FanFare 3/30/03

Briefly

Baseball

Mike Hampton joined Paul Byrd on the disabled list Saturday, another blow to the Braves' starting rotation heading into the start of the season. Hampton strained his right calf during a workout on a treadmill Friday night and Byrd has a sore elbow.

Former President Bush will fill in for his son and throw a ceremonial first pitch Monday before the Reds' season opener. The Reds invited the current president to officially open Great American Ball Park by throwing a pitch before the opener against the Pirates. Chief operating officer John Allen said the White House gave no reason for the switch.

Basketball

Nets center Dikembe Mutombo, who missed 56 games with torn ligaments in his right wrist, was activated off the injured list. Mutombo, acquired from Philadelphia in a blockbuster deal in the offseason to bolster New Jersey's frontcourt, has not played since a loss to the Clippers on Nov. 28.

Boxing

WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis can fight Mike Tyson as long as that bout is followed by a mandatory defense against Vitali Klitschko. WBC vice president Ruben Martinez said Lewis has until June 30 to fight Tyson, a more lucrative fight than a bout against Klitschko. Lewis pulled out of a proposed April fight against Klitschko, ranked No. 1 by the WBC, in hopes of a rematch against Tyson.

Colleges

Dick Bennett was hired as Washington State's men's basketball. Bennett, 59, succeeds Paul Graham, who was fired after four losing seasons.

Shon Robinson scored 26 points and Darnell Hinson added 19 to lead Northeastern State past Kentucky Wesleyan 75-64 for its first Division II men's basketball title.

Figure skating

With a smile that could light up the world and a grace unmatched in her graceful sport, Michelle Kwan soared into the record books. Kwan became only the third American to win five World Figure Skating Championships, and she did it with the kind of magnificent artistry that would match anyone who has ever laced on skates.

Golf

Arnold Palmer, who bid an emotional farewell last year at the Masters, is returning for an encore. The 73-year-old Palmer, a four-time winner of the green jacket, decided to play in the Masters for the 49th consecutive year, spokesman Doc Giffin said. That would tie Doug Ford for the most times playing in the tournament.

Horse racing

Harlan's Holiday was no match for Moon Ballad, Sheik Mohammed's latest winner of the world's richest horse race. With a devastating finishing kick, Moon Ballad ran away from Harlan's Holiday and easily won the won the $6 million Dubai World Cup at Nad al Sheba racetrack.

Motorsports

Joe Nemechek won his second Busch Series race of the season, fittingly crossing the finish line under caution in an event marred by two red flags and eight other caution periods at Texas Motor Speedway. Nemechek was in front on the restart on the 196th of 200 laps in the O'Reilly 300 after the second red flag, brought out by a chain-reaction accident that involved 15 cars and caused a 22-minute stoppage.

Soccer

Jovan Kirovski and Landon Donovan scored, and Kasey Keller delivered a shutout during a homecoming to Washington as the United States beat Venezuela 2-0 in an exhibition game.

Tennis

No. 1 Serena Williams extended her unbeaten streak to 17 by beating Jennifer Capriati 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, to win the Nasdaq-100 Open. No. 2-seeded Andre Agassi advanced to the men's final today by beating No. 9 Albert Costa 6-2, 6-4.

On the air

GolfThe Players Championship, 12:30 p.m., WPSD

Kraft Nabisco Championship, 3p.m., WSIL

College men's basketballNCAA tournament, Oklahoma vs. Syracuse, 1:30 p.m., KFVS, KGIR-1220

NCAA tournament, Texas vs. Michigan State, 4 p.m., KFVS, KGIR-1220

College women's basketballNCAA tournament, Connecticut vs. Boston College, 11 a.m., ESPN

NCAA tournament, Purdue vs. Notre Dame, 1:30 p.m., ESPN2

NCAA tournament, LSU vs. Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN2

NCAA tournament, Minnesota vs. Texas, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

MLB

Texas at Anaheim, 7 p.m., ESPN

Motorsports

Samsung/Radio Shack 500, 11:30 p.m., KBSI

NBA

Dallas at Minnesota, 12:30 p.m., WSIL

Phoenix at Indiana, 3 p.m., ESPN

Tennis

NASDAQ-100 Open, 11 a.m., KFVS

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 softballTennessee State at Southeast, 1 p.m.

College women's tennis

Austin Peay at Southeast, 2 p.m.