Hawks trade for Glenn Robinson
ATLANTA, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Less than two weeks after being arrested for assault and illegal possession of a firearm, two-time All-Star forward Glenn Robinson was traded by the Milwaukee Bucks to the Atlanta Hawks Friday for forwards Toni Kukoc and Leon Smith and a first-round pick in the 2003 draft.
The Bucks had been shopping the 29-year-old Robinson throughout the offseason after failing to make the playoffs in 2001-02. But it appeared those trade plans were dashed when Robinson was arrested on July 21.
Apparently, that did not bother the Hawks, who jumped on the chance to acquire a scoring forward who averaged 21.1 points in his eight-year career with the Bucks.
"We're excited about the opportunity to acquire a player of Glenn Robinson's stature," Hawks vice president and general manager Pete Babcock said. "He addresses one of our specific weaknesses, which was the perimeter game."
Milwaukee was so determined to unload Robinson it settled for little in return. The Bucks originally hoped to use Robinson as bait to bring New York's Latrell Sprewell home to Milwaukee.
The first overall pick in the 1994 draft, Robinson has three years left on his contract after making $8.99 million last season.
Nicknamed the "Big Dog," Robinson averaged 20.7 points in 66 games last season.
NFL exhibition season to open in Japan
OSAKA, Japan, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The NFL exhibition season gets underway Saturday night and Steve Spurrier will make his debut as coach of the Washington Redskins.
The Redskins will take on the San Francisco 49ers in the latest addition of the American Bowl. It will be the 11th time the NFL has played an exhibition game in Japan.
Spurrier compiled a 122-27-1 record with the Florida Gators before becoming coach of the Redskins. He will be facing the team that drafted him No. 1 in 1967 as the Heisman trophy winner.
Kelly going into Hall of Fame
CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Jim Kelly, the only quarterback to take his team to four straight Super Bowls, has turned the Pro Football Hall of Fame into his personal playground.
The former star of the Buffalo Bills has taken over two hotels in nearby Akron and expects about 1,200 close friends from upstate New York and his native western Pennsylvania to attend induction ceremonies Saturday.
Kelly led the Bills to an unprecedented four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl from 1990-93, losing each time. But the bitter losses did not prevent him from being elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Joining Kelly in the Class of 2002 are Pittsburgh Steelers receiver John Stallworth, Oakland Raiders tight end Dave Casper, Chicago Bears defensive tackle Dan Hampton and Coach George Allen, the nominee of the Hall's Senior Committee. Allen died in 1990.
Kelly becomes the first quarterback to be inducted from the famed "Class of 1983" which included John Elway and Dan Marino. He also is the first player from the defunct United States Football League to make the Hall of Fame.
A strong-armed passer with a linebacker's mentality, Kelly rewrote most of the Bills' passing records and led the team to the playoffs eight times in his 11 years with the team from 1986-96.
Twins win sixth out of seven
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Pitching for the first time in 11 days due to a bruised finger, Rick Reed combined with four relievers on a four-hitter Friday night and outdueled Jeff Suppan as the Minnesota Twins edged the Kansas City Royals, 2-1, for their sixth win in seven games.
Reed (9-5) allowed one run and four hits over six innings against one of his former teams for his third consecutive victory.
Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect ninth for his 33rd save, extending his scoreless streak to eight innings.
With the game tied, 1-1, Dustan Mohr led off the Twins' second with a triple and scored on A.J. Pierzynski's one-out single to right field.
Suppan (8-10) yielded eight hits over seven innings to fall to 1-8 on the road this season. But he gave up just one hit after the third.
Other American League results: Baltimore 9, Toronto 8; Chicago 8, Tampa Bay 5 in 12 innings; Boston 13, Texas 0.
Braves win battle of division leaders
ATLANTA, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Chipper Jones produced a three-run homer and Wes Helms hit his first career grand slam off rookie righthander Jason Simontacchi Friday night as the Atlanta Braves coasted to a 11-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in a battle of division leaders.
The game was delayed 55 minutes in the bottom of the third, but the contest already was out of reach as the Braves scored five runs in the first and four in the second to build a 9-1 lead.
Tom Glavine (14-6), who has struggled recently, benefited from the early barrage, reaching 14 wins for the eighth straight season. He yielded one run and six hits over five innings with a walk and three strikeouts.
The veteran lefthander was just 2-4 in his previous six starts and gave up five runs and eight hits over six innings in Sunday's 7-1 loss to Philadelphia.
Simontacchi (7-3) did not last long, surrendering nine runs and seven hits in one-plus inning. He earned his first major league win against Atlanta on May 4, allowing two runs over seven innings in a 3-2 victory.
Other National League results: chicago 6, Colorado 4 in 12 innings; Philadelphia 3, Los Angeles 1; Pittsburgh 6, San Francisco 5; Montreal 3, Houston 1; Milwaukee 1, Florida 0. Arizona's scheduled game at New York was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday.
Lowe among those suspended for brawl
NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Boston Red Sox All-Star pitcher Derek Lowe admitted he ignited a benches-clearing brawl last Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles and on Friday, he was one of five players suspended for the fight.
