FanFare 3/16/03

Briefly

Baseball

Another AL MVP could be on his way out of Oakland. Athletics owner Steve Schott told star shortstop Miguel Tejada on Saturday that the team won't offer him a multiyear contract after this season. Schott said there would be no negotiations, which Tejada was hoping to get underway during spring training.

Tug McGraw was transferred to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, a source close to the former star pitcher told The Associated Press. Two other sources, who are also close to McGraw, said the tumor was malignant.

Baseball officials have made no decision on whether to ask for a ban on ephedra in the major leagues, commissioner Bud Selig said.

Colleges

Rollie Massimino resigned after seven disappointing seasons as men's basketball coach at Cleveland State, where he was unable to duplicate the success he had while leading Villanova to an improbable 1985 NCAA title.

Football

The Jaguars landed one of the biggest prizes of the free agent class this offseason, signing defensive end Hugh Douglas. Terms were not disclosed.

Golf

When the wind kicked up and the greens slowed after two days of near-record scoring, Lorie Kane was back in her element. Kane shot a 5-under 65 to regain the lead in the LPGA Tour's season-opening Welch's-Fry's Championship.

Rain forced Champions Tour officials to call off play in the SBC Classic, reducing the event from 54 to 36 holes.

James Kingston was 9 under through four holes of the third round of the Qatar Masters when play suspended because of darkness.

Hockey

Maple Leafs center Doug Gilmour is expected to miss four to six weeks because of a knee injury. The 39-year-old Gilmour had an MRI on the left knee Friday.

Olympics

Members of a U.S. Olympic Committee task force want to drastically change the dynamics of the organization's board of directors to take politics out of the decision-making process. All 10 members of the USOC Governance and Ethics Review Task Force met for about eight hours to look at ways to reform the troubled organization.

Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt beat Vince Spadea 7-6 (5), 6-1 to reach the Pacific Life Open final. The top-ranked Hewitt is coming off a victory last weekend at Scottsdale, Ariz., and also is the defending champion at Indian Wells. He will face the winner of the Gustavo Kuertin-Rainer Schuettler semifinal scheduled for later Saturday.

Verbatim

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, telling the Lansing State Journal that he dreams his underachieving basketball team will put it all together in the NCAA Tournament: "Sometimes I wake up and think Halle Berry is right around the corner, too."

On the air

Arena footballRegional coverage, 11 a.m., WPSD

Boxing

WBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title: Kirk Johnson vs. LouiSavarese, 6 p.m., FOX-Midwest

College men's basketballSoutheastern Conference championship , noon, KFVS

Atlantic Coast Conference championship , noon, ESPN

Big 12 Conference championship, 2 p..m, ESPN

Big Ten Conference championship, 2:30 KFVS

NCAA Tournament selection show, 5 p.m., KFVS

College women's basketballNCAA Tournament selection show, 4 p.m., ESPN

College wrestlingBig 12 Wrestling Championships, 1 p.m., FOX-Midwest

Golf

Qatar Masters, same-day tape, 8 a.m., GOLF

The Honda Classic, 2 p.m., WPSD

Welch's/Fry's Championship, 3:30 p.m., GOLF

SBC Classic, 5 p.m., CNBC

Horse racingGotham Stakes, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

Motorsports

Gatornationals, same-day tape, 8 p.m., ESPN2

Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, 11:30 p.m., KBSI, KAPE-1550, KRHW-1520

MLB

Cardinals vs. Braves, 11:50 a.m., KGIR-1220

Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado, 2 p.m., WGN

NBA

Dallas at Sacramento, 2:30 p.m., WSIL

NHL

Colorado at Washington, 5 p.m., ESPN2

Tennis

Pacific Life Open, 11:30 a.m., WSIL; 2 p.m., ESPN2

CHARTER CABLE 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), KBSI (9), KFVS (7), MSNBC (55), Outdoors (38), Outdoor Life Network (74), Oxygen (75), Speed Channel (44), TNT (48), WDKA (17), WPSD (6), WQWQ (33), WSIL (3). Listings and times are provided by the networks and individual stations and are subject to change.

Area events

College softballSoutheast vs. TBD, Winthrop Tournament

CORRECTION

Robby Sanders is 33 years old. His age was incorrectly reported in an article in Thursday's edition. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.