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In Sports from United Press International

Bonds to undergo minor elbow surgery

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Baseball superstar Barry Bonds announced Tuesday that he will undergo minor surgery on his left elbow Wednesday and be sidelined a couple of days.

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The San Francisco Giants left fielder held a news conference as position players began arriving in camp. He revealed that he will have a suture left over from a 1999 operation removed and that the stitching has been irritating him for the past month.

Bonds is a five-time Most Valuable Player and last season led the Giants to the National League pennant. He set the single-season home run record with 73 in 2001 and last year hit a career-best .370 with a major league-record .582 on-base percentage.


Tyson fight back on for Saturday

NEW YORK, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The Tyson-Etienne fight apparently is on again.

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After backing out of his fight against Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne on Monday, Mike Tyson on Tuesday said the fight will take place as originally scheduled on Saturday at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn.

"Mike called me this morning and told me he's ready to go," Tyson's advisor Shelly Finkel said. "He told me, I can beat Etienne,' and that's what he intends to do."

If Tyson is going to beat Etienne, he will have to do so without full preparation. Tyson skipped his workouts for three days, got a large tattoo on the side of his face and missed two flights to Memphis. However, he is scheduled to take a charter fight to Tennessee on Tuesday night.

The press conference for the fight is scheduled for Thursday and the weigh-in for Friday.

Tyson is hoping for a better result than his last bout, which also was at The Pyramid. He received the worst beating of his career in an embarrassing eighth-round knockout at the hands of IBF and WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8.

Lewis may be best served by Tyson winning impressively. Not among the most popular heavyweight champions, Lewis has spoke about a rematch with Tyson although there are several other more deserving challengers.

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After the loss to Lewis, Tyson 36, appeared uncharacteristically contrite, leaving some to wonder whether he would retire from boxing. Tyson is 49-4 with 43 knockouts and two no-contests.

An ex-con with a weak chin, Etienne is the heavweight champion of the virtually disregarded IBA and the No. 8 contender in the IBF. He is 24-1-1 with 17 knockouts, with his last fight a 10-round draw with aging Francois Botha in July.

Between having his license suspended for 15 months for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield and being jailed for assaulting a pair of motorists in Maryland, Tyson stopped Botha in five rounds on Jan. 16, 1999 in Las Vegas.

Until the knockout at the hands of Lewis, Tyson had not lost in six bouts since his suspension. He is 49-4 with 43 knockouts and two no-contests.

In 1986, a 20-year-old Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he dropped Trevor Berbick in the second round. He held the title for nearly four years before being knocked out by Buster Douglas in a stunning upset in 1990.

In 1992, Tyson was found guilty of raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indiana and spent 3 1/2 years in prison. He has been married and divorced twice, including with actress Robin Givens.

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Javier Vazquez loses arbitration case

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The Montreal Expos received some good financial news Tuesday by winning their arbitration case against righthander Javier Vazquez.

A panel of three arbitrators ruled in favor of the club's $6 million offer for the 2003 season. Vazquez made $4.275 million last season and was seeking $7.5 million.

The ruling is a positive for the Expos, who have been forced to make trades in the past due to salary constraints. Last month, they saved nearly $8 million by trading righthander Bartolo Colon to the Chicago White Sox.

Last season, Vazquez struggled to 10-13 record with a 3.91 ERA in 203 1/3 innings. The native of Puerto Rico owns a career record of 51-56 with a 4.37 ERA.


Henman falls, Ferrero advances

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Tim Henman's comeback from shoulder surgery was cut short Tuesday at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

The fifth-seeded Henman dropped the final five games of the match and suffered a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic in the opening round of the $800,000 indoor event.

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Top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain battled past hard-serving Wayne Arthurs of Australia, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

Henman was playing his first ATP event since November, when he reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. On Nov. 14, Britain's top-ranked player underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder.

Ljubicic avenged his semifinal defeat to Henman in the semifinals here in 2002. The Croat continues to put together a strong month. He reached the Milan indoor semifinals and clinched his country's upset of the United States in the Davis Cup first round.

Ferrero conquered Arthurs for the fourth time in as many career meetings and improved to 11-2 this season. The 23-year-old advanced to the Sydney final and made the Australian Open quarterfinals last month.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Feliciano Lopez of Spain.

A pair of Dutchmen also moved into the second round. Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek outlasted Spain's Tommy Robredo, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 6-2.

In an all-Dutch first-round clash, Raemon Sluiter rallied to edge Martin Verkerk, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

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Suns place Penny Hardaway on injured list

PHOENIX, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Oft-injured Phoenix Suns guard Penny Hardaway's injured right thumb likely will cost him another two weeks.

