Saturday FanFare 9/6/03

Briefly

Baseball

Cubs reliever Antonio Alfonseca was suspended for seven games, bullpen coach Juan Lopez was suspended for one game and outfielder Moises Alou was fined Friday for their run-in with umpire Justin Klemm earlier this week. The suspensions were set to start Friday night when the Cubs played at Milwaukee. Alfonseca was penalized for making contact with Klemm while Alou and Lopez were disciplined for arguing.

Expos players reversed course and said they would consider a split home schedule for next year. The Expos, bought by the other 29 major league teams before the 2002 season, are being sought by Northern Virginia, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.

One of three men charged with trespassing for rushing onto the field during a White Sox game was sentenced Friday to 60 days in jail and fined $1,000. A fourth man is accused of attacking umpire Laz Diaz on April 15. Sentenced Friday was 25-year-old Jeffrey Adams, who last month pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal trespass. Cook County Judge Colleen Sheehan's two-month sentence also included a drug and alcohol evaluation requirement, prosecutors said.

Cubs first baseman Randall Simon paid $432 to close a case in which he used his bat to hit a woman dressed as a sausage during a race at a Brewers game. Simon had been cited for disorderly conduct for his actions during the July 9 game with the Pirates, for whom Simon then played. Bond had been set at $432. Simon didn't challenge it and forfeited the money Thursday, ending the case, the court said.

Basketball

Michael Jordan doesn't want to be one of Bob's Cats. Bobcats owner Robert Johnson officially ended his summer-long courtship of Jordan, clearing the way for Ed Tapscott to begin building the NBA's newest expansion team.

Colleges

The University of Hawaii men's volleyball team was stripped of its Division I national title and fined $5,000 by the NCAA for using an ineligible player.

The St. Petersburg Times signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with the University of South Florida's athletics department. The university is located in nearby Tampa. The Times is now the only newspaper, other than USF's student newspaper, The Oracle, that can be sold around USF athletic facilities, said Anthea Penrose, the Times' public relations manager.

A University of Oklahoma football player was arrested and ticketed after failing to stop at a stop sign, police said. Brandon Everage, a safety, was cited for disregarding a stop sign at about 10 a.m.

Football

Tampa Bay middle linebacker Shelton Quarles will have surgery on his broken left forearm and elbow today and is expected to be sidelined six-to-eight weeks.

Hockey

Defenseman Murray Baron, who played for the Blues for six seasons in the 1990s, rejoined the team after signing a free-agent deal.