In Sports from United Press International
Falcons release quarterback Chris Chandler
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Falcons made a series of roster moves Monday to fit under the salary cap, releasing starting quarterback Chris Chandler, record-holding wide receiver Terance Mathis and free safety Ronnie Bradford.
"Chris has been great for this franchise," Said Falcons coach Dan Reeves. It is a similar situation that we had with Terance Mathis. We have a lot of young players. We think that (quarterback) Mike Vick is going to makegreat strides for us this season. The gap between Chris and Mike is getting narrower and this move will force us to get him more playing time. It is a tough decision because I think that Chris can still play in this league."
Chandler, 6-4, 228 pounds, was traded from the Houston Oilers to the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. A veteran of 14 NFL seasons, he immediately stepped into the Falcons starting lineup and enjoyed back-to-back career years during his first two seasons with Atlanta, resulting in his consecutive Pro Bowl trips in 1997 and 1998.
Chandler spent two seasons (1988-89) with Indianapolis after joining the Colts as a third round draft choice out of Washington. He then spent time with Tampa Bay (1990-91), Phoenix (1991-93), the Los Angeles Rams (1994) and the Houston Oilers (1995-96).
Chandler closed out his five-year Falcons career in third place on the Falcons all-time passing list with 13,268 yards, behind Chris Miller (14,066) and all-time leader Steve Bartkowski (23,468).
Last season, Chandler started 14 of the Falcons' 16 games and finished with 2,847 passing yards, second to the 3,154 passing yards that he had during the 1998 season when he led Atlanta to its only Super Bowl appearance.
Jayson Williams surrenders in shooting
FLEMINGTON, N.J., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams faced a charge of reckless manslaughter Monday in the shooting death of a limousine driver.
Williams was accused in the death of Costas Christofi, 55, who was found shot at Williams' 65-acre mansion in Alexandria Township on Feb. 14. The 34-year-old Williams did not speak with reporters before entering state police barracks to turn him self in Monday morning, but his attorney has denied the allegations.
"After a full and fair investigation, it will show he was innocent of reckless manslaughter," said attorney Joseph Hayden. "(The investigation) will show that it was a tragic accident."
The Newark Star Ledger reported earlier this month that Williams was playfully twirling a shotgun during a tour of his home when the weapon went off. Christofi had been hired to drive Williams' friends from a charity function in in Bethlehem, Penn., a to Williams' home.
Once of the NBA's best rebounders, Williams retired in 2000 due to a series of leg injuries. He is currently an NBA studio analyst with NBC Sports.
Cavaliers guard has surgery
CLEVELAND, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Cleveland Cavaliers veteran guard Bimbo Coles underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and foot on Monday.
Dr. Richard Parker performed the knee surgery while Dr. Brian Donley removed a spur from Coles' left foot. The procedures, which took place at the Cleveland Clinic, are expected to sideline the 33-year-old Coles six weeks.
Coles, who is his 11th NBA season and second with the Cavaliers, was placed on the injured list on Feb.15. Playing limited minutes as a backup point guard to Andre Miller, Coles is averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 assists in 47 games this season.
Orioles sign reliever for two more years
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Baltimore Orioles lefthanded reliever Buddy Groom, who made a team-high 70 appearances last season, Monday signed a two-year contract extension through 2005.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but ESPN reported the pact to be worth a total of $6.25 million.
Groom, 36, posted a 1-4 record with a 3.55 ERA and a career-high 11 saves in 2001. He led American League relievers with 1.23 walks per nine innings, issuing just nine free passes over 66 innings.
Groom originally signed with Baltimore as a free agent following the 1999 campaign and the club picked up his option for the 2002 season in November. He has a 22-25 record with a 4.91 ERA in a 10-year career with the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins and Oakland Athletics.
Kansas strengthens hold on No. 1
ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Kansas has strengthened its hold on No. 1 and the top seven remained the same in the latest coaches' poll.
Kansas (25-2) and Maryland (23-3) barely survived with one-point wins on Sunday, but remain 1-2 in the poll.
Kansas extended its winning streak to 12 games and clinched the outright Big 12 Conference regular-season title with a 14-0 record, although the Jayhawks struggled to beat Nebraska, 88-87 on Sunday afternoon.
