Sports digest 3/8/02

AREA

WHITE, ASHER CARD HOLES IN ONE

Cape Girardeau Country Club yielded a pair of holes in one Wednesday with Bill White Jr. and Kenneth Asher II carding aces.

White of Cape Girardeau, Mo., accomplished the feat with a 7-iron on No. 2, which played 160 yards. Witnesses were Bob Talley, Ken Brockett and Bob Hemperly.

Asher of Fruitland, Mo., used a 9-iron to ace No. 8, which played 145 yards. Witnesses to the shot were Jim Davey, Kenneth Asher III, Ron Seabaugh and Tom Armbruster.

ELSEWHERE

BASEBALL

Andres Galarraga is returning to Montreal, signing a one-year contract with the Expos on Thursday.

Galarraga, who played the first seven years of his career with Montreal, is the second big-name free agent signed by general manager Omar Minaya since taking the team over last month. The Expos signed Jose Canseco to a minor league deal last month.

Galarraga has played 16 seasons in the majors, hitting .289 with 377 homers and 1,341 RBIs. He split last season with Texas and San Francisco, batting a combined .256 with 17 homers and 69 RBIs.

The 40-year-old first baseman, expected to report to training camp Friday, will compete with Lee Stevens for playing time.

"He'll help the team by his presence in the locker room and his popularity in Montreal could also work in the team's favor," Minaya said. "He's OK with his part-time role.

Galarraga won a batting title in 1993, made five All-Star teams and won back-to-back Gold Gloves with the Expos in 1989-90. He missed the 1999 season because of a cancerous tumor in his back.

Basketball

New Jersey guard Jason Kidd was fined $5,000 by the NBA on Thursday for making an obscene gesture toward fans Wednesday night in the Nets' loss to Phoenix.

The former Suns star was playing in Phoenix for the first time since being traded to New Jersey during the offseason.

The first time Kidd faced his old team earlier this season, he had some bitter words for the franchise and mouthed obscenities at then-Suns coach Scott Skiles.

The NBA said Kidd made the obscene gesture at the conclusion of the Nets' 89-87 loss.

Bob Hammel, the Bob Knight confidante who helped the coach write his autobiography, collapsed Thursday during Texas Tech's victory over Texas A&M in the Big 12 tournament.

WDAF-TV in Kansas City, broadcasting the tournament, said the 66-year-old Hammel had a low blood-sugar diabetic seizure and was expected to recover.

Play was halted as paramedics attended to the former sports editor of The Herald-Times newspaper of Bloomington, Ind.

Knight, in his first season at Texas Tech, went across the court at Kemper Arena several times to watch closely. After the game, Knight went immediately to St. Luke's hospital.

Knight's autobiography, "Knight: My Story" is scheduled for nationwide release in late March.

Hammel was the sports editor for The Herald-Times for 30 years before retiring after the 1996 Olympics.

Football

Fox Sports probably won't announce its new No. 1 NFL team -- replacing John Madden and Pat Summerall -- for about a month. Joe Buck, Fox's lead play-by-play man on baseball, is a sure bet to get the football job, and he'll miss some baseball games when the sports' seasons overlap. Cris Collinsworth is the front-runner to join Buck in the NFL booth.

-- From staff, wire reports