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CENTRAL GRAD BENNETT LEADS BAYLOR IN HITTING

Central High School graduate Ross Bennett leads Baylor University's nationally ranked baseball team in hitting.

Bennett, a junior who serves as the Bears' designated hitter, is batting .408, with two home runs and 19 runs batted in.

Plagued by injuries last year, Bennett batted .353 in just 34 at-bats. As a redshirt freshman starter, he hit .285.

At Central, Bennett earned all-state honors and was taken in the 42nd round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft by the Montreal Expos but elected not to sign.

Baylor (19-9) is ranked 10th and 12th in the two major national polls.

ELSEWHERE

FOOTBALL

The Chicago Bears have made a contract offer to free agent quarterback Chris Chandler, whom they envision as a backup to Jim Miller.

General manager Jerry Angelo said he expects to hear back from Chandler's agent in the next couple of days. He also said the sides aren't close to a deal and that he doesn't know if there will be one.

"We'll see where it goes," Angelo said Wednesday.

Chandler, 36, was released last month by the Atlanta Falcons. The 14-year-veteran with a history of concussions has played for six NFL teams. He passed for 16 touchdowns and threw 14 interceptions last season.

Skating

Gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno is skipping the world short-track speedskating championships over the next two weekends, saying he's out of shape after a whirl of post-Olympic TV and promotional appearances.

In a release by his agents at IMG, Ohno said he was disappointed to miss the World Short Track Team Championships this weekend in Milwaukee and the World Short Track Championships next weekend in Montreal.

Since the Olympics, Ohno has made the national talk-show circuit and participated in numerous corporate and promotional appearances.

Wrestling

Olympic champion wrestler Rulon Gardner will lose a toe because of frostbite suffered when he was stranded for a night in western Wyoming's backcountry.

Gardner's right middle toe will be amputated today at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

Gardner won the world Greco-Roman wrestling title in December. In the Sydney Olympics, he upset Alexander Karelin, the Russian who had not lost an international match in 13 years.

It is uncertain how the amputation will affect Gardner's career.

Gardner, 30, of Afton, was stranded in the woods when his snowmobile bogged down Feb. 14. After wandering around for 17 hours in temperatures that dipped to 25 below zero, he was found with a body temperature of 88.

-- From staff, wire reports