Sports digest 12/6/01

Hurricanes reacquire Hill from Blues

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes reacquired Sean Hill from the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday for seldom-used defenseman Steve Halko and a fourth-round pick in the 2002 draft.

Hill, 31, had a career-high 13 goals and 44 points for the Hurricanes in 1999-2000, but became a free agent and signed a multiyear deal with the Blues worth about $2.5 million a year.

Hill has two more years left on his contract after this season, and the trade involved the Blues picking up about $2 million of the more than $5 million the defenseman will be owed the next few seasons.

Hill played 23 games for St. Louis this season with three assists. He led the Blues in hits with 67 and had 25 hits in his last nine games.

Halko, who played college hockey at Michigan, was a healthy scratch in 26 of Carolina's 31 games this season. The 27-year-old has no goals and 15 assists in 149 career games.

Cameron fired as Indiana football coach

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Victories in four of the last five games were not good enough to save the job of Cam Cameron, who was fired Wednesday after five years as Indiana football coach.

The firing was announced at a news conference at Assembly Hall, adjacent to Indiana's Memorial Stadium.

Cameron, who had a losing record each season and won only 18 of 55 games, had three years remaining on an eight-year contract. He was 18-37 overall and 12-28 in the Big Ten.

He said Indiana would honor the rest of Cameron's contract, which will cost the university about $500,000.

Giants re-sign reliever Jason Christiansen

SAN FRANCISCO -- Left-handed reliever Jason Christiansen has signed a three-year, $6.8 million deal with the San Francisco Giants, the club said Wednesday, returning to the team he originally joined in a trade at the end of July.

Christiansen, 32, gets a $400,000 signing bonus and salaries of $1.6 million in 2002, $2.2 million in 2003 and $2.3 million in 2004. The club has an option of paying Christiansen a $3.25 million salary in 2005 or a $300,000 buyout.

Christiansen was acquired from St. Louis on July 31 in exchange for a pair of minor-league pitchers. He made 25 appearances over the final two months of the season, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA.

-- From wire reports