Sports briefs 4/29/06

Baseball

• Colorado Rockies pitcher Jose Mesa was suspended four games by Major League Baseball on Friday for intentionally throwing at San Francisco shortstop Omar Vizquel.

Mesa threw at Vizquel's head during the eighth inning of last Saturday's game at Denver. Unless appealed, the suspension is scheduled to begin Friday night against the Florida Marlins.

Giants pitcher Matt Morris and pitching coach Dave Righetti were fined undisclosed amounts for their actions during a game the following day.

Morris was fined for intentionally throwing at Colorado's Matt Holliday in the first inning. Righetti was fined for throwing his pitch counter onto the field and yelling at umpire Travis Reininger after being ejected.

Colleges

• The quarterback race at Kansas State was whittled to four Friday, after redshirt freshman Kevin Lopina announced his intentions to transfer.

Lopina will be released from his scholarship pending the completion of necessary academic requirements, coach Ron Prince said in a news release.

Lopina, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder who played at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., took snaps with the first-team offense during spring practices but was the No. 3 quarterback on the purple squad in the April 22 spring game.

He finished 2-of-3 for 24 yards with an interception and a fumble.

Lopina chose Kansas State over offers from Arizona State, Arizona and Oregon State coming out of high school. If he transfers to another Division I school, he will have to sit out the 2006 season.

His defection leaves seniors Dylan Meier and Allen Webb, sophomore Allan Evridge and freshman Josh Freeman to compete for the starting job entering the fall.

-- The Associated Press