Sports briefs 9/1/04

Baseball

The Chicago Cubs made a pair of trades Tuesday, getting outfielder Ben Grieve from the Milwaukee Brewers and acquiring backup catcher Mike DiFelice from the Detroit Tigers.

The deals came on the final day for teams to obtain players and have them be eligible for postseason rosters. The Cubs led the NL wild-card race going into Tuesday night's game at Montreal.

Chicago sent a player to be named and cash to the Brewers for Grieve. The Cubs gave up a player to be named for DiFelice. Grieve, 28, hit .261 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 108 games for Milwaukee. DiFelice spent most the season with Triple-A Toledo, hitting .270 with 36 RBIs in 64 games.

Veteran catcher Pat Borders was traded to the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins by the Seattle Mariners for minor league outfielder B.J. Garbe.

The 41-year-old Borders, the MVP of the 1992 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .189 with one home run and five RBIs in 19 games with the Mariners this season.

Top Arizona draft pick Stephen Drew decided Tuesday to withdraw from classes at Florida State and continue contract negotiations with the Diamondbacks.

Drew, who was selected with the 15th pick in June's amateur draft, signed up for classes last week but wasn't scheduled to attend until Tuesday. The Diamondbacks would have lost their rights to Drew if he attended a class before agreeing to a contract.

Drew was widely considered the top college position player when he entered the draft a year early after hitting .344 with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs for the Seminoles last season.

Basketball

The life and times of Bob Knight could soon be inside America's living rooms.

The fiery Texas Tech coach met with television officials last month in Los Angeles and gave his approval for a sitcom deal. CBS and Paramount Television are exploring the development of a half-hour comedy that could run by next year.

Knight, 63, would serve as a consultant and said he might make guest appearances. The next step is for a writer to come to Lubbock and spend time getting to know Knight at work and at home. When the script is written, DeKoven will take it to CBS, which will decide whether to make it a pilot.

Football

Deion Sanders is back in the NFL, this time with the Baltimore Ravens.

The seven-time Pro Bowl defensive back passed his physical Tuesday and formally ended his retirement by signing a one-year contract laden with incentives. Sanders will practice with the team for the first time today and expects to play in the Ravens' season opener Sept. 12 against the Cleveland Browns.

Sanders, 37, played cornerback in his prime, but will be used as a fifth defensive back in Baltimore.

The Atlanta Falcons learned Tuesday that rookie cornerback DeAngelo Hall will miss six to 10 weeks with a small fracture on the left side of his hip.

Hall, the No. 8 overall pick and the first cornerback taken in the draft, had been designated as the starter on the left side three months ago by coach Jim Mora.

Hockey

A last-minute plea agreement "will not happen" for Katie Wolfmeyer, the woman accused of conspiring with former St. Louis Blues player Mike Danton in a murder-for-hire plot, Wolfmeyer's uncle and lawyer said Tuesday.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin today in federal court in East St. Louis, Ill., and the trial is expected to begin Tuesday.

Wolfmeyer, 19 and of the St. Louis suburb of Florissant, and Danton, 23, were indicted April 22 by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiring to arrange a murder for hire and using a telephone across state lines to arrange it.

Danton pleaded guilty as part of plea agreement in July. He faces sentencing Oct. 22.

Wolfmeyer pleaded innocent and is in her parents' custody on $100,000 bond.