FanFare 5/7/03

Briefly

Baseball

Mike Piazza's next at-bat against Guillermo Mota will have to wait. The Mets catcher was out of the starting lineup for Tuesday night's series opener against the Dodgers after having a mole removed from his abdomen. Piazza and the Mets said doctors thought the mole was benign, but that final tests hadn't come back yet. He took seven stitches, and the skin in the area was too tight for him to put on equipment to play.

Giants closer Robb Nen will have season-ending shoulder surgery today to repair a partial tear to his right rotator cuff. Nen's throwing shoulder has not responded to two operations over the past five months, including one on April 18, and an extensive rehabilitation program. He's expected to be ready for spring training in 2004.

Basketball

The Pistons didn't want to get off to another bad start. Richard Hamilton scored 25 points as top-seeded Detroit beat the fourth-seeded 76ers 98-87 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Two-time MVP Tim Duncan made the All-NBA team, just the sixth player in league history to receive that honor in each of his first six seasons. Also on the All-NBA first team were Lakers teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, the Magic's Tracy McGrady and the Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett.

Boston Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan was suspended without pay for a month for saying on television that Jason Kidd's wife needed someone to "smack her." Ryan also was barred from appearing on radio or television for one month.

Charlotte's new NBA mascot could be a tribute to the team's owner: "Bobcats" is one of three finalists for the name of Bob Johnson's expansion franchise. Other finalists announced by the team are "Dragons" and "Flight." A winner is to be announced next month after feedback from the public.

Colleges

Notre Dame point guard Chris Thomas made himself available for the NBA draft but didn't sign with an agent and can return to school if he chooses.

Rickie Weeks of Southern University was chosen one of five finalists for the 2003 Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. He was joined by Tulane infielder Michael Aubrey, Stanford outfielder Carlos Quentin, Wake Forest pitcher Kyle Sleeth and Richmond right-hander Tim Stauffer.

Motorsports

Steve Park was fired by Dale Earnhardt Inc., ending the tenure of the first full-time Winston Cup driver hired by the late Earnhardt. The team hired Jeff Green on an interim basis. Green drove a Busch Series car for Earnhardt in 1995, the first year Earnhardt stopped driving it himself.

Obituary

David Woodley, the starting quarterback for the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII, has died at age 44. Cause of death has not been determined, but Woodley had a successful liver transplant in April 1992.

Tennis

Gustavo Kuerten lost in the first round of the Italian Open, then acknowledged he probably can't win another French Open title this year. Kuerten was beaten 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 by Gaston Gaudio in this Tennis Masters Series clay-court tournament. In other action Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya won in straight sets. Ferrero beat Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (3), 6-4, while Moya eliminated Fernando Vicente 6-2, 6-4.

On the air

College baseballSoutheast at Southwest Missouri State (2), 1:15 p.m, KGIR-1220.

MLB

Boston at Kansas City, 1 p.m., ESPN

St. Louis at Cincinnati, 6 p.m., Fox-Midwest, KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Colorado at Atlanta, 6 p.m., ESPN2

N.Y. Yankees at Seattle, 9 p.m., ESPN2

NBA playoffsBoston at New Jersey, 6 p.m., TNT

L.A. at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m., TNT

NHL playoffs

Vancouver at Minnesota, 8 p.m., ESPN

Area events

College baseballSoutheast at Southwest Missouri (2), 1:30 p.m.

High school baseballSEMO Conference Tournament championship game, Capaha Field: Central vs. Sikeston, 4:30 p.m.

Delta at Shawnee, Ill., 4 p.m.

Leopold at Oran, 4 p.m.

Perryville at Windsor, Jefferson County Conference Tournament, 4:30 p.m.

St. Pius at St. Vincent, Jefferson County Conference Tournament, 4:30 p.m.

High school softballDelta at Shawnee, Ill., 4 p.m.

Leopold at Oran, 4 p.m.

High school girls' soccerCentral at Perryville, 4 p.m.

High school boys' tennisFarmington at Central, 4 p.m.

High school track & fieldPerryville at Jefferson County Conference Meet, Festus, 4 p.m.

High school golfPerryville, St. Vincent at Jefferson County Conference Tournament, Terre du Lac, 1 p.m.

Correction

TYLER BEUSSINK, THE JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL SHORTSTOP, WAS INCORRECTLY IDENTIFIED IN A PHOTO CAPTION ON PAGE 1B IN TUESDAY'S EDITION. THE SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN REGRETS THE ERROR.