Sports FanFare 8/9/02

Briefly

Baseball

Players and owners agreed to a $100,000 increase in baseball's minimum salary Thursday, making more progress on minor issues as labor negotiations head into a key weekend. Faced with the possibility the union's executive board might set a strike date when it meets Monday in Chicago, both sides got three items out of the way and prepared to deal with larger issues.

Ted Williams' estate withdrew its request for a court to help resolve the dispute over his body, a victory for two children of the baseball great who want to keep it frozen. The estate's executor, Al Cassidy, said in court papers he's convinced the Hall of Famer wanted to be cryonically frozen and that a judge's guidance was no longer necessary.

Basketball

Shawn Marion signed a six-year, $79 million contract extension with the Suns.

John Stockton has informed the Jazz that he will play a 19th season beginning this fall.

Golf

Tiger Woods, in his first tournament since his Grand Slam chances ended at the British Open, shot a 5-under 67 to fall two strokes behind first-round leader Kent Jones in the Buick Open. Mark Brooks and K.J. Choi had 66s on the Warwick Hills course. Woods, making his third PGA Tour start in 11 weeks, birdied two of his last three holes to top a nine-player group at 67 that included Hal Sutton.

Rookie Candie Kung of Taiwan shot a 7-under 65 in perfect conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Karrie Webb after the first round of the Women's British Open. Kung, celebrating her 21st birthday, birdied four of the last five holes in a bogey-free round on the Turnberry links.

Colleges

Tom Jurich signed a four-year contract extension that will keep him as Louisville's athletic director at the school through 2016.

Woody Widenhofer, Vanderbilt's head coach from 1995 to 2001, has been hired as defensive coordinator at Southeastern Louisiana, which will field its first football team in 2003 since discontinuing the sport in 1985.

Football

Charles "Ookie" Miller, a Bears center and linebacker in the 1930s who earned his nickname because of his love of cookies, died at age 92. Miller died of heart failure Wednesday in Hudson, Fla.

Gymnastics

Defending national champion Tasha Schwikert cruised through the preliminaries at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, taking the lead and a big step toward her second title. Schwikert finished with 37.650 points, 0.375 ahead of Tabitha Yim.

Miscellaneous

Tonya Harding was sentenced to 10 days in jail for drinking alcohol while on probation. In court, the former Olympic figure skater said her arrest for drunken driving forced her to re-examine her life and was the best thing that could have happened to her.

Tennis

Serena Williams dismantled No. 15 Nathalie Dechy 6-2, 6-1 in 56 minutes for her 21st consecutive match victory in the JPMorgan Chase Open. No. 3 Lindsay Davenport needed just over an hour to beat 13th-seeded Tatiana Panova 6-2, 6-1.

Andy Roddick, coming off a runner-up finish last week, beat Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the $2.95 million Cincinnati Masters Series. Roddick will play Fernando Gonzalez today in the quarterfinals. Gonzalez beat Richard Krajicek 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Also, Andre Agassi advanced with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Thomas Enqvist, and Lleyton Hewitt beat 35th-ranked Jarkko Nieminen 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

-- From wire reports