fanfare 4/4

Briefly

Baseball

Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett was cleared Thursday of all charges in the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a restaurant bathroom. A jury of six men and six women deliberated nearly 12 hours over two days. Puckett sat still as the verdicts were read, then hugged his lawyers. The 43-year-old Puckett, who played his entire career for the Minnesota Twins, was accused of dragging a woman into the men's room, forcing her into a stall and grabbing her breast hard enough to leave a bruise.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks recommended the Chicago City Council designate Wrigley Field a landmark. The commission made its decision after reviewing a proposal from the city's Department of Planning and Development. The department recommended designating key architectural features of the ballpark, including the center field scoreboard, marquee and ivy-covered walls.

Basketball

Portland forward Zach Randolph punched teammate Ruben Patterson in the face during practice, the latest in a string of discipline problems for the Trail Blazers. Randolph was suspended for two games and fined $100,000 by the team.

Pacers' forward Ron Artest has been fined $20,000 for directing obscene gestures toward fans in Wednesday's game, Stu Jackson, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations, announced.

Colleges

Seth Greenberg joined Virginia Tech, agreeing to a six-year contract and promising to turn around the men's basketball program after three consecutive losing seasons.

Ben Howland took over as UCLA men's basketball coach, leaving behind a Pittsburgh program he took to national prominence for a chance to lead the Bruins. The 45-year-old Howland becomes the eighth coach at UCLA since John Wooden retired in 1975 after leading the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships in a 12-year span.

Matt Doherty said North Carolina officials never met with him to discuss problems with his coaching style before Doherty was asked to resign as the school's basketball coach. Neither athletic director Dick Baddour nor his assistants attended any UNC practices during the season, Doherty said, and they did not meet with any assistant coaches. A school spokesman denied Doherty's claims.

Golf

Chris DiMarco shot a 5-under 67 in the first round of the BellSouth Classic, taking advantage of several short birdie chances after solid iron shots. He narrowly missed two birdie putts from close range.

Verbatim

Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, with a little bar talk: "Hello, I am a CBS executive, NCAA tournament ratings are down 23 percent, and I'm looking at a Final Four of Marquette, Syracuse, Texas and Kansas. Waiter: Make that a double."

On the air

BoxingHeavyweights Ray Mercer (30-5-1) vs. Robert Wiggins (17-2-1), 8 p.m., ESPN2

Golf

The Office Depot Championship, 2 p.m., ESPN2

BellSouth Classic, 3 p.m., USA

MLB

Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati, 6 p.m., WGN

Florida at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m, TBS

Astros at Cardinals, 6:35 p.m., KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Motorsports

Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying, 11 a.m., SPEED

NBA

Sacramento at Boston, 7 p.m., ESPN

Portland at Golden state, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

NHL

Blues at Blackhawks, 7:30 p.m., KGIR-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

College track and fieldGatorade Classic, Abe Stuber Comple (hammer throw only), 5 p.m.

College women's tennisTennessee State at Southeast, 2 p.m.

High school baseballScott City at Poplar Bluff, 4 p.m.

Richland at Scott County Central, 4 p.m.

Woodland at Perryville, 4:15 p.m.

Bernie at Advance, 4:15 p.m.

Jackson at Central (completion of susp. game), 4:30 p.m.

High school golfSte. Genevieve at Perryville, 4 p.m.

High school girls' soccerSt. Vincent at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.

High school girls' swimmingNotre Dame at Principia, 5 p.m.

High school softballRichland at Scott County Central, 4 p.m.

Bernie at Advance, 4:15 p.m.

High school track and fieldScott City, Chaffee, Oran, Advance, Kelly at East Prairie Invitational, 4 p.m.

Motorsports

Street class at Auto Tire and Parts NAPA Racepark drag strip, Benton, Mo., 6 p.m.

CORRECTION

The Advance High School baseball team defeated Delta 20-8 on Wednesday, and Brandon Keesee went 4-for-4. Incorrect information appeared in Thursday's edition. The Southeast Missourian regrets the error.