FanFare 11/24/02

Baseball

Houston Astros outfielder Richard Hidalgo was recovering at home Saturday after he was shot in the left forearm during a carjacking. He was released from the hospital Thursday.

Hidalgo will travel to Houston on Sunday and meet with the team's training staff on Monday, Astros spokesman Warren Miller said.

The Yankees, Mets and Rockies have talked about a three-way deal that would send Colorado pitcher Denny Neagle to the Mets, the Daily News reported Saturday.

Each of the three teams would pay a share of Neagle's contract, the News reported. Neagle has struggled in Colorado and has at least three seasons left on a contract that will pay him at least $37 million.

Yankees outfielders Raul Mondesi and Rondell White and Mets outfielder Jeromy Burnitz also could be involved in a deal, the newspaper said, citing several unidentified baseball sources.

Football

Arizona Cardinals running back Thomas Jones will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right hand in an accident at his home.

Jones broke the fourth metacarpal bone when his hand struck the edge of a countertop as he reached for a telephone Friday night, the Cardinals said Saturday.

Hockey

Ottawa Senators assistant coach Roger Neilson, fighting bone and skin cancer, was admitted to a hospital Friday.

When the 68-year-old Neilson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this month, he said his doctors felt the cancer was under control.

While Dave Andreychuk doesn't skate like Wayne Gretzky, have the big shot like Bobby Hull, or the skills of a Mario Lemieux, he can score with the best of them.

Andreychuk became the 14th member of the NHL's 600-goal club by scoring two third-period goal to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.

Colleges

Penn State's Larry Johnson became the ninth running back in NCAA Division I-A history to run for 2,000 yards in a season Saturday when he gained an amazing 279 yards in the first half against Michigan State.

Johnson became the first Penn State back to surpass 2,000 on his final touchdown run, from 38 yards out. That pushed his season total to 2,015 yards on 251 carries, setting an NCAA record with an average of 8.02 yards per carry. The previous record was 7.8, set by Nebraska's Mike Rozier in 1983.

Oregon State kick returner Brandon Catenese was charged with steroid possession this week and did not play in Saturday's game against Oregon.

The citation was issued Oct. 28 by police, but the charge wasn't made public until Friday, the day before Oregon State hosted Oregon in the annual Civil War game. Police allegedly found the drug during a June 1 search of Catenese's residence in an investigation that did not involve him.

New West Virginia coach John Beilein had two players leave the program Friday, just before the night's season opener against Delaware State.

Tobias Seldon quit the team for personal reasons while guard Jay Hewitt took an undisclosed leave of absence, Beilein said.

Boxing

Vitaly Klitschko knocked out Larry Donald in the 10th round Saturday, paving the way for a WBC title fight with Lennox Lewis.

The big Ukrainian caught Donald with a right in the round, sending the American to the canvas for the first time in his career.

Klitschko, 32-1 with 31 knockouts, then went after Donald, hitting him with a flurry of punches. Donald went down four more times, twice because Klitschko flung him to the canvas.

Golf

Tiger Woods again struggled with his putting game Saturday and settled for a 2-under par 69 in the third round of the US$1.65 million Dunlop Phoenix.

Woods, who fired a 68 on Friday, carded four birdies against a pair of bogeys at the Dunlop Phoenix Country Club to finish at 5-under 208, eight strokes behind leader Kaname Yokoo of Japan, who fired a 69 to go to 13-under.

Rachel Teske made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to finish off a 4-under 68 at blustery Trump International and take a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam and defending champion Karrie Webb.

The LPGA Tour's final tournament of the year will come down to those three players.

Teske, whose two victories this year include a five-stroke comeback against Sorenstam, had seven birdies and was at 10-under 206.

-- From wire reports