FanFare 4/3/03

Briefly

Baseball

The House Energy and Commerce Committee sent letters Wednesday to baseball commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donald Fehr, requesting documents about ephedra use in the sport. Congress is investigating dietary supplements containing ephedra, and baseball has come under scrutiny since the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler in February. A coroner said ephedra contributed to Bechler's death from heatstroke.

Damion Easley signed with the Devil Rays, five days after becoming the most expensive player cut loose in baseball history when the Tigers released him with $14.3 million still owed on his contract.

Philadelphia manager Larry Bowa was suspended for one game and fined by the commissioner's office for his role in the teams leaving their dugouts during a spring training game.

Baseball players plan to respond today to management's plan to give home-field advantage in the World Series to the league that wins the All-Star game.

A jury began deliberations in the trial of Kirby Puckett, accused of dragging a woman into a restaurant bathroom and assaulting her. Jurors deliberated for about 5 1/2 hours without reaching a verdict. Hennepin County District Judge Stephen Swanson sequestered them at a hotel for the night, and they were scheduled to reconvene today.

Basketball

Pete Babcock was fired as general manager of the Hawks with eight games left in the team's fourth straight losing season. The Hawks never advanced past the second of the playoffs and won just one Central Division title during Babcock's 13 years at the helm.

Colleges

Final Four participants Nick Collison of Kansas, T.J. Ford of Texas, and Dwyane Wade of Marquette were among the John R. Wooden Award finalists announced Wednesday. Hollis Price of Oklahoma, and David West of Xavier are the other two contenders for the player of the year honor, which will be presented April 12 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Golf

Martha Burk's lawyers asked a judge to override Sheriff Ronald Strength's decision prohibiting her from demonstrating at the front gate of Augusta National during the Masters. The request comes 10 days before Burk plans to protest at the club because of its all-male membership.

Tennis

Anna Kournikova was the top player selected in the World TeamTennis draft by the Kansas City Explorers. Boris Becker will make his debut in the league in July after being chosen by the New York Buzz. The Philadelphia Freedoms picked Martina Navratilova. Andy Roddick will return for the St. Louis Aces, while James Blake will play again for the Hartford FoxForce. The season for the 10-team league, which also has franchises in Delaware, Sacramento, Calif., and Springfield, Mo., runs from July 7 to 27 with the finals Aug. 23.

On the air

GolfBellSouth Classic, 3 p.m., USA

MLB

Brewers at Cardinals, 12:10 p.m., KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Chicago Cubs at N.Y. Mets, noon, ESPN, WGN

College men's basketballNIT championship game, Georgetown vs. St. John's, 7 p.m, ESPN2

Gymnastics

Big 12 Women's Gymanstics Championship, noon, Fox-Midwest

High school baseballPoplar Bluff at Chaffee, 3:45 p.m., KAPE-1550

NBA

Washington at Atlanta, 6 p.m. TNT

L.A. Lakers at Dallas, 8:30 p.m., TNT

NHL

N.Y. Islanders at Detroit, 7 p.m., ESPN

Blackhawks at Blues, 7 p.m., KIGR-1220

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

High school baseballPoplar Bluff at Chaffee, 4 p.m.

Herculaneum at Perryville, 4 p.m.

St. Vincent at De Soto, 4 p.m.

Bell City at Puxico, 4 p.m.

South Iron at Meadow Heights (2), 4 p.m.

Scott County Central at Oran, 4 p.m.

Leopold at Richland, 4:15 p.m.

High school softballChaffee at Meadow Heights, 4 p.m.

Bloomfield at Advance, 4 p.m.

Bell City at Puxico, 4 p.m.

Scott County Central at Oran, 4 p.m.

Dexter at Scott City, 4:15 p.m.

Leopold at Richland, 4:15 p.m.

High school girls' soccerFredericktown at Perryville, 4 p.m.

High school girls' swimmingCentral at Poplar Bluff, 4 p.m.

High school boys' tennisDe Soto at Central, 4 p.m.

High school golfCrystal City at St. Vincent, 3:30 p.m.

CORRECTION

Rebecca Cook of Delta High School won the 3-point shootout at the B.A. Sports All-Star Extravaganza in Poplar Bluff, Mo., on Saturday. Incorrect information appeared in Wednesday's edition. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.