byrd will have surgery this week to remove a bone spur from the back of his right elbow, and it was not known when he would return to the Braves' rotation. The 32-year-old Byrd has been on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his right elbow since March 21.

John Rocker wants back into baseball and could find a new home with the Devil Rays. The former Atlanta, Cleveland and Texas reliever worked out Wednesday at Tropicana Field and was impressive enough that Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella feels it would be worth signing Rocker to a minor league contract and giving him a chance to work his way up to the majors.

Stung by anti-war criticism from Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, the baseball Hall of Fame has canceled a 15th anniversary celebration of the film "Bull Durham" that was to feature the co-stars. Hall president Dale Petroskey sent a letter to Robbins and Sarandon this week, saying the festivities April 26-27 at Cooperstown, N.Y., had been called off because of their remarks.

Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy went on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Anaheim recalled Chone Figgins from Triple-A Salt Lake to take Kennedy's spot on the roster.Basketball

Michael Jordan did not rule out a front-office job with the Bulls on Wednesday, calling it a "second thought" if he can't work out a deal with the Wizards. Jordan, retiring as a player at the end of the season, reiterated that his first choice is to return as Wizards president of basketball operations, the post he held from January 2000 until his second comeback began in fall 2001.

Colleges

Susie Gardner, who guided Austin Peay to three straight Ohio Valley Conference titles, was named women's basketball coach at Arkansas. Gardner, 38, guided Austin Peay to a 27-4 record this past season that included a 22-game winning streak. The Lady Govs made their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, losing in the first round to North Carolina, 72-70.

Memphis coach John Calipari, mentioned as a candidate for several open jobs, issued a statement insisting that he isn't leaving the Tigers. "I came to the University of Memphis to rebuild a winning basketball program, and it is my intention to stay here until we get the job done," Calipari said. "I view the task at the University of Memphis as much the same as we did at UMass. I stayed there for the long term."

Arkansas-Little Rock men's basketball coach Porter Moser is leaving to accept the head coaching job at Illinois State, Arkansas-Little Rock sports information director Kevin Tankersley said. Moser, who posted a record of 54-34 in three seasons with the Trojans, said he wasn't looking for a job. Assistant coach Steve Shields will be named interim coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, Tankersley said.

The University of Arkansas asked a federal judge to dismiss Nolan Richardson's lawsuit against it and three top school officials, saying any obligations to the ex-coach are being fulfilled through a $3 million buyout of his contract. In a 92-page filing at federal court, the university said that, under its contract with Richardson, it had a right to fire the coach if it paid him $500,000 a year for any time remaining on his contract.

Just three days after Oliver Purnell left for Clemson, Dayton hired Michigan State associate head coach Brian Gregory as its basketball coach. Gregory, 36, had spent the past four seasons at Michigan State under Tom Izzo - including two Final Fours and the 2000 championship campaign - and was reponsible for recruiting Paul Davis, Zach Randolph, Marcus Taylor and Kelvin Torbert.

Hockey

St. Louis Blues owner Bill Laurie has pleaded guilty to driving with excessive blood-alcohol content. Laurie's attorney, Dick Thomas, entered the guilty plea for his client Tuesday. Laurie did not appear in court. Thomas said Laurie's blood alcohol content tested at 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Municipal Court Clerk Shara Meyer said Laurie, 50, was fined $450 and his court costs totaled $122.50. Laurie also was ordered to complete a Substance Abuse Traffic Offender's Program, and his driver's license will be suspended for 30 days.

Pavol Demitra returned to St. Louis for the birth of his first child, but the Blues' leading scorer is expected back for the start of the playoffs. The Blues open their first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks tonight.

Tennis

The United States will play at Slovakia in Davis Cup playoffs for the World Group. The winner of the Sept. 19-21 matches will advance to next year's 16-team World Group, with the losing nations to compete in zonal competitions. A U.S. team missing Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick lost 4-1 to Croatia in the first round of World Group play in February. That result dropped the Americans into Davis Cup qualifying.

Area digestSoutheast softball splits with Eastern Illinois

CHARLESTON, ILL. -- Southeast Missouri State University and host Eastern Illinois split an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader Wednesday, the Otahkians losing the opener 1-0 and winning the finale 7-6.

The Otahkians are 8-19 overall and 4-3 in OVC play. The Panthers are 6-23 and 1-6.

Kristen Becker pitched a five-hit shutout in the opener to beat the Otahkians, who received a strong performance from Jessica Hunter. She allowed just six hits and one run, that coming in the first inning.

Southeast's offense came alive in the second game as Kelly Birk tripled twice and drove in four runs. Birk was also the winning pitcher, with Melissa Van Velkinburgh hurling two scoreless innings for the save.

Brooke Nett and Kemi Rampi both had three hits on the day for Southeast.

The Otahkians visit league-leading Tennessee Tech this weekend for a three-game series.