FanFare 8/21/02

Baseball

Ricky Gutierrez's season is over, and now the Indians second baseman is concerned about saving his career. Gutierrez said doctors have recommended surgery on his injured neck, which he hurt while diving for a ball in the first weeks of the season. An MRI revealed that discs in Gutierrez's neck are rubbing and pinching his spinal cord.

Basketball

Shawn Kemp, the former All-Star who averaged just 6.3 points in two seasons with Portland, was waived by the Trail Blazers after the team restructured his contract. Terms of the restructured deal were not disclosed by the team.

Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes was selected the WNBA's Most Valuable Player, winning the award for the second time in three years.

Jay Williams' hip injury had healed enough by Tuesday to allow him to practice with the U.S. national team, although he did not take part in scrimmages. Williams was injured in a collision with teammate Andre Miller on Saturday during the team's first hard practice.

Football

The agent for suspended running back Lawrence Phillips has severed ties with him for the second time this year, while the general manager of the Montreal Alouettes said the team will not negotiate a new contract.

Phillips, the CFL's leading rusher with 594 yards in eight games, was suspended by the Alouettes on Monday after he missed the team's flight to Vancouver for the start of a two-game road trip.

Hockey

Jarome Iginla said he will not attend the Flames' training camp next month unless he has a new contract in place, according to a report from the Canadian Press. Iginla, 25, won the Pearson Award last year with 52 goals, 44 assists and was the NHL's only plus-50 goal scorer in 2001-02.

The NHL rejected the contracts Bobby Holik and Darius Kasparaitus signed with the New York Rangers, objecting to provisions that would pay them in the event of a season lost to a work stoppage.

Motorsports

Actor Jason Priestley was moved out of intensive care Tuesday and his condition was upgraded to stable as he recovers from a crash during a car race.

"He continues to make a solid, speedy recovery," Methodist Hospital spokesman Jon Mills said.

The 32-year-old former "Beverly Hills 90210" star was hurt Aug. 11. His car spun out of control at 180 mph and hit the wall at the Kentucky Speedway during practice for the Infiniti Pro Series, a developmental circuit for the Indy Racing League.

He has had operations for foot, back, eye and nose injuries.

Doctors say he is expected to make a full recovery and probably will start rehabilitation this week.

Tennis

Paul-Henri Mathieu, the last of the 48 players to get into the main draw, stunned Pete Sampras 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-4 in a second-round match at the TD Waterhouse Cup.

Top-seeded Venus Williams maintained her perfect record in the Pilot Pen with a 6-2, 6-4 second-round victory over Meghann Shaughnessy. Earlier, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport defeated Iroda Tulyganova 6-4, 7-5 (3) to advance to the quarterfinals.

Four Americans top the women's seedings at the U.S. Open for the first time since 1983, led by Serena Williams, who'll be aiming for her third straight Grand Slam title. Williams' sister, two-time defending champion Venus, is seeded No. 2, meaning they could meet only in the final. Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was seeded No. 1 in the men's field Tuesday, with 2000 winner Marat Safin at No. 2.

-- From wire reports