FanFare 7/23/02

Briefly

Baseball

Orioles pitcher Scott Erickson was charged Monday with assaulting his girlfriend after she confronted him about whether he was cheating on her, police said. Erickson and Lisa Ortiz had a "heated argument" that ended with Erickson throwing her to the floor of an elevator in the building where they live, according to a police report.

The right-handed pitcher told police Ortiz bit him on his right arm, causing a bruise and swelling. Police also said Erickson's right foot was bleeding and they found blood stains leading from the couple's condominium to the elevator. Erickson and Ortiz told police they did not require medical attention.

"It's nothing. It's just a bad break," Erickson said before Monday's game against Toronto at Camden Yards.

Barry Bonds underwent an MRI on his strained right hamstring and was not in the Giants' lineup against the Cardinals. The results of the MRI will be analyzed by several doctors, team trainer Stan Conte said. He would not speculate on when Bonds might return.

The Reds activated Ken Griffey Jr. from the 15-day disabled list, even though his strained hamstring hasn't completely healed. The Reds optioned outfielder Raul Gonzalez to Triple-A Louisville to open a roster spot for Griffey, who started in center field.

Basketball

The Celtics acquired forward Vin Baker from Seattle in a five-player deal that sent point guard Kenny Anderson to the SuperSonics. The Celtics also received guard Shammond Williams and traded center Vitaly Potapenko and guard Joseph Forte to the Sonics. The deal brings Baker, a nine-year NBA veteran, back to New England. He was born in Connecticut and starred at the University of Hartford.

Bucks forward Glenn Robinson was released on $5,000 bail after being arrested on charges of domestic battery, assault and illegal possession of a firearm, his attorney said.

Football

Lawyers for former NFL receiver Rae Carruth appealed his murder conspiracy conviction, saying a judge should not have allowed jurors to hear statements by Carruth's girlfriend Cherica Adams following her November 1999 shooting. The documents filed with the N.C. Court of Appeals in Raleigh said that Superior Court Judge Charles Lamm erred in admitting notes written by Adams from her hospital bed, "as these constituted inadmissible and unreliable hearsay that was unfairly prejudicial to" the former Carolina Panthers star.

Horse racing

Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the genial Saudi prince who dominated racing the last two years with Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem and 2001 horse of the year Point Given, died at 43. A member of the Saudi royal family, Ahmed was thoroughbred racing's prince charming -- whether kissing the nose of his horse in the winner's circle or bantering with other owners as he bought the costliest prospect at auction.

Ahmed, a nephew of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and also head of a publishing empire, died of a heart attack in the capital of Riyadh.

Verbatim

Writes Jon Heyman of Newsday: "Drayton McLane gets the Out-of-Touch Owner Award for threatening to sell the Astros. McLane is crying he's lost money, but the value of the franchise has almost tripled since he bought the team for $115 million. Plus, he re-sold ballpark-naming rights for tens of millions to Minute Maid. Houstonians who lost their life savings and their jobs to the Enron crooks don't need to hear this millionaire weeping."

-- From wire reports