Bob Watson, Major League Baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, suspended Lowe for five games for intentionally throwing at a batter. Boston catcher Jason Varitek was suspended four games and infielder Rey Sanchez for three for, "fighting and acting aggressively" during the brawl.
But Watson gave the stiffest penalty to Orioles reliever Willis Roberts, who was suspended seven games for "fighting, acting aggressively" and for making contact with umpire Larry Vanover during the brawl.
Orioles outfielder Melvin Mora was also suspended for four games and Red Sox pitching coach Tony Cloninger was banned for two games.
Four members of the Orioles -- Gary Matthews Jr., David Segui, Jeff Conine and Rodrigo Lopez -- and four members of the Red Sox -- Carlos Baerga, Shea Hillenbrand, Doug Mirabelli and Ugueth Urbina -- were fined but not suspended.
The fight began after Lowe hit Matthews with the first pitch of the fourth inning after Baltimore's Scott Erickson hit Manny Ramirez with a pitch in the previous half inning.
"Actually, I initiated the whole thing," Lowe said after the game. "I probably said something I shouldn't have, but you have to protect everybody, especially your superstar guys."
Lowery leads The International
CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Former champion Steve Lowery collected 13 points with seven birdies and a bogey and built a four-point lead Friday after the second round of The International, the PGA Tour's annual experiment with the modified Stableford scoring system.
Lowery's second-round total was the second-highest behind Mark Brooks, who had nine birdies and four bogeys en route to 15 points to climb 58 spots into third place with 15.
Craig Barlow had 10 points on six birdies and two bogeys and was alone in second with 17 points, three ahead of British Open champion Ernie Els, who won this event in 2000. First-round leader Steve Pate never got going Friday and remained stuck on 11 points, sliding into a tie for fifth.
Tiger Woods, the world's top-ranked player, is not entered this week.
Gretzky shoots down comeback rumors
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Phoenix Coyotes managing partner Wayne Gretzky Friday shot down rumors of a comeback attempt.
Amid published and broadcast reports fueled by former Coyotes center Jeremy Roenick, the 41-year-old Gretzky issued a four-paragraph statement that concluded:
"I am not planning on making a comeback to play in the National Hockey League with the Phoenix Coyotes."
Gretzky, the leading scorer in NHL history and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, acknowledged he participated in the Coyotes' four-week voluntary strength and conditioning camp, which included daily on-ice sessions at the Athletes' Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz.
It was Gretzky's first serious skating session in nearly three years and prompted Roenick -- currently a member of the Philadelphia Flyers -- to tell reporters that "The Great One" was considering following the lead of Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux, who came out of retirement during the 2000-01 season.
Liberty moves into first place
NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Vickie Johnson scored 20 points and Tamika Whitmore added 19 Friday night as the New York Liberty led from start to finish and moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 66-54 victory over the road-weary Miami Sol.
New York started both halves with big runs and moved one game ahead of Washington, which was beaten at home by Portland.
A layup by Whitmore opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest and put the Liberty ahead for good. It started an 11-3 run that was capped by a layup by Becky Hammon with 12:22 left in the first half.
Miami climbed within 33-30 at halftime, but New York scored the first 14 points of the second half to take control. Johnson fueled the run with 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. She had 18 points in the second half.
Other WNBA results: Portland 67, Washington 65; Minnesota 75, Phoenix 51.
Lieber placed on DL
CHICAGO, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Chicago Cubs righthander Jon Lieber, who is enduring a frustrating season after winning 20 games last year, Friday was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow tendinitis.
The Cubs' Opening Day pitcher, Lieber has been victimized by poor run support for most of the year and is just 6-8 with a 3.70 ERA in 21 starts.
Last season, he became a 20-game winner for the first time in his career, going 20-6 with a 3.80 ERA.
Yzerman to miss part of 2002-2003 season
DETROIT, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Steve Yzerman, who earlier this year overcame a painful right knee injury to help the Detroit Red Wings win a third Stanley Cup in six season, underwent surgery Friday and will probably miss the first three months of the 2002-03 campaign.
Yzerman had an osteotomy -- a procedure that corrects the alignment of the knee, thus transferring pressure to the proper area.
Red Wings team physician Dr. David Collon said the surgery was "totally successful."
Yzerman, 37, is expected to return to the Red Wings during a window of late December to early February.
MLS All-Star Game set for Saturday
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Six weeks removed from its stunning run to the World Cup quarterfinals, the United States soccer team will have its achievement celebrated at home.
The United States side will square off against the best of Major League Soccer Saturday in the 2002 MLS All-Star Game at RFK Stadium.
The festivities kicked off Friday when the 11 U.S.-based players from the World Cup squad, plus injured midfielder Chris Armas, met with President Bush at the White House. The other 12 players were with their respective clubs in Europe preparing for the upcoming season.
Leading the contingent are top strikers Brian McBride and Landon Donovan, who tallied two goals apiece for the United States in South Korea. They each scored June 17 as the Americans advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over Mexico.
