Sports briefs 5/29/04

Baseball

The Chicago Cubs added to their already crowded disabled list Friday, putting right-hander Todd Wellemeyer and outfielder Tom Goodwin on the 15-day DL. Wellemeyer, whose move was retroactive to last Saturday, has a strained right shoulder. Goodwin, whose move was retroactive to Monday, has a strained groin. The Cubs also transferred second baseman Mark Grudzielanek to the 60-day disabled list. Grudzielanek has been out since April 13 with a partial tear in his right Achilles' tendon. Chicago has been hit particularly hard with injuries. Nine players are on the disabled list, the most at any one time since 1970. Eleven players have spent time on the DL, five shy of the team record for an entire season.

San Diego Padres slugger Ryan Klesko was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his rib cage. Klesko has struggled at the plate all season, hitting just one homer with 22 RBIs while batting .261. He originally hurt himself on April 30 while getting up from pregame stretching, then was hurt again during Wednesday night's game at Colorado.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Clement tied a major league record Friday by hitting three batters in the fifth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Clement became the 21st pitcher in major league history to hit three batters in one inning and the first Chicago pitcher to do so since Walter Thornton on May 18, 1898. The Pirates won the game 9-5.

Basketball

The New Orleans Hornets introduced Byron Scott as the team's new head coach, with team owner George Shinn saying he fulfilled his goal to hire a "proven winner." Scott was fired by the New Jersey Nets in January after leading the team to two straight appearances in the NBA Finals. He replaces Tim Floyd, who was fired three weeks ago after the Hornets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in his only season as coach. Under Scott, the Nets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2002 finals and to San Antonio in last season's finals. He had a 149-139 record in 3 1/2 seasons before he was fired from the only head coaching job he has held in the NBA.

Austin Croshere made his first start in more than two years and scored 14 points, providing the Pacers with a much-needed extra offensive option in an 83-68 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. The series is tied at 2-2. Ron Artest scored 20 points for Indiana, Reggie Miller added 15 and Jermaine O'Neal had 12

Golf

The World Match Play Championship in England will expand its field to 16 players and has been designated an official event, making its $1.8 million first-place check the richest in golf. The Nedbank Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, pays $2 million to the winner, but is an invitation-only tournament and doesn't count as official money. The Players Championship pays $1.44 million to the winner.

Motorsports

NASCAR is thinking about building a speedway in a city better known for traffic jams and taxicabs than for motorsports. Racing promoters have held preliminary discussions with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his administration about constructing a NASCAR track on Staten Island, The New York Times reported Friday. NASCAR has looked at various locations in the region since plans to build a speedway at the Meadowlands in New Jersey foundered, said David Talley, a spokesman for the International Speedway Corporation.

-- From wire reports