Sports briefs 10/12/04

Baseball

• A grieving Mariano Rivera was returning to Panama after two family members were electrocuted in his pool, but the star reliever intends to be in New York when the Yankees open their playoff series with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Rivera learned of the deaths while celebrating with his teammates in the clubhouse after the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins on Saturday to reach the AL championship series.

Victor Dario Avila, a cousin of Rivera's wife, Clara, and his 14-year-old son were killed Saturday while cleaning the pool at the pitcher's home.

• The fallout from the Chicago Cubs' disappointing finish has started.

The team announced Monday that third-base coach Wendell Kim, often criticized for being too aggressive in sending runners home, won't be back next year. Also, Gene Clines is replacing Gary "Sarge" Matthews as hitting coach, with Matthews taking Clines' old spot at first base.

Colleges

• Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson and Jonathan Jackson and Cole Farden of Oklahoma State were named Big 12 players of the week on Monday.

Adrian Peterson ran for an Oklahoma-freshman record 225 yards to lead the Sooners to their fifth straight win over Texas, 12-0. He is the first Oklahoma running back to start his career with five consecutive 100-yard games. The Palestine, Texas, native was also named the Walter Camp national offensive player of the week for his performance.

Jackson had eight tackles and two quarterback hurries in No. 2 Oklahoma's win over then fifth-ranked Texas. The Sooners defense held top-ranked rusher, Cedric Benson, to less than 100 yards for the first time this season.

Farden averaged more than 48 yards on seven punts in Oklahoma State's 42-14 win over Colorado. He had a season-high 63-yard punt and four of his punts were downed inside the Colorado 20-yard line.

Football

• DeShaun Foster joined Carolina's growing list of injured offensive stars and will be out six to 10 weeks with a broken collarbone.

After remaining fairly injury-free last season en route to the NFC championship, the bumps, bruises and breaks have piled up early this year for the Panthers (1-3).

Star receiver Steve Smith is out indefinitely with a broken leg, top running back Stephen Davis has missed three games following knee surgery and kick returner Rod Smart, also the No. 3 running back on the roster, is out with a knee injury.