Fanfare 11/6

Briefly

Baseball

A court hearing over whether Ted Williams' daughter can challenge her half brother's desire to have the Hall of Famer's body cryogenically preserved was postponed for a second time Tuesday.

The hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday in Citrus County Circuit Court. No new date had been set.

Bobby-Jo Williams Ferrell wants to have the court decide whether her father's ashes should be scattered in the ocean off Florida, as he declared in his 1996 will.

But his youngest children, John Henry and Claudia Williams, maintain they signed a handwritten pact with their father in November 2000 agreeing that their bodies would be frozen.

Jose Canseco and his twin brother pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges they beat up two men in a nightclub fight, agreeing to probation and community service but avoiding prison time.

The Cansecos made the deal while their trial was in jury selection.

Jose Canseco, 26th on the career home run list, and his brother, former big leaguer Ozzie, also will have to attend anger management classes.

Before the deal was approved, Circuit Judge Leonard E. Glick questioned Jose Canseco.

"If you want to go to trial, you'll get a fair trial. But you'll be gambling with your life and other things," Glick said. "But if you want, let's get this thing behind us. Do you want to accept the plea?"

Canseco replied: "I do."

Jose Canseco agreed to three years' probation, 250 hours of community service and the anger control classes. Ozzie Canseco must complete 18 months' probation, 200 hours of community service and the anger classes.

Boston left-hander Alan Embree decided to take a $5.5 million, two-year contract to stay with the Red Sox and Minnesota right-hander Bob Wells filed for free agency Tuesday.

Embree gets $2.75 million in each of the next two seasons, and Boston has a $3 million option for 2005.

He went 3-4 with an 0.94 ERA in 35 appearances for the San Diego, which traded him to Boston on June 23. He was 1-2 with a 2.97 ERA for the Red Sox.

College

A female freshman soccer player at Bowling Green died at the hospital after collapsing five minutes into a game Tuesday, a nursing supervisor said.

Leslie Dawley was away from the action when she fell during a Mid-American Conference tournament game against Buffalo. Trainers rushed onto the field and tried to revive the 18-year-old player.

Teammates covered her with jackets before she was taken by ambulance to Wood County Hospital, where she died, nursing supervisor Mary Davis said. Bowling Green players were hugging and crying while Dawley lay on the field.

Davis said she did not know what caused Dawley's death. She said an autopsy would be done in the next few days.

Bowling Green sports information director J.D. Campbell could not confirm Dawley's death. He said the university could not release any information until notifying "the appropriate people."

Dawley, a 5-foot-4 midfielder from Westerville, had six assists in 18 games this season.

Football

The St. Louis Rams signed linebacker Hakim Akbar on Tuesday.

The 6-foot, 220-pound Akbar, who spent this year's training camp with the expansion Houston Texans, played on special teams for New England in six of the Patriots' first nine games last season. He then went on injured reserve in November after an auto accident.

The Patriots chose Akbar from the University of Washington in the fifth round of the 2001 draft.

The NFL Players Association has dismissed all claims regarding collusion charges against the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.

The NFLPA had charged the teams with colluding in regarding to their 2002 first-round draft picks. The Chiefs took defensive tackle Ryan Sims with the sixth pick and Minnesota went for offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie with the seventh.

The collusion charges were lodged when the players and their agents failed to come to terms with the teams. Sims did not sign until the end of training camp and McKinnie did not agree to terms with the Vikings until Oct. 31.

Chiefs president Carl Peterson said he had never been involved in collusion charges "in my 25 years in the National Football League."

Hockey

Blue Jackets forward Kevin Dineen retired Tuesday, less than a month into his 19th NHL season.

The 39-year-old forward, who played for five teams, is one of eight players with 300 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. He will work in the Blue Jackets' front office.

"Change is always a little scary, especially when you've used your body for so long and now have to use your brain," he said.

Dineen played for Hartford, Philadelphia, Carolina, Ottawa and Columbus, with 355 goals, 405 assists and 2,229 penalty minutes in 1,188 games.

Dineen had 13 goals and 15 assists in slightly more than two seasons with Columbus. He was scoreless in four games this season.

Verbatim

Dallas defenseman Bill Guerin, on the Stars playing seven of their first 10 games this season on the road: "I think we're going to play 20 home games this year. It feels like that. My kids are calling me Uncle Billy."