Sports briefs 11/23/04

Baseball

• Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield didn't feel improvement following two weeks of rehabilitation and will have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder Tuesday.

Sheffield, who finished second to Anaheim's Vladimir Guerrero in AL MVP voting, was examined Nov. 3 by Dr. James Andrews, who advised him to follow a rehab routine for two weeks.

"He didn't feel it went well. It was still experiencing problems," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday.

Sheffield, 36, could not raise his left arm for much of the season and was forced to catch balls at his side. He will be operated on by Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.

Basketball

• Investigators interviewed nine people injured in the brawl at the end of the Pistons-Pacers game, but no charges were imminent in the case, the county prosecutor said Monday.

Police were also reviewing videotapes and interviewing witnesses from Friday night's melee, when Indiana forward Ron Artest charged into the stands after a fan threw a cup at him.

If charges are filed, they probably would be for assault and battery, a misdemeanor that could bring a three-month jail sentence, said David Gorcyca, the Oakland County prosecutor. The only possible felony charge could be against the person who hurled a chair into the crowd.

Colleges

• Southern Illinois University basketball coach Chris Lowery reinstated two players Monday who had been suspended after being charged with trespassing and battery following an off-campus fight.

Guards Stetson Hairston, the team's third-leading scorer last season, and Mike Dale are both expected to play in tonight's game against Tennessee State, Lowery said.

The two players had been suspended for violating team rules and missed two exhibition games and the season opener. Both were charged with felony trespassing and mob action and misdemeanor battery stemming from what police described as a fight with two other men at an apartment complex near campus in July.

• The University of Southern California is probing allegations that the Wal-Mart heiress who is the namesake of the new sports arena at the University of Missouri cheated her way through that California school, a St. Louis television station reported Monday.

The inquiry comes three days after ABC newsmagazine "20/20" cited Elizabeth Paige Laurie, who graduated from the University of Southern California, during a segment on the prevalence of cheating in college.

The report was based on an interview with Laurie's freshman roommate, Elena Martinez, who said Laurie paid her about $20,000 over 3 1/2 years to write papers and complete other assignments.

• Fox will be the new television home of the Bowl Championship Series.

The network and the BCS announced a four-year, $80 million deal Monday that gives Fox the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Orange and Sugar bowls from 2007-10 and the national title game from 2007-09.

ABC has held the broadcast rights to the BCS since college football's major conferences implemented the system to crown a national champion in 1998.

• Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson, David McMillan of Kansas and Brett Culbertson of Iowa State were named Big 12 players of the week on Monday.

Peterson ran for 240 yards and three touchdowns in Oklahoma's 35-0 win over Baylor. He tied the NCAA freshman record held by Ron Dayne of Wisconsin with his 10th 100-yard rushing game.

McMillan had a career-high three sacks for minus-35 yards in Kansas' 31-14 win over rival Missouri. He finished with a forced fumble and five tackles -- four for losses.

Culbertson hit field goals from 30, 36 and 20 yards away in Iowa State's 37-23 win at Kansas State. The Cyclones won in Manhattan for the first time since 1988.

• Kansas forward Wayne Simien was named the Big 12 player of the week on Monday, the third weekly honor of his career.

Simien, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound senior, had 25 points and 14 rebounds in the Jayhawks' season opener, a 68-61 victory over Vermont. It was his 23rd career double-double.

• University of Colorado Athletics Director Dick Tharp resigned Monday, acknowledging that his bosses wanted him out after a recruiting scandal and allegations of financial mismanagement had stained the school's reputation.

Investigators scrutinized Tharp and football coach Gary Barnett after allegations that sex and alcohol were used to entice recruits, and lawsuits accused players and recruits of sexual assault.

Barnett was suspended in the spring but kept his job and will coach the Buffaloes in their regular-season finale against Nebraska on Friday.

Tharp, 56, will step aside Nov. 30.