FanFare 11/3/02

Baseball

The Mariners interviewed Yankees third base coach Willie Randolph and Baltimore bench coach Sam Perlozzo, and general manager Pat Gillick said two more names have been added to the list of possible replacements for Lou Piniella. Gillick refused to identify the latest possibilities.

Hideki Matsui has the same status as the major league players who file for free agency: The Japanese star can start talking money with teams on Nov. 13. The 28-year-old outfielder won his third Japanese Central League MVP award Friday, just hours after announcing he intends to leave the Yomiuri Giants to pursue a career in the American major leagues.

Despite failing to make the World Series for the first time since 1997, the Yankees are raising the price of their best seats by $10, blaming the increase on baseball's labor deal.

Basketball

The Knicks announced their 433rd consecutive sellout Saturday night for their home opener against Boston, but team officials predicted the streak will likely end Monday. The game against the Celtics did not sell out until Saturday morning when a few hundred seats were sold at the walk-up window. More than 1,000 tickets remain unsold for Monday night's game against the Bucks.

Nets guard Jason Kidd was fine $5,000 by the NBA for elbowing Indiana's Jamaal Tinsley. Kidd was ejected from Friday night's game between the Nets and Paces with 4:52 left for throwing an elbow at Tinsley after the two were called for technicals while backing each other in the post.

Golf

Vijay Singh blew away Tiger Woods and the rest of his challengers, holing an 80-foot eagle putt on No. 15 and closing strong for a 5-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Tour Championship. Singh is at 9-under 201. Charles Howell III kept in the hunt with a birdie on the 17th hole and finished with a 69, making him the only player to break par all three rounds at East Lake. He will be paired with Singh in the final round today.

English rookie Luke Donald birdied three of the last four holes for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. The former NCAA champion from Northwestern, four strokes behind Brad Elder midway through the round, had a 15-under 201 total for the first 54-hole lead of his PGA Tour career.

Carin Koch beat Michele Redmen 2 and 1 to advance to the semifinals of the World Ladies Match Play Championship. Koch will face Grace Park in the semifinals. Park easily advanced, routing Yuri Fudoh 6 and 5 on the windswept Narita Golf Club course. In the other quarterfinals, Hee-Won Han beat Rosie Jones 5 and 4, and Midori Yoneyama defeated Kelly Robbins 4 and 3.

Ian Poulter made his third career hole in one and shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the rain-shortened Italian Open.

Miscellaneous

Valdosta High School became the first prep team in the nation to win 800 games, shutting out Lee County 36-0 Friday night at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. Valdosta, 800-163-34 over 88 seasons, holds the record for state titles with 23.

Olympics

New York City turned on its star power, flexed its financial muscle and touted its status as the "world's second home" to beat San Francisco and become the U.S. candidate for the 2012 Summer Olympics. New York organizers broke into cheers, tears and shouts as the close vote was announced. On a weighted scale of voting by the 123 members of the U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors, New York received 132 points out of possible total of 223.

Skating

The 2006 U.S. Figure Skating Championships will be held in St. Louis at the Savvis Center. This will be the first time St. Louis has hosted the U.S. championships. They've been in Missouri only once before, in Kansas City in 1985.

Tennis

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt held on to beat Paradorn Srichaphan 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and set up a Paris Masters final against 2000 winner Marat Safin. Safin fired 13 aces to reach his third Paris Masters final in four years by eliminating Carlos Moya 7-5, 7-6 (4). Safin, the 2000 U.S. Open champion, closed out the 97-minute match with a forehand winner down the line. He had 30 winners to Moya's 14.

Spain and Slovakia split opening matches in the Fed Cup final. Conchita Martinez gave Spain a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series by beating Janette Husarova 6-4, 7-6 (6), but Daniela Hantuchova tied it for Slovakia by topping Magui Serna 6-2, 6-1.

-- From wire reports