FanFare 5/16/03

Briefly

Baseball

Rick Ankiel lasted less than two innings Thursday in his second start for the Cardinals' Double-A Tennessee farm team. The left-hander allowed four earned runs, four hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings, striking out two as Chattanooga won 8-7.

The sale of the Angels from The Walt Disney Co. to Arturo Moreno was approved, making him the first minority with a controlling stake in a major league team. Moreno, a Hispanic businessman from Tucson, Ariz., hopes to complete the $184 million purchase of the World Series champions next week.

Basketball

A jury found Hawks forward Glenn Robinson guilty on domestic battery and assault charges but innocent on an unlawful possession of a firearm charge, a spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office said. He was setenced to one year conditional discharge, a form of probation.

Bob Johnson is prepared to wait until July -- or perhaps even longer -- for Michael Jordan to decide if he wants to join Charlotte's expansion NBA franchise. Johnson said he recently gave Jordan his sales pitch, telling him the "door is wide open" for Jordan to come to Charlotte as a minority owner, team president, or both.

Colleges

Nine University of Georgia football players have been declared ineligible by school Director of Athletics Vince Dooley for selling their SEC championship rings. The group includes seniors Kenny Bailey, Michael Johnson, and Bruce Thornton, junior Fred Gibson, sophomores Trey Young, Darrius Swain, Tony Taylor, and Tim Jennings, and freshman Kedric Golston.

Football

Former Browns linebacker Jamir Miller announced his retirement because of an injury that wouldn't heal or allow him to play like a Pro Bowler.

Golf

Tiger Woods shot a bogey-free 3-under-par 69 and was four strokes off the lead midway through the first round of the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open. Woods finished four strokes behind playing partner Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen, who shot 7-under 65.

Jeff Sluman used his newfound pure putting stroke to charge into the clubhouse lead during the first round of the $5.6 million Byron Nelson Championship.

Teenager Michelle Wie has accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour, becoming the first female to compete on the PGA Tour's developmental circuit.

Hockey

The Devils overcame the strangest no-goal of the playoffs and a wacky near goal to grab the lead in the Eastern Conference finals. The Senators had top defenseman Wade Redden in the lineup and some luck on their side, but that wasn't enough as they lost 1-0. Sergei Brylin scored on a masterful deflection, his first goal of the playoffs for the Devils, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Tennis

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt and three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten both had a rough day on clay, losing in the third round of the Hamburg Masters. Hewitt was upset by Fernando Gonzalez 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.

Jennifer Capriati fought the urge to be aggressive, and her patience was rewarded with a berth in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. The fifth-seeded Capriati beat Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-3 to advance. She was joined in the quarterfinals by Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Amelie Mauresmo.

Pete Sampras pulled out of Wimbledon and the French Open and probably won't return to competitive tennis, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site.

On the air

BoxingHeavyweights, Lance Whitaker (25-2-1) vs. Andre Purlett (35-1-0), 8 p.m., ESPN2

College baseballSoutheast at Murray St. (2), 12:45 p.m., KGIR-1220

College softballNCAA Division I, regionals, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Golf

Deutsche Bank/SAP Open TPC of Europe, 7 a.m., TGC

Virginia Beach Open, 12:30 p.m., TGC

Byron Nelson Championship, 3 p.m., USA

Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am, 4 p.m., TGC (same-day tape)

Horse racingPimlico Breeders' Cup Distaff Handicap, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Pimlico Special Handicap, 4 p.m., ESPN

MLB

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 7 p.m., Fox-Midwest, WGN, KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Atlanta at San Diego, 9 p.m., TBS

Motorsports

Qualifying for Austrian Grand Prix, 7 a.m., SPEED

Qualifying for The Winston, 5 p.m., SPEED

Hardee's 200, 7 p.m., SPEED

Final practice for The Winston, 9:30 p.m., SPEED

NBA playoffsDetroit at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m., ESPN

NHL playoffsMinnesota at Anaheim, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

n 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), KBSI (9), KFVS (7), MSNBC (55), Outdoors (38), Outdoor Life Network (74), Oxygen (75), Speed Channel (44), TBS (10), The Golf Channel (46), 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 baseballSoutheast at Murray State (2), 1 p.m.

High school baseball

St. Vincent at Leopold, 4:15 p.m.