FanFare 1/22/03

Briefly

Baseball

The committee on the future of the Montreal Expos will start meeting with interested community groups next week. The community groups were told to bring up to six people to the meetings, which will be get-acquainted sessions rather than formal presentations. The sessions will take place Tuesday or Wednesday, with the exact dates and times to be set later this week.

Cuban defector Jose Contreras took another step toward finalizing his contract with the New York Yankees when he arrived Tuesday at the team's minor league complex.

Basketball

Seattle SuperSonics reserve guard Joseph Forte said Tuesday he declined a request by Sonics management to go on the injured list earlier this month, saying he didn't believe a sore ankle was serious enough to warrant the move. Sonics general manager Rick Sund declined comment except to confirm he made the request, initially reported by the News Tribune of Tacoma.

Suzie McConnell Serio, a former WNBA player and two-time Olympian who's been the coach at Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburgh for the last 13 years, was introduced Tuesday as the Minnesota Lynx's new coach.

Former NBA coaches Mike Fratello and Cotton Fitzsimmons will coach the Rookie Challenge game on Feb. 8 as part of the league's All-Star weekend.

NBA games will be available on satellite radio starting next month. The league and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. announced a deal Tuesday which allows the company to carry live broadcasts of up to 40 games per week.

Colleges

Austin Peay former Mississippi State assistant coach Carroll McCray as its football coach Tuesday. McCray, 42, replaces Bill Schmitz, whose contract was not renewed after the 2002 season.

Football

The Rams have hired 20-year coaching veteran Steve Fairchild as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Fairchild joins the Rams from the Buffalo Bills, where he spent the past two seasons as running backs coach. Prior to that, he spent eight seasons at Colorado State, including the last four as offensive coordinator/running backs coach. Fairchild, a native of Decatur, Ill., was a standout college quarterback who set national passing records at Mesa Junior College. He became the first junior college player to throw for 5,000 yards in route to earning all-America honors.

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre won't play in the Pro Bowl while Packers wide receiver Donald Driver will make his debut. The Packers said Tuesday that Favre will not play in the Feb. 2 Pro Bowl game in Honolulu because of his sprained ankle. He has been voted to the Pro Bowl six times in his 12-year career. He also played in the 1993 game as a replacement.

Hockey

Penguins star Mario Lemieux, who has missed four straight games and six of the last seven with a groin injury, said he hopes to return soon to the Pittsburgh Penguins' lineup. Lemieux, suffering from a groin injury for the first time in his career, skated briefly Monday before deciding it had not healed enough. He said he plans to re-evaluate the injury in the next few days.

Miscellaneous

Skiing great Alberto Tomba was stopped by police at Leonardo da Vinci airport and accused of trying to alter his expired passport. Police filed a complaint Tuesday against Tomba on charges of falsifying documents, said an official with the Italian border police at the airport.

Motorsports

CART star Jimmy Vasser warmed up for his venture into NASCAR this season by posting the fastest lap in Busch series testing Tuesday at Daytona International Speedway. The 1996 CART champion ran a lap around the 2 1/2-mile track at 184.158 mph in the No. 19 Braun Racing Dodge.

Five-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher escaped injury Tuesday when his Ferrari spun off the track during practice. This was the German's first practice lap since he won his latest title in October. Track officials said there was only minor damage to his car.

Tennis

Top-ranked Serena Williams was fined $1,500 for using obscene language during her first-round match at the Australian Open. During the second set of her 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 win over France's Emilie Loit, Williams cursed at herself behind the baseline after losing a point. She was warned for making an "audible obscenity."

Martina Hingis might never play another competitive tennis match because of foot injuries. The former No. 1-ranked player and owner of five Grand Slam tournament titles had surgery on her right ankle in October 2001 and on her left ankle in May. "It is quite possible that that I will never play top-level tennis again," the 22-year-old Hingis told Sport Information in an interview published Wednesday.

On the air

College men's basketballMaryland at North Carolina, 6 p.m., ESPN

Purdue at Illinois, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2

NBA

Washington at New Orleans, 8 p.m., ESPN

Tennis

Australian Open, 1 p.m., ESPN; 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

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

High school girls' basketball

Scott-Mississippi Conference Tournament, Oran: Delta vs. Kelly (championship), 7:30 p.m.