Sports briefs 2/25/04

Baseball

Luis Martinez was released from police custody Tuesday after being cleared in a shooting that left a man hospitalized. The left-hander, claimed by St. Louis on Monday off waivers from Milwaukee, planned to leave the Dominican Republic by today for spring training in Jupiter, Fla. Prosecutors did not file charges after police concluded Martinez, 24, shot the man twice in self-defense.

Jose Canseco plans to try out for the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2 1/2 years after his last appearance in the major leagues. The six-time All-Star will attend the Los Angeles Dodgers' open tryout on March 1. Canseco last played in the majors in 2001, when he hit .258 with 16 homers for the Chicago White Sox. Canseco won the 1988 AL MVP award and has 462 homers, 26th on the career list.

Fifteen years after he left, Nolan Ryan returned to the Houston Astros. The Hall of Famer, who holds the record for no-hitters (seven) and strikeouts (5,714), signed a five-year personal services contract. He pitched for Houston from 1980-88, then spent his last five seasons with the Texas Rangers. Astros owner Drayton McLane said Ryan will work in all phases of the organization, including on-field instruction.

Hockey

Bob Francis was fired as coach of the struggling Phoenix Coyotes after leading the team to the playoffs twice in the last four seasons. The Coyotes have won just two of their last 14 games and are in last place in the Pacific Division and 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 20-24-15-3. Assistant Rick Bowness, former head coach at Ottawa, was named interim coach. Francis was the NHL's coach of the year after leading the Coyotes to a 40-27-9-6 record in 2001-02.

Motorsports

NASCAR should not have allowed Joe Ruttman to start the race at North Carolina Speedway and is examining ways to prevent unqualified "field fillers" from competing in the future, officials said. Ruttman ran one lap of the Subway 400 on Sunday before NASCAR black-flagged him because he didn't have a pit crew to service his car. Ruttman earned $54,196 just for starting the race. "The Joe Ruttman thing was sort of a sham," NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said Tuesday. "We always try to do the right thing, and since we had let it go that far, we let him start the race. However, that will not happen again." With dwindling sponsor dollars, only 37 full-time Nextel Cup teams planned on competing in Rockingham last weekend. It left six open spots in the field and made it possible for underfunded teams to attempt to make the race.

Track

British sprinter Dwain Chambers was suspended for two years Tuesday and banned for life from the Olympics because he tested positive for the steroid THG. The European 100-meter champion is the first athlete banned for use of THG.

-- From wire reports