Sports FanFare 8/17/02

Baseball

Jack Dalton Creel, who overcame a deformity to his hands to pitch for the Cardinals in 1945, has died. He was 86. Creel, who died Tuesday in a Houston hospital, was born with slightly deformed hands but was able to pitch professionally for 20 years. While Creel pitched in the majors just one season, when he went 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 1945, he spent 19 years playing in the minors.

Basketball

Mike Bibby signed a seven-year, $80 million contract with the Kings. Bibby and his agent, David Falk, originally sought a deal worth more than $100 million, but the NBA's decreasing salary cap and Bibby's strong desire to stay in Sacramento led him to take less money.

The Bulls signed free-agent forward Donyell Marshall. Terms were not disclosed.

Mystics coach Marianne Stanley was voted the WNBA's coach of the year and Mystics guard Coco Miller was selected most improved player.

Colleges

Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom expects to announce Monday whether he will give up his corporate sponsorships to play football for the University of Colorado. Bloom said he wanted to think through his options after a judge denied his request for an injunction to keep the NCAA from enforcing its ban on product endorsements by college athletes.

Golf

Catriona Matthew shot her second straight 2-under 70 for a share of the second-round lead with Michelle Ellis and Gloria Park in the Canadian Women's Open.

Hockey

Nashville defenseman Jere Karalahti was suspended for six months without pay by the NHL for a third violation of the league's substance abuse policy.

Running

Brahim Boulami broke his own world record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Weltklasse Golden League meet, while Olympic champion Maurice Greene was just fifth in the 100 dash. Boulami, a Moroccan, finished in 7 minutes, 53.17 seconds. He set his previous mark of 7:55.28 in Brussels in August 2001. Greene, the record-holder in the 100, crossed the line in 10.10.

Swimming

Natalie Coughlin broke the oldest American swimming record, winning the 200-meter backstroke in 2 minutes, 8.53 seconds in the U.S. national championships. Coughlin narrowly beat Betsy Mitchell's 1986 time of 2:08.60 for the record and her fifth win of the meet. Coughlin is the first person since 1978 to win five events at one national championships, a feat last accomplished by Tracy Caulkins.

Tennis

Third-seeded Tommy Haas and No. 9 Rainer Schuettler advanced to the semifinals of the RCA Championshis in Indianapolis.

Jennifer Capriati won in three sets to oust Justine Henin in the quarterfinals of the Rogers AT&T Cup. Jelena Dokic eliminated Martina Hingis.

-- From wire reports