Sports briefs 12/29/03

Baseball

New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was doing well Sunday, a day after he fainted at memorial service, and his doctor described his health as excellent. The 73-year-old Steinbrenner was expected to be released from Sarasota Memorial Hospital on Sunday night.

Former major league baseball player Ivan Calderon was shot to death Saturday in Loiza, Puerto Rico. He was 41. Witnesses said Calderon was in a store when two people entered and, without a word, shot the former outfielder multiple times in the back, said police Sgt. Maribel Arzuaga. Calderon played 10 seasons in the major leagues with Seattle, the Chicago White Sox, Boston and Montreal. He finished his big league career in 1993 with a .272 batting average, 104 homers and 444 RBIs.

Basketball

Troubled forward Eddie Griffin said Sunday he has agreed to play for the New Jersey Nets. Griffin, released Dec. 19 by the Houston Rockets, found a new home with the team that originally drafted him. Griffin was charged in November with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a woman accused him of hitting her three times in the face and shooting at her as she drove away from his home before dawn on Oct. 25.

Football

Jamal Lewis bulled his way into the exclusive 2,000-yard club, then fell agonizingly short of rushing past Eric Dickerson into the NFL record book.That wasn't nearly enough to ruin a truly memorable day for the 2003 NFL rushing champion and the Baltimore Ravens, who beat Pittsburgh 13-10 in overtime Sunday night. Lewis ran for 114 yards on 27 carries to finish the season with 2,066 yards rushing -- 39 yards short of Dickerson's single-season mark of 2,105, set in 1984.

Priest Holmes scored twice, erasing NFL records by Emmitt Smith and Marshall Faulk, in the Chiefs' 31-3 home victory over the Chicago Bears. Holmes strutted across the goal line on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, breaking the NFL record of 25 TDs rushing Smith set for Dallas in 1995. Holmes scored on a 2-yard run with 58 seconds left in the third period to break the overall record of 26 touchdowns Faulk scored for St. Louis in 2000.

-- From wire reports