Night baseball
Barry Bonds went for home run No. 70 and Mark McGwire's record Tuesday night at Houston's friendly Enron Stadium where he slammed four homers in five games last season. This was the San Francisco Giants' only visit to Houston this year.
In another game worth noting, Atlanta hosted Philadelphia in the opener of an important three-game series with the Braves leading the Phillies by two games in the National League East.
Other National League games, all under the lights, saw Montreal at Florida, Pittsburgh at the New York Mets, Colorado at Arizona, Los Angeles at San Diego and St. Louis, which trailed Houston by one game in the N.L. Central Division, was at Milwaukee. Arizona had a two-game bulge over San Francisco in the N.L. West.
In the American League, also with all night games, the Eastern Division champion New York Yankees hosted the Chicago White Sox, Central champ Cleveland was at Kansas City and Western Division winner Seattle was Anaheim. Also, Oakland, which has clinched the A.L. wild card for the playoffs, hosted Texas, Minnesota was at Detroit, Baltimore hosted Toronto and Boston was at Tampa Bay.
Cortez kicks 49ers past Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Automatic Jose Cortez, who has yet to miss in nine tries, kicked four more field goals Monday night and San Francisco held on for a 19-17 victory over the New York Jets.
Cortez booted field goals of 19 and 49 yards in the second quarter to put the 49ers (2-1) ahead for good, 13-7. With San Francisco chewing up huge chunks of yardage on the ground, he added a 35-yarder in the third quarter and a 29-yarder in the fourth to make it 19-10.
A product of Oregon State, Cortez has made all nine field-goal attempts with San Francisco after winning the XFL championship with the Los Angeles Xtreme.
New Orleans still likely Super site
NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Super Bowl XXXVI likely will be held in New Orleans, as scheduled, but one week later, on Feb. 3, allowing the National Football League to play its postseason slate in its entirety, the NFL said Tuesday.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue reached a tentative agreement late Monday with the head of the National Automobile Dealers Association, which had the Super Bowl site booked for Feb. 2-5, to swap dates and move the dealers convention up a week. Final say is up to the Association's 63-member executive committee, but Tagliabue was optimistic.
Part of the agreement includes the NFL covering much of the expenses the dealers would incur because of the switch, an estimated $10 million or more.
The Super Bowl had been set for Jan. 27 but the terrorist attacks last month led the league to postpone one week of games and extend the regular season into January. If the deal with the dealers goes through, the Pro Bowl will be shifted from Feb. 3 to Feb. 10.
'Skins' Barber out for season
LANDOVER, Md., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The winless Washington Redskins got another jolt Tuesday with the loss of linebacker Shawn Barber for the season. Barber was placed on the injured reserve with a right knee injury which Coach Marty Scottenheimer indicated was a damaged ACL
A starter at weakside linebacker, Barber suffered the injury during Sunday's embarrassing 45-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Barber had three tackles in the defeat in which the Redskins surrendered 546 total yards. The injury also could signal the end of Barber's tenure with the team. He agreed to a one-year, $1.115 million contract before the season and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.
Schottenheimer, who came out of retirement to coach the Redskins, has the club off to a horrendous start. Washington has lost its first three games by a combined score of 112-16, and he already has released Jeff George, who entered the season as the club's starting quarterback.
In Sunday's loss, Washington also was without defensive end Marco Coleman and linebacker LaVar Arrington due to injuries.
Knicks co-captain sidelined
CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- As the National Basketball Association began its pre-season training camps Tuesday the New York Knicks found themselves without starting forward and co-captain Larry Johnson.
Johnson, 32, failed a physical examination Sunday because of a chronically sore back. Quoting an unnamed Knicks official, the New York Times said Johnson is expected to retire.
Neither Johnson nor the Knicks would admit publicly that his career may be over. In fact, Coach Van Gundy said Johnson would "probably start the year on the injured list and then hopefully down the road, he can make a contribution."
