Sunday FanFare 8/24/03

Briefly

Baseball

Athletics pitcher Mark Mulder has a stress fracture in his right hip, a startling injury that will likely sideline the ace for the rest of the season.

Basketball

Tim Duncan decided not to play against the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he spent the first 18 years of his life, and the American Olympic qualifying team did not need him in a 113-55 victory. Duncan was in uniform but did not start for the U.S. team Saturday in its final game of the first round at the Tournament of the Americas. Elton Brand replaced him in the lineup, and the U.S. team broke the game open with a 20-0 run in the second quarter.

Colleges

Maurice Clarett's "multi-game suspension" apparently will keep the star running back sidelined until the middle of October. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Clarett will miss six games for violating NCAA rules and giving false statements to campus police.

Football

Rams safety Kim Herring will miss up to eight weeks after breaking a bone in his left forearm covering the opening kickoff against the Bills. Rams coach Mike Martz said Herring will have surgery today to insert a screw to repair a broken radius.

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington dislocated and fractured his left wrist against the Giants and is out indefinitely. Pennington was tackled from behind by Brandon Short after throwing away a pass with just under two minutes remaining in the first half and landed awkwardly on his wrist.

Eagles running back Duce Staley ended his 27-day holdout Saturday, reporting to camp. Staley met with coach Andy Reid after arriving in Philadelphia and will report to practice today team spokesman said. Staley, who is entering his seventh NFL season and led the Eagles in rushing last season, has been fined $5,000 for each day of the holdout, for a total of $135,000.

Quincy Carter was named the starting quarterback for the Cowboys after two consistent and turnover-free preseason starts. Bill Parcells chose Carter over Chad Hutchinson, who started the last nine games last season after replacing Carter.

Brian Griese was acquired by the Dolphins as injury insurance, and now he's hurt. The Dolphins' new backup quarterback suffered ligament damage to his left big toe during an exhibition victory over the Falcons, the team learned. He'll miss the final preseason game Thursday.

Horse racing

They ran the Travers Stakes without Funny Cide and Empire Maker, and everyone showed up at Saratoga Race Course anyway. With a record crowd of 66,122 cheering the stretch run, Ten Most Wanted surged past fading Peace Rules and cruised to a 4 1/2-length victory in the $1 million Travers.

Motorsports

Polesitter Scott Dixon is hoping speed will be the decisive factor in the IRL race today at Nazareth Speedway. He was very fast Saturday, backing up the quickest practice lap of the weekend by winning the pole for the Firestone Indy 225.

A Canadian will start from the pole in today's Montreal Molson Indy, but it won't be series points leader Paul Tracy. Montreal native Alex Tagliani leaped from fifth in provisional qualifying to the top spot in time trials on the 13-turn, 2.709-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, while the favored Tracy was a disappointing eighth.

Tennis

Jennifer Capriati's first singles title in 18 months came at just the right time and a little easier than expected. Capriati captured the Pilot Pen title when Lindsay Davenport was forced to quit midway through the championship match because of a foot injury.