BB owners may vote to drop two teams
CHICAGO, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Baseball owners met in Chicago Tuesday amid speculation they would vote to eliminate the Minnesota Twins and the Montreal Expos.
Contraction was a hot topic at this meeting, though pressing labor questions must be resolved soon. A high-ranking executive of one club said possible dropping of the two franchises was not on the agenda but a baseball official said it would be discussed.
Meanwhile, the collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expires at midnight Wednesday and no negotiations for a new agreement were in sight.
Both sides reportedly were moving farther away from talks last spring that observers felt could have produced a new labor contract.
Braves reported after Sheffield
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Braves are reported to be among the clubs that plan to pursue all-star outfielder Gary Sheffield of the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to baseball officials.
The Dodgers do not comment on trade talks, but an official from another team said first-year General Manager Dan Evans is considering trading the club's best run producer.
The Braves, who also pursued a deal in spring training, are on a list of 12 teams Sheffield can block. However, sources said Sheffield admires Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox and has friends on the team, so he would consider removing the Braves from his no-trade list.
Because of Sheffield's contract situation, the Dodgers might not receive as much as they hope in exchange for the six-time all-star, officials said.
Irvin drug charge dropped
DENTON, Tex., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A felony drug charge against Michael Irvin, the former Dallas wide receiver, has been dismissed after prosecutors learned evidence had been found in an illegal search.
Irvin, indicted in June, had been accused of possessing half a gram of cocaine.
He was arrested at an apartment where police found drugs which Irvin, one of the game's foremost wide receivers before his retirement in 1996, insisted were not his.
The motion to dismiss was made after the prosecution discovered there had been a search of the apartment without a warrant.
Belgium favored in FedCup finals
MADRID, Spain, Nov. 6 (UPI)_ -- With the two-time champion United States not competing, Belgium is the favorite heading into the Federation Cup Finals beginning Wednesday at the Institute Ferial Madrid.
The Americans, which feature five of the top 10 ranked women in the world, pulled out of the final due to security concerns stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
They have been replaced by Germany, but it is Belgium that has the event's top players in Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin.
Clijsters is ranked No. 5, won three tournaments and was two points within winning the French Open crown over Jennifer Capriati. Henin, the seventh-ranked player, also claimed three titles, reached the final of a Grand Slam event (Wimbledon) and was a semifinalist at the French Open.
On Wednesday, the Belgian team faces Germany, which will play without its best player Anke Huber, who retired last week. In the second match, five-time winner Spain plays Australia.
Top seed upset in first round
PATTAYA CITY, Thailand, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan was shocked by Ukraine's Julia Vakulenko in the first round of the $110,000 Volvo Women's Open tennis event Tuesday.
Tulyaganova, a winner of two tournaments this year, was ousted 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), by the 146th-ranked Vakulenko. The 18-year-old from Ukraine meanwhile snapped a three-match losing streak and improved her career WTA Tour record to 2-5 in her sixth tournament.
Vakulenko's next foe will be qualifier Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei, who got past Korea's Yoon-Jeong Cho, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 6-4.
Quarterback's wife chides fans
ATLANTA, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Atlanta Falcons Coach Dan Reeves planned Tuesday to do something he has not done in 21 years as a head coach. He's going to talk with his team about family behavior.
That became an issue in the game wih New England in the Georgia Dome Sunday when Diane Chandler, wife of starting quarterback Chris Chandler, was involved in verbal confrontations with fans who allegedly were calling for her husband to be injured.
Former Falcons quarterback Bobby Hebert, a family friend sitting with Mrs. Chandler, said, "The problem was when a couple of individuals were hollering to knock Chris out of the game, screaming for him to get hurt, for (rookie) Michael Vick to get into the game."
Hebert said that in the third quarter of a game where Chandler took six of the nine sacks doled out by the Patriots, Mrs. Chandler suggested to rowdy fans they should not wish for players to get injured. Hebert said that comment incensed the fans.
Chandler left the fame with a rib injury on the next-to-last play of the third period.
Mrs. Chandler would only comment, "You just don't root for people to get hurt; that's the bottom line."
