Sports briefs 1/24/06

Baseball

• General manager Dan O'Brien was fired Monday by new Cincinnati Reds owner Bob Castellini, his first major change since he took control of the team.

O'Brien was entering his third season as general manager and had a year to go on his contract. The Reds are coming off their fifth consecutive losing season, their longest such streak in 50 years.

Major league owners approved the Reds' sale to Castellini last Thursday. In a news conference a day later, he indicated he was impatient with losing and was planning to make changes as he learned more about how the team operates.

Castellini's first move was to put chief operating officer John Allen in charge of the business side of the franchise, with O'Brien reporting directly to him.

* The Chicago Cubs and pitcher Wade Miller agreed Monday to a one-year contract.

Bothered by shoulder problems, the 29-year-old right-hander was 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA in 16 starts in his lone season with the Boston Red Sox. He spent the first five weeks and the final two months on the disabled list.

Miller was with the Houston Astros for his first six major league seasons, going 16-8 in 2001 and 15-4 in 2002. He is 62-43 with five complete games and a 3.98 ERA during his career.

* The Houston Astros intend to file a health insurance claim on Jeff Bagwell's contract, arguing that the four-time All-Star is too hurt to play this season.

Bagwell is guaranteed about $17 million in 2006 whether he plays or not. But if he retires or is deemed unable to play, the Astros can file the claim by Jan. 31 and collect $15.6 million.

The 37-year-old Bagwell missed 115 games last season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder. Doctors who examined him earlier this month told the Astros he's still not ready and the team decided to move forward with the claim.

Basketball

• The beef at the Bulls game was a big misunderstanding, and in the end, everyone agreed to move on.

Michael Axelrod, the Chicago fan who quarreled with the wife of Knicks forward Antonio Davis at the United Center last week, issued a joint statement with the Davises on Monday, saying the episode "evolved from some misunderstandings."

Axelrod said he wouldn't follow through on his threat to sue Davis and his wife.

Colleges

• Two players have been kicked off the Wichita State basketball team for violating team rules, head coach Mark Turgeon announced Monday.

Jared Young, a junior reserve, and walk-on Gabe Barnes had been suspended before Sunday's win over Missouri State. Turgeon said Monday the players had been suspended for different reasons.

Olympics

• Top American skeleton racer Zach Lund will compete in next month's Turin Olympics after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Monday issued him only a public warning following a failed drug test.

Because he wasn't suspended, the U.S. Olympic Committee, which approves the delegation for Turin, said it would credential Lund for the games.

Lund tested positive for Finasteride, a banned substance often used as a steroid-masking agent, at a competition in November and was barred from the past two World Cup races. Lund said the positive result stemmed from his use of a hair-restoration product.

* U.S. skeleton coach Tim Nardiello should be reinstated, an arbitrator ruled Monday, overturning his suspension last month on allegations he sexually harassed two members of his team. Still unclear was whether Nardiello would be allowed to coach the team at Turin Olympics.

-- From wire reports