Hardaway underwent right thumb surgery on Jan. 11 and has missed the last 17 games. He is expected to be sidelined into March following the procedure, which repaired torn ligaments. Tuesday, the Suns officially placed him on the injured list.

Hardaway said he thought he suffered the injury in practice Nov. 21. He had been playing through the pain but aggravated it against Cleveland on Dec, 29. X-rays in early January revealed the tear.

The 6-7 Hardaway is averaging 10.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 36 games this season, his fourth with the Suns and 10th in the NBA. He has been an ideal complement to scorers Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion as the Suns have posted a 30-23 record, good for third in the NBA Pacific Division.

Hardaway received a seven-year, $86 million contract in a sign-and-trade deal with Orlando following the 1998-99 season. This will be the fifth time he has missed at least 20 games in a season, although most of his previous injury problems have been with his knee.

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In 549 career games, Hardaway has averaged 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He made the All-Star team each year from 1995-98.


Blue Jays, Stewart have $6.2 million deal

TORONTO, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Shannon Stewart Tuesday agreed to terms on a one-year, $6.2 million contract, avoiding arbitration with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stewart, one of the most productive leadoff hitters in the American League, had been seeking $7.5 million through arbitration while the Blue Jays had countered with an offer of $5.5 million. The 28-year-old Stewart made $4.25 million last season, his eighth with Toronto.

Stewart hit .303 with 38 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 141 games in 2002. He scored 103 runs, stole 14 bases and posted .371 on-base percentage.

The 19th overall pick of the Blue Jays in the 1992 draft, Stewart has a career .302 batting average with 66 homers, 321 RBI and 162 stolen bases in 784 games. He has hit over .300 in each of the last four seasons and batted .318 with a .398 on-base percentage after the All-Star break in 2002.


Seles, Myskina advance at Dubai Tennis

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Fourth-seeded American Monica Seles and fifth seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia had little trouble Tuesday at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

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Seles received a bye in the first round and breezed to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italy's Francesca Schiavone to advance to the quarterfinals of this Tier II tournament. All other matches Tuesday were in the first round.

Coming off her third career title at Doha, Myskina ousted Russian qualifier Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-3. Myskina beat countrywoman Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final at Doha. The 21-year-old Myskina is the first Russian in the top 10 of the WTA rankings since June 2001.

Three other seeded players were in action Tuesday. Sixth seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland beat Australian Nicole Pratt, 6-4, 7-5, and Bulgarian seventh seed Magdalena Maleeva dispatched wild card Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland, 7-5, 6-2.

Eighth seed Eleni Daniilidou of Greece won for the second time in as many career meetings with Tunisian wild card Selima Sfar, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. Thailand's Tamarine Tansugarn, who won her first career title two weeks ago at the Indian Open, overcame Indonesian Angelique Widjaja, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.

Former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez also was victorious Tuesday, defeating Italian Rita Grande, 6-3, 6-2. In other matches: Uzbekistan's Iroda Tulyaganova got by Spanish qualifier Gala Leon Garcia, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4); Hungarian qualifier Petra Mandula beat Zimbabwe's Cara Black, 6-0, 7-5; and German qualifier Anca Barna topped Russian Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 6-0.

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Rockets activate Rice; put Collier on IR

HOUSTON, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- The Houston Rockets on Tuesday activated veteran forward Glen Rice and placed reserve center Jason Collier on the injured list.

One of the most prolific 3-point shooters in NBA history, Rice has missed more than a month with a left shoulder strain. He suffered the injury in the third quarter of a Jan. 11 win over Denver.

The return of Rice could not have been more timely with the Rockets hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Houston (27-24) is one game ahead of the Lakers (26-25) in the battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Rice's long-range shooting stretches the defense and allows rookie Yao Ming to be more effective inside. The Rockets are 16-10 when Rice starts, 18-13 when he plays and 9-11 without him.

The 6-8 Rice is averaging 9.2 points and 3.3 rebounds and has reached double figures in scoring 16 times, including a season-high 23 points in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 24.

The 35-year-old Rice has averaged 18.9 points over 13-plus seasons with Miami, Charlotte, the Los Angeles Lakers, New York and Houston. He ranks fourth on the all-time list with 1,496 3-pointers made and seventh with 3,737 3-pointers attempted.

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The Rockets placed Collier on the injured list with medial tibial periostitis on his left side. Collier, who spent time on the injured list from Nov. 22 to Jan. 11, has averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13 games.

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