FanFare 2/2/03

Briefly

Baseball

Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew, already rehabbing a surgically repaired knee, has had a cyst removed from the ball of his left foot. Drew had the cyst taken off Friday during a "minor surgical procedure," Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Saturday. Drew, who last season struggled with tendinitis in his right knee, had offseason surgery to repair the tendon and is not expected to fully recover until this spring, perhaps May.

Free agent outfielders Orlando Palmeiro and Alex Ochoa, who both played for Anaheim in last year's World Series, signed with the Cardinals on Saturday. Palmeiro signed a one-year contract. Ochoa got a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Basketball

Bulls forward Marcus Fizer was placed on the injured list Saturday after spraining his right knee in Friday's 107-94 loss to Portland. Fizer sprained the knee on a breakaway layup against the Trailblazers and walked off the court on his own after scoring a team-high 17 points.

Colleges

Texas Tech right-handed pitcher Nathan Fouts, formerly ruled academically ineligible, has been cleared to play this season, officials said. Tech reviewed the senior's academic records again and found that Fouts does meet NCAA eligibility rules, athletic officials said, the day before the Red Raiders' season-opening series against New Mexico.

Football

The wife of Raiders center Barrett Robbins is apparently preparing to defend her husband's name. According to a report in The Contra Costa Times, Marisa Robbins said that she and Barret are working on a statement that is expected to be released in the next few days. The Robbins' will write the statement with the help of Barret's agent, Drew Pittman.

Just one day after the group of candidates for the San Francisco head coach position was narrowed to three, and appeared headed to resolution, the field suddenly expanded again. ESPN.com confirmed that the 49ers have been granted permission to meet with Bears defensive coordinator Greg Blache about the vacancy. Blache, 53, will fly to Southern California on Sunday and interview Monday with San Francisco general manager Terry Donahue.

Golf

Tim Herron, the roly-poly golfer who's discovered a superb touch on the greens, shot a 7-under-par 65 Saturday to open a four-stroke lead in the Bob Hope Classic. Herron, coming off a 61 a day earlier, went to 29 under through four rounds of the five-day tournament.

High school

LeBron James, widely acknowledged as the nation's top prep player, spent his first day on the sideline after being ruled ineligible by state officials for accepting two vintage sports jerseys worth $845. The Ohio High School Athletic Association ruled Friday that James violated a state bylaw on amateurism by accepting the trendy, "throwback" jerseys from a clothing store on Jan. 25. His attorney said Saturday he is considering an appeal.

Hockey

Contraction isn't an option for solving the NHL's economic problems with its bankrupt franchises in Ottawa and Buffalo, commissioner Gary Bettman said in his annual report. Bettman dismissed a suggestion the league might fold a team or two after expanding from 21 to 30 teams in less than a decade -- with some of the growth into markets where the sport is now struggling.

Canadian Olympic star Hayley Wickenheiser became the first woman to score a goal in a men's pro hockey game Saturday. Wickenheiser scored at 7:57 of the first period in Salamat's 5-4 loss to Titaanit before a sellout crowd of 1,200 at the Varuboden Arena.

Motorsports

Two Porsche GTs and a Porsche-powered Daytona Prototype were locked in a tense battle for the lead Saturday night in the 10th hour of the Rolex 24 sports car endurance race. The three cars were separated by less than two laps, with the top two cars on the same lap at Daytona International Speedway.

On the air

Arena footballRegional coverage, San Jose at Arizona, Orlando at Chicago, New York at Dallas, or Georgia at Colorado, 2 p.m., WPSD

BowlingPBA U.S. Open, 11:30 a.m., ESPN

College men's basketballIllinois at Michigan St., noon, KFVS

Wake Forest at North Carolina, 4:30 p.m., FOX-Midwest

Duke at Florida St., 7 p.m., FOX-Midwest

College women's basketballCreighton at Indiana State, noon, FOX-Midwest

Colorado at Missouri, 2 p.m., FOX-Midwest

Tulane at Cincinnati, 2 p.m., ESPN2

Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Extreme sportsWinter X Games, noon, WSIL; 8 p.m., ESPN2

Golf

Bob Hope Classic, 2 p.m., KFVS

MasterCard Championship, 7 p.m., GOLF

NFL

Pro Bowl, 4:30 p.m., WSIL

NHL

All-Star Game, 1:30 p.m., WSIL

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

No events scheduled today