Sports briefs 6/18/04

Baseball

The New York Mets acquired right fielder Richard Hidalgo from the Houston Astros on Thursday for right-handed pitchers David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths. Hidalgo has put up big numbers in the past, but he was in the midst of a disappointing season with the Astros. He recently lost his starting job to Jason Lane. Weathers is 5-3 with a 4.28 ERA in 32 appearances. Griffiths was 5-2 with a 3.47 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk. Hidalgo, 28, is batting .256 with four homers and 30 RBIs, a huge drop-off from last year's .309 average with 28 home runs and 88 RBIs. He was voted the Astros' MVP in 2003.

Basketball

Two of the Southeastern Conference's top players, All-American Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State and Brandon Bass of LSU, pulled out of the NBA draft and will return to their schools next season. St. Joseph's guard Delonte West, meanwhile, will skip his senior season and remain in the June 24 draft, despite not being projected as a first-round pick. Only players selected in the first round get guaranteed contracts. The deadline for players to remove their names from draft consideration was 5 p.m. Thursday.

Football

Jake Delhomme was rewarded Thursday for helping guide the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl, getting a five-year contract extension worth $38 million. Delhomme will get $12 million up front, including a signing bonus and option bonuses. -- From wire reports