fanfare 1/21

Briefly

Baseball

Tom Gordon agreed Monday to a $1.4 million, one-year contract with the White Sox following a 2002 season that was cut short by a muscle tear in his right shoulder.

Basketball

John Lucas couldn't make winners out of the Cavaliers, so Keith Smart is getting a shot. Lucas was fired Monday by the Cavs, who at 8-34 have the NBA's worst record, an apathetic fan base, complacent players and an assortment of other problems.

The Knicks and Heat tied the NBA record for fewest first-half points, combining for 57 Monday at Madison Square Garden. They matched the mark set by Detroit and Denver on Nov. 16.

Colleges

Morehead State's Ricky Minard was named the Ohio Valley Conference player of the week. Minard averaged 18 points and eight rebounds in the team's wins last week over Indiana-Purdue-Ft. Wayne and Eastern Kentucky. The junior guard-forward made all 11 of his free-throw attempts in the two games.

Baytown (Texas)Lee quarterback Drew Tate made a verbal commitment to play college football at Iowa, which finished the 2002 season ranked No. 8 nationally after losing to Southern Cal in the Orange Bowl.

A Texas A&M basketball player was free on bond after he was arrested for felony possession of steroids found in his truck. Andy Slocum was arrested early Sunday morning outside a fraternity party. Police found a large plastic bag that held syringes and vials, one of which had the words "Anabolic St" on it, according to court records. Slocum was charged with two counts of possessing a controlled substance and jailed under a $30,000 bond, according to the Brazos County Sheriff's Department.

Football

The Jaguars hired Bill Musgrave as offensive coordinator and Ravens linebacker coach Mike Smith as defensive coordinator, a source within the league told The Associated Press. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two will be introduced today as new coach Jack Del Rio's key assistants.

Hockey

Colorado's Patrick Roy added to his considerable list of achievements Monday night, becoming the first NHL goalie to play in 1,000 games. Roy, who holds nearly every significant league goaltending record, was honored before Colorado's game against the Stars. A video played on the scoreboard with highlights of Roy's career, then he took off his helmet and skated from the crease to the far end of the ice.

People

It turns out they were sort of right

When pundits said it would be a cold day in Columbus when Ohio State could celebrate another national football championship, they weren't kidding.

More than 50,000 ignored 10-degree weather -- minus-3 with windchill -- over the weekend for the chance to sit in Ohio Stadium, just to watch 90 minutes of Fiesta Bowl highlights on the big screen and pay homage to OSU's first national champs since the Woody Hayes days.

Though the event didn't start until 1 p.m. local time, a line of fans had stretched around the stadium's perimeter by 8:30 in the morning -- 2 1/2 hours before the gates were scheduled to open.

"We left our kids behind and came out," OSU alumna Julia Fitzpatrick-Cooper told The Plain Dealer. "People at home don't understand the allegiance. People think Buckeye fans are brainwashed."

Verbatim

Pitcher Roger Clemens, as quoted by The New York Times, after a local schoolgirl told him her father got "really, really, really mad" when the Yankees got bounced out of last year's playoffs: "Is your last name Steinbrenner?"

On the air

College men's basketballOhio St. at Indiana, 6 p.m., ESPN

Virginia at Virginia Tech, 6:30, ESPN2

Southeast at Western Illinois, 6:30 p.m., KEZS-102.9

Missouri at Iowa State, 6:30 p.m., KZIM-960

Alabama at Mississippi, 8 p.m., ESPN

High school boys basketballJackson at Perryville, 7:15 p.m., KREZ-104.7, KGIR-1220

Notre Dame at NMCC, 7:15 p.m., KAPE-1550

Woodland at Bell City, 7:15 p.m., KBHI-107.1

Tennis

Australian Open, 1 p.m., ESPN; 9:30 p.m., ESPN2

NHL

Blues at Thrashers, 7p.m., KZIM-960

CHARTER CABLE SPORTS KEY --CNBC (ch. 53), ESPN (42), ESPN2 (43), Lifetime (49)Fox-Midwest (45), Fox-Central (352), Fox-Pacific (353), Fox-Sunshine (351), Fox-World (350), FX(50), Golf Channel (46), MSNBC (55), Outdoors (38), Outdoor Life Network (74), Oxygen (75), Speed Channel (44), TNT (48). Listings and times are provided by the networks and individual stations and are subject to change.

Area events

College men's basketballSoutheast at Western Illinois, 7 p.m.

High school boys' basketballScott-Mississippi Conference Tournament, Scott City: Kelly vs. Delta, 6 p.m.; Oran vs. Chaffee, 7:30 p.m.

Notre Dame at New Madrid County Central, 7:30 p.m.

Jackson at Perryville, 7:30 p.m.

Advance at Zalma, 7:30 p.m.

Woodland at Bell City, 7:30 p.m.

Leopold at Meadow Heights, 7:30 p.m.

Oak Ridge at Marquand, 7:30 p.m.

Southern Missouri Christian at New Salem Baptist, 8 p.m.

High school boys' swimmingNotre Dame at Principia, 5 p.m.

High school girls' basketballSouthern Missouri Christian at New Salem Baptist, 6:30 p.m.

Twin Rivers at Scott County Central, 7:30 p.m.