Sports briefs 4/5/05

Baseball

* Third baseman Aramis Ramirez and the Chicago Cubs agreed Monday to a a $42 million, four-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2009.

Ramirez batted .318 with 36 homers and 103 RBIs last season and would have been eligible to become a free agent at the end of the 2005 season. He can terminate his new deal after 2006.

Acquired by the Cubs in a 2003 midseason deal with Pittsburgh, Ramirez has surpassed the 100-RBI mark in three of the past four seasons. He has batted .273 with 127 home runs and 458 RBIs.

His new deal supersedes the $8.95 million, one-year contract he had agreed to earlier this year.

Basketball

* Coach and broadcaster Hubie Brown, Brazilian women's star Hortencia Marcari and LSU coach Sue Gunter also were voted into the Hall. The new members will be enshrined Sept. 8-10 in Springfield, Mass.

* Chicago Bulls rookie forward Luol Deng is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right wrist, Bulls general manager John Paxson said Monday.

The Bulls' last regular season game is April 20.

Deng, a starter who averages 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds a game, likely will undergo surgery after an MRI Sunday night revealed a torn ligament in his wrist, which he hurt in the Bulls' 94-86 win over Memphis March 28.

College

* Last month, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun became the first college basketball coaches with 700 wins to face each other. On Monday, they shared the stage again, proudly holding jerseys signifying their election to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

The coaches are tied for sixth on the career active victory list, Boeheim entering his 30th season next year at 703-241 and Calhoun heading into his 34th at 703-310.

Coach and broadcaster Hubie Brown, Brazilian women's star Hortencia Marcari and LSU coach Sue Gunter also were voted into the Hall. The new members will be enshrined Sept. 8-10 in Springfield, Mass.

* The Supreme Court declined to consider the appeal of Maurice Clarett, the former Ohio State running back who challenged the eligibility rules of the NFL draft.

The justices on Monday, without comment, let stand a lower court ruling that said federal labor law allows NFL teams to set rules for when players can enter the league. Regardless of how the high court acted, Clarett is eligible for this month's draft.

Clarett was two years out of high school when he sued the NFL, contending the league rule requiring that a player be at least three years out of high school violates federal antitrust laws. He said the stipulation was arbitrary and robbed young players of the opportunity to earn a living.

High school

La Cueva High School's baseball team has pitched, fielded and hit its way into the national record books by winning 70 consecutive games.

Defending champion La Cueva swept Highland 15-1 and 11-0 in a doubleheader Saturday to extend its winning streak, which dates to 2002. It topped the previous record set by Archbishop Molloy High School of Briarwood, N.Y., which completed a 68-game run in 1966.

The Bears (12-0) celebrated to a long, loud ovation from about 1,000 fans after La Cueva catcher Zach Arnett threw out Highland's Matt Flores on a stolen-base attempt for the final out of the opener.