Sports briefs 5/25/04

Baseball

A bone scan Monday found no evidence of a stress fracture or any other structural damage in Kerry Wood's right arm, but he probably will miss another two-and-a-half to three weeks. The Chicago Cubs' right-hander was put on the disabled list last Thursday, retroactive to May 12, and hoped to be able to pitch Friday in Pittsburgh. But he was forced to cut a live batting practice session short Sunday afternoon after feeling more discomfort in his right triceps.

Basketball

Los Angeles Lakers forward Karl Malone was fined $7,500 by the NBA for lowering his shoulder and knocking over Minnesota guard Darrick Martin in the Timberwolves' Game 2 win in the Western Conference finals. Malone was ejected for a flagrant foul Sunday night when he ran over Martin as the guard attempted to set a pick at midcourt with 2:31 left in Minnesota's 89-71 victory.

College

Stanford will hire Nevada's Trent Johnson as the school's new men's basketball coach, a Pac-10 source told The Associated Press. Johnson, a former assistant at Stanford under Mike Montgomery, met with school officials for about six hours on Sunday on campus. Johnson will be formally introduced within the next few days, said the source.

Football

Kerry Collins signed with the Oakland Raiders, ending his monthlong search for a team and raising questions about the future of 2002 NFL MVP Rich Gannon. Collins, 31, a nine-year NFL veteran, was released by the Giants on April 28, four days after they acquired Eli Manning, the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Golf

Michelle Wie received a special exemption to play in the U.S. Women's Open, the first time an amateur has been given a free pass to the biggest tournament in women's golf. Wie, 14, has become one of the biggest attractions in golf. USGA executive director David Fay said Wie's exemption was based purely on her performance. The top 35 players on the LPGA Tour money list are exempt to the U.S. Women's Open. In the three LPGA events Wie has played, she would have earned enough to be 28th on the money list.

Hockey

Rick Dudley built the roster that helped turn Tampa Bay from perennial also-ran to Stanley Cup finalist. He won't get the chance to finish transforming the Florida Panthers. Dudley was fired as the Panthers' general manager Monday, after holding the job for two years in which the team failed to make the playoffs. The team scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to announce the hiring of a general manager and head coach.

Track

Sprinter Marion Jones was told by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials that they have none of her old samples to retest, her attorney said. Jones met with the officials to urge them to retest the samples in an effort to prove she has not used performance-enhancing drugs. "We have now learned that USADA has no knowledge of any old samples to retest," Jones' attorney Joseph Burton said. "This news is astounding. This is hard to believe."

-- From wire reports