FanFare 12/6/02

Baseball

Robin Ventura took a $3.25 million pay cut to stay with the Yankees after passing a physical and finalizing a $5 million, one-year contract.

The Reds and Padres agreed to trade Ken Griffey Jr. for Phil Nevin last weekend, but the deal died when Nevin wouldn't waive his no-trade clause. Nevin said Thursday that he told Padres general manager Kevin Towers that he wants to stay in San Diego, where he resurrected his career in 1999 after arriving as a backup catcher in a spring training trade with Anaheim.

Basketball

The Starzz are moving to San Antonio, the third WNBA franchise to either relocate or shut down this year.

Trail Blazers Damon Stoudamire and Rasheed Wallace have pleaded innocent to misdemeanor marijuana possession charges related to a traffic stop in Washington state last month.

Football

Buccaneers wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson filed for a divorce from his wife, Shikiri, citing irreconcilable differences. Johnson, 30, and his wife separated Sept. 2, according to the filing Tuesday in Superior Court.

Golf

Jim Furyk had a boring round compared to Tiger Woods and Davis Love III, which was fine by him in the Target World Challenge. While both Woods and Love went eight consecutive holes without a par, Furyk picked his spots at Sherwood Country Club and avoided costly mistakes on his way to an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead.

Hockey

Theo Fleury was cleared to return to the NHL, following the completion of his suspension for violating the league's substance abuse aftercare program. The 34-year-old Fleury was suspended indefinitely, just two days before the start of the regular season, but now is set to make his debut with the Blackhawks on tonight at home against Anaheim.

Miscellaneous

Roone Arledge, a pioneering television executive at ABC News and Sports responsible for creating shows from "Monday Night Football" to "Nightline," died Thursday. He was 71. Arledge died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said. The cause of death was complications from cancer, ABC News reported.

People

Tennis star Kim Clijsters is Belgian

Kim Clijsters' boyfriend, top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, wants her to become an Australian citizen -- for tax purposes.

As for Clijsters' agent-father, Lei, he remains tight-lipped, telling the Le Soir newspaper: "She always said she wanted to remain Belgian. But as her manager, I have to study all offers and we cannot reject this without examining it carefully."

That, we believe, is known as a Belgian waffle.

Verbatim

Gary Pinkel, Missouri football coach and former UW assistant, to the Kansas City Star: "Quarterbacks are like tea bags. You don't know what you've got until you put them in hot water."

Phillies Manager Larry Bowa on new acquisition Jim Thome: "I have already nicknamed him. We are going to call him 'Boo' in April, so when the fans boo him, he'ill think they're rooting him on."

--From wire reports