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In Sports from United Press International

By United Press International

Piniella, Bowa managers of the year

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Seattle's Lou Piniella and Philadelphia's Larry Bowa were named manager of the year in their respective leagues Wednesday.

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In just one season, Bowa turned the Phillies into contenders in the National League East. He guided the Phillies to a second-place finish in the division. The fiery manager took a club that lost 97 games in 2000 and led it to 86 wins.

In what was expected to be a close vote, Bowa received 18 first-place votes and 113 points in the balloting of the Baseball Writers Association of America. The 55-year-old Bowa became the first Phillies manager to win the award since it was instituted in 1983.

Bowa was an easy winner over Jim Tracy of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who received four first-place votes and 48 points. Tracy's vote total was a surprise since the Dodgers finished third in the NL West with an 86-76 record.

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Piniella, who was third in the voting last year, bypassed the opportunity to move to a bigger market despite knowing the Mariners likely would lose one of the league's biggest stars in Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez left for the Texas Rangers, but the Mariners added Japanese sensation Ichiro Suzuki and were on their way to a landmark season. Seattle won 116 games, tying the major league record set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906.

Piniella received 22 first-place votes and 128 points. Piniella won the award previously in 1995 and is the only Seattle manager to earn the honor.

Art Howe of the Oakland Athletics was the runner-up for the third straight season, receiving five first-place votes and 77 points.


Lindros successful in New York return

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Eric Lindros scored an emotional goal Wednesday night, but it was a power-play tally by Theo Fleury that proved to be the difference for the New York Rangers in their 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lindros opened the scoring with a first-period goal, after which Fluery's one-timer with 11:40 left in the game lifted the Rangers to their sixth straight win.

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The first matchup between Lindros and his former team carried with it a playoff-like atmosphere. Adding to the drama were the Rangers, who were playing their best hockey since winning seven straight in January 2000.

After Lindros gave New York a 1-0 lead late in the opening period, Radek Dvorak made it a two-goal bulge just under two minutes into the second. But Jan Hlavac, who went to Philadelphia in the Lindros deal, and Jeremy Roenick scored 70 seconds apart early in the third to knot the contest.

Then, with the action going end-to-end, Fleury converted a backhanded crossing pass from Mike York into his eighth goal of the season. The Rangers are 11


1 this season when Fleury records a point.

Other NHL results: Toronto 3, Florida 2; Pittsburgh 3, New York Islanders 3; Colorado 1, Minnesota 0.


76ers win third in a row

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Matt Harpring scored 17 of his season-high 21 points in the second half Wednesday night as he lifted the Philadelphia 76ers to their third straight victory, 100-86 over the Charlotte Hornets.

The 76ers traded forwards Tyrone Hill and Jumaine Jones -- both of whom started in the 2001 NBA Finals -- to Cleveland to get Harpring and two other players who since have been traded. It was clear that Brown and general manager Billy King wanted the 6-7 swingman and he showed why in this game.

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After a lackluster first half, Harpring was everywhere in the second half. He took charges, hit three-pointers, ran down loose balls and played hard, a trademark of Brown's 76ers.

Harpring made eight of 12 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. He had 10 points in the third quarter, when Philadelphia turned a one-point deficit into a 75-66 lead.

Other NBA results: Boston 101, Indiana 93; Dallas 107, Cleveland 94; Milwaukee 107, Washington 98; Atlanta 111, Utah 79; Orlando 93, Phoenix 92; Los Angeles Clippers 106, Chicago 102; Toronto 89, Golden State 82.


Syracuse reaches NIT semis

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Kueth Duany collected 17 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double Wednesday night as the 19th-ranked Syracuse Orangemen posted a 74-60 victory over DePaul in the second round of the Preseason NIT.

Syracuse (2-0) will face Michigan State in the tournament's semifinals on Nov. 21 at Madison Square Garden.

Duany came off the bench last season and averaged just under six points per game. But the junior is in the starting lineup this season and made seven of 13 shots Wednesday night to reach career highs in points and rebounds.

The Orangemen scored 13 straight points in the first half to take the lead for good at 19-11 with just under 10 minutes remaining. DeShaun Williams made three three-pointers during the spurt.

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Michigan State reached the semifinals with a 67-55 victory over Oklahoma.

In the Guardians Classic, Memphis defeated Old Dominion, 91-66; Missouri beat Air Force, 86-58; Alabama cruised past Samford, 83-51; and Iowa drubbed Boston University, 90-61. The winners all moved on to the semifinals, which will be played Nov. 20 in Kansas City.


Blue Jays hire new GM

TORONTO, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The Toronto Blue Jays looked outside the organization to hire J.P. Ricciardi as general manager Wednesday and the decision cost them assistant general manager Dave Stewart.

