Sports briefs 1/4/04

Baseball

The Mets reached a preliminary agreement with free-agent reliever Braden Looper on a $6.75 million, two-year contract. The Mets would not confirm the deal Saturday but said they had asked the durable right-hander to take a physical early next week, usually the last step before finalizing a contract. A baseball source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the preliminary agreement. Looper, 29, had 28 saves for the World Series champion Florida Marlins last season. He was 6-4 with a 3.68 ERA, but he struggled in the second half and the team did not offer him a contract for 2004.

Colleges

Connecticut finally lost at home. Jessica Foley made a 3-pointer as time ran out and No. 4 Duke rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat top-ranked UConn 68-67, ending the Huskies' home winning streak at 69 games. Foley was mobbed by her teammates as she lay on the floor after the shot, and the sellout crowd of 16,294 stood stunned. UConn (9-1) shared the record for consecutive home victories with Tennessee. The Blue Devils (10-1) used a furious press in the final minutes to force a number of turnovers, and outscored UConn 14-2.

Despite the likelihood of a split national championship, BCS coordinator Mike Tranghese said Saturday a playoff system for college football won't even be discussed among proposed changes for next season. Tranghese runs the Big East Conference and serves as the Bowl Championship Series chief as part of an annual rotation among the six major conference commissioners.

Football

Former Giants coach Jim Fassel interviewed with the Cardinals on Saturday, 24 hours after finishing two days of meetings with the Redskins. Criticized for being too close to his players in New York and not enough of a disciplinarian, Fassel said last week that he was interested in the perpetually out-of-control Cardinals.

-- From wire reports