But, the Times said indications were the Knicks were hoping to come to terms with him on a buyout for the $29 million remaining on his contract.
Cavs extend Miller pact
CLEVELAND, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers exercised the fourth-year contract option on point guard Andre Miller for the 2002-03 season Tuesday.
Miller, 25, is eligible to become a restricted free agent following the 2002-03 season with the Cavaliers holding the right of first refusal.
Most NBA executives regard Miller as a rising star. The 6-2, 200-pounder averaged 15.8 points to lead the Cavaliers in scoring and ranked first in the Eastern Conference with 8.0 assists per game last season. Miller also averaged 4.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and shot 83 percent from the free throw line.
Oakmont gets 2007 Open
FAR HILLS, N.J., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Oakmont Country Club, which hosted one of the greatest final individual rounds in major championship history, was named the site for the 2007 U.S. Open on Tuesday.
Oakmont, which is in a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, has hosted the U.S. Open seven times, most recently in 1994, when Ernie Els defeated Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a playoff.
Jack Nicklaus (1962), Ben Hogan (1953), Johnny Miller (1973), Tommy Armour (1927), Larry Nelson (1983) and Sam Parks Jr. (1935) won the other Opens at Oakmont.
Miller's championship may be the most memorable. His 63, which erased a six-stroke deficit one day after heavy rain softened Oakmont's firm greens, matches the best round in major history.
Glaus, Burnitz honored
NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Jeromy Burnitz 0f the Milwaukee Brewers and Troy Glaus of the Anaheim Angels have been named National and American League players of the week, it was announced Tuesday.
Burnitz batted .526 with six home runs and 11 RBI in six games played, leading the league in batting average (10-for-19), home runs, runs scored (10), slugging percentage (1.579), on-base percentage (.654) and total bases (30). On Sept. 25 against the Diamondbacks, Burnitz and teammate Richie Sexson became the first pair of teammates in major league history to each hit three home runs in the same game. It was the second three-homer game of the season for Burnitz.
Glaus batted an AL-high .500 (11-for-22) in six games last week and also led the league with a .593 on-base percentage and a .955 slugging percentage. The two-time All-Star third baseman collected four runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 RBI and one stolen base during the week. On Saturday, Glaus drove in a career-high six runs in the Angels' 13-2 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Seeds advance at Tokyo
TOKYO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Lars Burgsmuller of Germany led four seeded men's players into the second round at the $870,000 Japan Open hardcourt tennis event Tuesday.
Burgsmuller, the highest seed in action at No. 9, held off Michael Llodra of France, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2, to snap a 10-match losing streak. In the second round, Burgsmuller will face Hyng-Taik Lee of Korea, who posted a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win over Germany's Markus Hantschk.
No. 11 Nicolas Mass of Chile defeated Edwin Kempes of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-4; 14th-seeded Wayne Arthurs of Australia rallied past Czech Radim Zitko, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1, and No. 15 Michael Russell of the United States beat Neville Godwin of South Africa, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).
However, 12th seed Andrew Ilie of Australia was dealt a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 loss by Takao Suzuki of Japan, and No. 13 Alex Calatrava of Spain was ousted by Ivo Heuberger of Switzerland, 6-3, 6-1.
On the women's side, third seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan dispatched Hungarian Zsofia Gubacsi, 6-4, 6-1. Sixth seed Rita Grande of Italy outlasted Slovakia's Tina Pisnik, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, and seventh-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France cruised past Rachel McQuillan of Australia, 6-1, 6-4.
No. 4 Meilen Tu of the United States was the only female seed to fall Tuesday when Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland posted a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.
Top seeds Lleyton Hewitt of Australia. the U.S. Open champion, and Monica Seles of the United States play second-round encounters on Wednesday. Hewitt takes on Germany's Marc-Kevin Goellner and Seles meets Yoon-Jeong Cho of Korea.
