FanFare 8/23/02

Baseball

Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon dislocated his finger sliding back into first base in the first inning Thursday and was listed as day to day.

The Cubs traded Tom Gordon to the Astros for a minor league pitcher and two players to be named.

The Angels placed right fielder Tim Salmon on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised left hand.

A's reliever Jim Mecir was suspended for three games for hitting Royce Clayton with a pitch after a warning had been issued.

Basketball

A second man pleaded guilty to charges that he helped cover up Jayson Williams' role in the shooting death of a limousine driver and will testify against the former NBA star. John W. Gordnick told the judge he took the clothes Williams was wearing when the driver was shot, hid them in a car and didn't turn them over to authorities for several weeks.

Referee Bill Stokes, who collapsed during a WNBA playoff game on Tuesday night, was "resting comfortably and improving daily," his family said in a statement released.

Colleges

University of Missouri senior linebacker Sean Doyle has been named one of 67 preliminary canidates for the prestigious Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation's best collegiate linebacker.

Football

The Redskins alleviated their logjam at quarterback trading second-year player Sage Rosenfels to the Dolphins. The Redskins received the Dolphins' seventh-round choice in the 2003 draft.

Jaguars defensive end Tony Brackens isn't ruling out further surgery on his injured left knee, and knows an operation could end his season. Brackens had arthroscopic surgery to clean up scar tissue in the knee in the offseason.

League and team sources confirmed that officials of the Super Bowl champion Patriots visited with free-agent tailback Jamal Anderson earlier in the day. The sources said the Patriots are preparing a contract proposal for Anderson and hope to reach an agreement with the eight-year veteran by the end of the week.

The Ravens signed cornerback Robert Tate. The terms were not disclosed.

Golf

South Africa's Retief Goosen and Japan's Toshi Izawa shot 6-under 65s to share the first-round lead in the NEC Invitational. Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke opened with 67s in the World Golf Championship event.

Tiger Woods overcame a double bogey on the 17th hole to post a 68, a good start in his bid to become the first player since Walter Hagen at the PGA Championship (1924-27) to win the same tournament four years in a row.

Charles Howell III birdied three of his first four holes and shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the $3 million Reno-Tahoe Open.

Jill McGill and Danielle Ammaccapane shot 6-under 66s to share the lead in the Betsy King Classic.

Tennis

Top-seeded Venus Williams, the three-time defending champion, breezed by little-known qualifier Laura Granville, 6-2, 6-1 in the Pilot Pen. Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport slugged it out for 90 minutes, beating Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (7), 6-3.

Alex Corretja rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jonas Bjorkman in the third round of the TD Waterhouse Cup on. Younes El Aynaoui beat Aranud Clement 6-0, 6-2 and Juan Ignacio Chela eliminated Jan-Michael Gambill 7-5 7-6 (5). Defending champ Tommy Haas rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Augustin Calleri.

-- From wire reports