Sports briefs 2/3/04

Baseball

The Oakland Athletics and free-agent infielder Eric Karros agreed Monday on a $1.05 million, one-year contract that includes a club option for 2005. Karros, 36, hit .286 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs for the Chicago Cubs last season following 12 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Drew Henson has agreed to leave the New York Yankees to pursue a career in the NFL. Henson's agent, Casey Close, told the Yankees the third baseman is quitting after three mediocre seasons in the minor leagues. Henson will forfeit the $12 million he is owed from the contract he agreed to with the Yankees in 2001. The NFL's Houston Texans, who hold the quarterback's rights, announced Monday that Henson would work out with the team on Feb. 12 in a showcase for the other 31 NFL franchises. The Texans drafted Henson with a sixth-round pick last April and already have a young, developing quarterback in David Carr.

Basketball

Shaquille O'Neal was suspended without pay by the NBA on Monday, one day after using obscene language and publicly criticizing the officials during a television interview. The suspension was announced just hours after O'Neal issued a statement apologizing for the comments he made following the Lakers' 84-83 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. O'Neal served the suspension Monday night, sitting out a game against the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana. It will cost him nearly $295,000.

Jay Williams, who played one season with the Chicago Bulls before a motorcycle accident put his NBA career in jeopardy, reached a contract settlement with the team. The buyout is in the $3 million range. Williams had two more years worth about $7.7 million left on his original deal. Because riding a motorcycle violates the standard NBA contract, the Bulls could have terminated Williams' deal after the accident June 19. Instead, they put the former Duke star and No. 2 pick in the 2002 draft on injured reserve and continued to pay him. The buyout allows the Bulls to gain a roster spot and flexibility with the salary cap.

College

The University of Colorado president agreed to form an independent commission to look into allegations that the school uses sex to recruit football players, lawmakers said Monday. State Sens. Peter Groff and Dan Grossman met with university President Elizabeth Hoffman and agreed to delay plans for a special legislative investigation.

Cuthbert Victor of Murray State was named Ohio Valley Conference player of the week. Victor, a senior forward, averaged 24 points and 16 rebounds in victories over Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. Jared Newson of Tennessee-Martin was named newcomer of the week. On the women's side, Gerlonda Hardin of Austin Peay was player of the week. Hardin, a senior post, averaged 26.5 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 80 percent against Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State. Sami Jo Cotton, a junior guard for Southeast Missouri, was selected newcomer of the week. Cotton averaged 14 points and five rebounds in two games last week.

Football

An estimated 89.6 million people watched the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers, a slight increase from last year's game. The game received a 41.3 rating and 63 share, Nielsen Media Research said. The rating is the percentage tuned to a program among all homes with televisions in the United States. The share is the percentage watching a program among those households with televisions on at the time.

-- From wire reports