Sports briefs 3/9/05

Football

* Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Kendrell Bell signed a seven-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday, Chiefs President Carl Peterson said.

No terms of the deal were released.

Bell, 6-foot-1, 257 pounds, was an unrestricted free agent after spending four seasons with the Steelers. He was the defensive rookie of the year and played in the Pro Bowl in 2001, after recording 88 tackles, nine sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in his first season.

Bell missed all but three games last season with shoulder and groin injuries.

Baseball

The New York Yankees waited a long time to acquire Randy Johnson and send him to the mound. They'll have to wait some more to see his best fastball.

The Big Unit finally made his much-anticipated Yankees debut Tuesday, working two innings in an 8-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He threw 36 pitches, 22 for strikes, and gave up a two-run homer to old nemesis Chipper Jones in an uneven performance.

"I know I still have a long way to go to be ready for opening day," Johnson said. "But we'll get there."

Basketball

Antawn Jamison missed a game for the first time in nearly five years, sitting out Tuesday night because of a sore right knee when the Washington Wizards played the New York Knicks.

Jamison's streak of 386 consecutive games was the longest among current players. Toronto's Morris Peterson, with 256 consecutive games, now heads that list.

College

South Carolina defensive lineman Moe Thompson surrendered to police Tuesday, nearly a week after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He turned himself in at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, university spokesman Russ McKinney said. The player was scheduled for a bond hearing Wednesday.

Thompson and teammate Kevin Mainord broke into at least one dorm room and took several items, including a television and DVD player, police said. Thompson is charged with two counts of burglary and three counts of petty larceny, McKinney said.