Sports briefs 3/3/04

Boxing

Felix Trinidad ended his retirement of nearly two years Tuesday, and Shane Mosley could be his first opponent. The 31-year-old boxer, immensely popular in his home of Puerto Rico, earned tens of millions of dollars while winning titles as a welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight. Promoter Don King said a fight is set with Mosley, provided Mosley wins his March 13 bout with Winky Wright in Las Vegas. Trinidad was 41-1 with 34 knockouts, and won 20 of his 21 title fights. In his last fight, in May 2002, Trinidad stopped French journeyman Hacine Cherifi.

College

Southern Illinois' Darren Brooks swept both of the top postseason Missouri Valley Conference awards, getting named player of the year and defensive player of the year in voting by league coaches and the media. Brooks, a junior, is averaging 16.2 points and six rebounds per game for the No. 15 Salukis (24-3, 17-1 MVC). He also has 56 steals and 20 blocked shots. Blake Ahearn of Southwest Missouri State was named the league's top freshman. LaMar Owen of Southern Illinois won the "Sixth Man Award" as the league's top reserve.

Football

Adam Timmerman's five-year contract with the St. Louis Rams, finalized on Tuesday, could mean the end of defensive end Grant Wistrom's stay with the team. Those two were the Rams' top free agents, and the team conceivably could retain both with about $4.5 million remaining under the salary cap. But Wistrom, the team's first-round pick in 1998, is believed to be leaning to signing with the Kansas City Chiefs and reuniting with coach Dick Vermeil. The Rams met with former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson, although he did not work out.

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts agreed to a $98 million, seven-year contract that includes an NFL-record $34.5 million signing bonus. The deal will drop the NFL co-MVP's salary cap number to $8.3 million, saving the team more than $10 million and giving the Colts more flexibility to sign players when the free-agency period opens today.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia was released by the San Francisco 49ers, ending his five-year tenure with the team. Garcia, a three-time Pro Bowler, was unable to agree on a restructured contract with the 49ers, who wanted to reduce his salary from the $9.9 million he was scheduled to earn in 2004. Instead, San Francisco will save $1.7 million against the salary cap by dropping Garcia, a local product who holds the franchise's single-season record for passing yardage. He has been the 49ers' starter since 1999, but Tim Rattay is expected to take over next season as San Francisco clears room under the salary cap.

Linebacker Bill Romanowski, known for his training regimen and intensity on the field, was released by the Oakland Raiders after failing a physical. Romanowski was one of dozens of athletes to appear before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, the nutritional supplements lab accused of providing steroids to top sports stars. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that Romanowski was one of seven athletes who received steroids and human growth hormone from BALCO. Romanowski finished last season on injured reserve after several concussions.

Tennis

Top-ranked Roger Federer beat Marat Safin 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) at the Dubai Open in a rematch of the Australian Open final. Federer -- whose victory over Safin in Melbourne gave the Swiss star his second Grand Slam title -- saved eight of 10 break points he faced. Federer next meets Tommy Robredo, who defeated Jonas Bjorkman 6-4, 6-4. In other action, two seeded players lost: No. 2 Guillermo Coria and No. 4 David Nalbandian. Coria was eliminated by Mikhail Youzhny 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, while Nalbandian was beaten by Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4.

-- From wire reports