Ricciardi, the director of player personnel for the Oakland Athletics the last three seasons, was hired as senior vice president/baseball operations and general manager.

He replaced Gord Ash, who resigned in early October.

The selection of the 42-year-old Ricciardi capped a search by Blue Jays CEO Paul Godfrey, who was believed to be interested in Buck Showalter, the former manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as former Texas Rangers GM Doug Melvin.

Godfrey also held interviews with John Hart, who opted for a $2 million contract to replace Melvin in Texas. Florida president and GM Dave Dombrowski, who last week was named president of the Detroit Tigers, also was in the running.

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Stewart was mentioned as a possible candidate but reportedly stepped down in protest, claiming that baseball was a "shallow industry" that was not committed to minority hiring in the front office.

The Milwaukee Brewers announced that Stewart had agreed to be their pitching coach in 2002.


Germany, Brazil reach World Cup

DORTMUND, Germany, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Slovenia and four-time champion Brazil all qualified for the World Cup Wednesday night, leaving just two spots open in the 32-nation field that will battle next year for soccer's biggest prize.

Brazil, the only nation to have played in every World Cup, went to the last round of qualifying matches in the South American tournament before clinching the fourth and last automatic berth.

The Brazilians, who lost in the 1998 final to France, defeated Venezuela Wednesday night, 3-0, to nail down a spot in soccer's biggest event. Uruguay, meanwhile, clinched fifth place in South America with a 1-1 tie against Argentina and will now take on Australia in a home-and-home playoff series to determine the 32nd and last country in the World Cup field.

The other remaining spot will be decided Thursday when Ireland and Iran meet in the second of their two-match playoff, Ireland having won the opening leg in Dublin, 2-0.

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Slovenia earned its first ever World Cup berth, Turkey will play in the World Cup for the first time in 46 years and Belgium will be going for the sixth straight time.

Germany let a chance to win its group and the automatic World Cup berth that went with it slip away with a one-sided loss to England late in the qualifying tournament. But Germany survived its playoff with the Ukraine.

Germany, which recorded a 1-1 road tie in the first leg, produced three goals in the first 15 minutes Wednesday night and coasted to a 4-1 victory.

Belgium secured its spot by fighting off the Czech Republic, 1-0; Slovenia earned its position thanks to a 1-1 road tie against Romania and Turkey crushed Austraia, 5-0.


Coach "K" receives lifetime contract

DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Mike Krzyzewksi, who has won three NCAA championships in his 21 years with the Duke Blue Devils, Wednesday signed what was called a "lifetime" contract to coach the men's basketball team.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the school said Krzyzewski has agreed to a deal that extends through at least 2011 and calls for him to serve as a special assistant to the president.

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"My family and I love Duke, and I really appreciate the university making this type of long term commitment," Krzyzewski said. "Duke is a very special place, and Duke basketball is part of what makes it special. The idea that I can continue to play a role in the success of each is very gratifying, and I'm thrilled at the expression of confidence the university is placing in me by offering this lifetime contract."

Krzyzewksi enters the season 34th all time in coaching victories with 606 and owns a 533-164 record at Duke. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Krzyzewski reached his 500th victory at Duke in 660 games. Only Kentucky's Adolph Rupp (583), UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian (614), North Carolina's Dean Smith (653) and Oklahoma State's Henry Iba (654) did it faster.


Carl Lewis elected to Hall of Fame

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Carl Lewis was one of four members of the 1984 United States Olympic team elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame Wednesday.

Lewis, a sprinter and long jumper, was elected along with Larry Myricks, Alberto Salazar and Henry Marsh.

Lewis, 40, is considered one of the gretest Olympians of all-time. His nine gold medals ties swimmer Mark Spitz for first place on the all-time U.S. list. Lewis won four medals at the 1984 Games and won his fourth straight long jump in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He is a 10-time World Championships medalist and former world record holder at 100 meters.

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Hewitt nears No. 1 ranking

SYDNEY, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Lleyton Hewitt of Australia moved to within eight points of the world No. 1 ranking Wednesday by dominating Andre Agassi in round-robin play at the Tennis Masters Cup.

Hewitt, the second seed, defeated Agassi, the third seed, 6-3, 6-4, to secure a berth into the semifinals of the season-ending ATP tournament.

Seventh seed Sebastian Grosjean of France defeated sixth seed Patrick Rafter of Australia, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, in the day's other match.

Earning 20 points for each of his two wins, Hewitt has closed the gap on top seed Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, who can regain a 28-point cushion when he faces fourth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain on Thursday.

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