Sports briefs 3/9/04

Baseball

Yankees slugger Gary Sheffield could be sidelined up to three months because of an injured right thumb. Sheffield was hurt in a spring training game Saturday against Toronto. At first, the Yankees thought the injury was just a bruise. But after an MRI exam Sunday, the team decided to send him to Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser, a hand expert in New York.

San Diego Padres slugger Phil Nevin separated his left shoulder again and is expected to miss three to four weeks. The first baseman was hurt in a spring training game against Anaheim on Sunday night,.

Football

DirecTV is accusing O.J. Simpson of stealing its satellite television signals. The El Segundo, Calif.-based company wants the former football star to pay $20,000 for the use of illegal electronic devices and attorneys' fees, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Miami. Federal agents removed satellite television equipment from Simpson's house in the Miami neighborhood of Kendall during a search Dec. 4, 2001. DirecTV claims the devices were two pirate access devices known as "bootloaders."

Hockey

The Washington Capitals traded winger Anson Carter to the Los Angeles Kings for forward Jared Aulin on Monday. It was a short stint for Carter with Washington, who came to the team in January in exchange for Jaromir Jagr, who went to the New York Rangers. Carter joins Jagr, Peter Bondra, Robert Lang, Michael Nylander and Sergei Gonchar as veterans who were dealt by the Capitals since Jan. 23.

-- From wire reports