Saturday's sports briefs

AREA

JACKSON WINS; CHAFFEE, CAPE LOSE IN TOURNAMENT

The Cape Girardeau American Legion baseball team gave up three runs in the eighth inning in a 6-3 loss Friday to the Memphis (Tenn.) Tigers in the Pepsi One Classic at Jonesboro, Ark. The Legion team is 1-1 in its pool and will play at 6 p.m. today.

Mark Wittenborn took the loss in three innings, replacing starter Wayne Essner.

Five players had singles for Cape, which was out-hit 6-5.

In other tournament games from Jonesboro:

Jackson defeated Wynne, Ark., 21-1. Dusty Roberts was 5-for-5 and Bryan Austin 3-for-4, both with a pair of doubles. Adding to Jackson's 21 hits were Josh Parham, Brennan Gibson, Trevor Thompson, Mike Birk, Josh Vandeven, Austin McDowell and Tim Davis, each with two. Davis picked up the win for Jackson (3-4) with four hits and a walk in the five-inning win.

Thompson was 4-for-4 ina loss Thursday to Searcy, Ark.

Collierville, Tenn., defeated Chaffee 7-3. Eric O'Hare pitched six innings in the loss and gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked four.

Tyler Cookson was 2-for-3 with a double and triple; Major Burger was 2-for-4 with a double.

Collierville scored four runs in the seventh inning to complete a rally.

ELSEWHERE

COLLEGES

Duane John, dismissed from the Missouri basketball team last month after being arrested for marijuana possession, said he will transfer to New Mexico State to play for the Aggies. John, who has signed a letter of intent with the Aggies, will sit out the 2002-03 season because of NCAA transfer rules. The 6-foot-6 John appeared in 24 of the Tigers' 36 games last season as a freshman reserve guard, averaging 0.8 points and 3.5 minutes per game.

Jeff Stewart resigned as baseball coach at Illinois State. Stewart, 46, guided the Redbirds to the conference tournament championship and NCAA Regionals in 1994. He was 380-403-1 in 14 years with Illinois State in the tough Missouri Valley Conference.

Football

The Vikings found a new partner for Randy Moss, agreeing to terms with free agent wide receiver Derrick Alexander. Alexander, who spent the last four seasons with Kansas City, fills the position created when Cris Carter retired last month after catching more than 1,000 passes and scoring 129 touchdowns in 15 seasons.

Ten-year veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell reached a contract agreement with the Bucs. He will sign a four-year contract worth $10 million and the deal includes a signing bonus of $2 million.

A women's professional football league has awarded Junction City an expansion franchise -- the league's first west of the Mississippi River -- with four more teams planned for cities in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The Junction City Cavalry is to begin playing in the National Women's Football League in 2003. Officials with the Nashville, Tenn.-based league said teams are also planned for Kansas City, Mo. and St. Louis. The league has 21 teams.

-- From staff, wire reports