Maryland rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and edged Wake Forest, 90-89, when Josh Howard called a timeout when Wake Forest had none left and Juan Dixon converted 1-of-2 technical foul shots with one second left.
Kansas received 25 of 31 first-place votes, four more than the previous week, and 768 points from a panel of Division I coaches. Maryland has six first-place votes and 746 points. Duke (25-2) remained at No. 3 followed by Cincinnati (26-2), Oklahoma (22-4), Alabama (23-5) and Gonzaga (26-3).
Pittsburgh (23-4) extended its winning streak to five games and rose two places to eighth. Marquette (23-4) stayed at No. 9 while Florida (20-6) slipped two spots to No. 10.
Kentucky (19-7) topped the second 10, followed by Oklahoma State (22-6), Oregon (20-7), Arizona (18-8), Georgia (20-7), Illinois (21-7), Ohio State (19-6), Miami (21-6), Stanford (17-8) and Southern California (19-7).
Arizona's Williams breaks ankle
TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Wiliams suffered another serious spring training injury when he fractured his ankle during a workout on Monday morning.
Williams was hurt while fielding ground balls at the team's spring training complex and also may have endured ligament damage. He will return to Phoenix to undergo surgery, and the extent of the injury will be determined after the procedure.
The 36-year-old Williams hit .269 with 16 homers and 85 RBI last season for the World Series champion Diamondbacks.
Two years ago, Williams fouled a ball off his foot during a Cactus League game, breaking the second metatarsal bone. He returned to the team in late May but later was plagued by a strained right quadricep and appeared in just 96 games in 2000.
Ivanisevic makes early exit at Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Reigning Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic made an early exit from the Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday.
Ianisevic, the seventh seed, fell to Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3, 6-4. The Croatian had been 3-0 all-time against Kiefer.
Second seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia had no trouble on Monday, posting a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Greece's Vasilis Mazarakis in the first meeting between the players. Eighth seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Dominik Hrbaty.
Defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain is the top seed seed. Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden is the third seed, followed by France's Sebastian Grosjean, Britain's Tim Henman and Switzerland's Roger Federer.
Venus Williams ascends to No. 1
STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Venus Williams offically moved to the top of the WTA's computer rankings on Monday.
With 4,790 points, Williams owns a six-point lead over fellow American Jennifer Capriati. She became the 10th woman--and first African-American--to be ranked No. 1 in the history of the computer rankings.
Williams lost in the semifinals of the Dubai Women's Open on Friday. But the 21-year-old knew she had rise to the top spotfor the first time with Capriati remaining idle since her dramatic victory over Martina Hingis in the Australian Open final.
After winning her final three events last year, Williams continued her impressive form in 2002. She won three of her first four tournaments, capturing the Gold Coast, Paris Indoor and Antwerp titles.
Williams' lone defeat prior to last week came at the Australian Open, where she had a 22-match winning streak come to an end with a quarterfinal loss to Monica Seles.
Warriers activate Cedric Henderson
OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Golden State Warriors Monday activated forward Cedric Henderson, who had been on the injured list since Feb. 15 with a sprained ankle.
Henderson, 26, has endured an injury-plagued season, spending three different stints on the injured list and missing a total of 23 games. He has appeared in only 10 contests off the bench for the Warriors this season, averaging just 2.5 points per game. To make room for Henderson, Golden State placed forward Chris Mills, 32, on the injured list with inflammation in his right knee. Mills has played in 45 games, averaging 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds per contest. Mills has not played since Feb. 17, missing the last four games due to the inflammation.
Capriati back in action in Arizona
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Australian Open champion Jennifer Capriati returns to action this week at the State Farm Tennis Classic.
Capriati, the top seed from the United States, has not played since her thrilling three-set triumph over Martina Hingis of
Switzerland in Melbourne last month. She saved four championship points and rallied from a one-set, 0-4 hole to win
her second straight Australian Open title and her third career Grand Slam crown.
The 25-year-old Capriati, who trails new world No. 1 Venus Williams by just six points in the WTA Tour rankings, was a
semifinalist here last year. Seeded second this week, Hingis put her Australian Open disappointment aside earlier this month by winning her second title of the year at the Pan Pacific Open and is 14-1 this season. Third-seeded Serena Williams will participate in her first tournament in more than a month.
