Moss released from jail
MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Randy Moss was charged with two misdemeanors and released from jail Wednesday, one day after the star receiver of the Minnesota Vikings allegedly bumped a female traffic officer with his car.
At first it was believed that Moss would face a felony count of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, but instead was charged with careless driving and failure to obey a traffic officer.
Moss addressed reporters briefly after being released from Hennepin County Jail, but refused to answer questions about the alleged incident.
"I'm not going to tell you what happened," Moss said. "It was a misunderstanding, but I'm not getting into it."
According to an arrest report from the Minneapolis Police Department, Moss allegedly tried to
make a left turn from the wrong lane from Sixth Street onto Marquette Avenue. The 27-year-old traffic officer stepped in front of Moss' 2002 Lexus sedan and ordered him to stop.
The arrest report said Moss continued to drive forward, pushing the officer a half block down Marquette Avenue until she was forced down. The traffic officer called for police, who arrived on the scene and arrested Moss, also impounding his car.
Moss spent Tuesday night and Wednesday morning in jail before being released.
Brewers shake up front office
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Nearing the end of the worst season in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers shook up their front office Wednesday, changing their president and general manager while making an historic hiring.
Out are President Wendy Selig-Prieb, the daughter of baseball commissioner Bud Selig, and General Manager Dean Taylor. Replacing them are Milwaukee attorney Ulice Payne, who becomes the first black club president in baseball history, and Doug Melvin, who last was with the Texas Rangers.
Milwaukee has a 55-103 record and it is their 10th straight losing season. During that span, they have made dramatic changes, such as switching leagues and opening a new ballpark. Things, however, have not improved.
The Brewers hope to reverse their fortunes with Payne, 47, an attorney at the law firm of Foley and Gardner. He also is the chairman of the Bradley Center Board and a member of the Greater Milwaukee Committee. A graduate of Marquette, he said he has been a Brewers fan for many years.
Payne admitted that he "did have some reservations about taking the job," not the least of which is his lack of experience in baseball. However, he showed he knew a little bit when he hired Melvin, who built the Rangers into a perennial playoff team in the late 1990s.
"There's some great baseball history and tradition here and we have to revive that again," Melvin said. "We're going to have to get people to work together and trust each other."
The Rangers won the American League West in 1996, 1998 and 1999, losing to the New York Yankees in the Division Series each year.
After Texas missed the playoffs in 2000, Rangers owner Tom Hicks lured free agent superstar Alex Rodriguez with a 10-year, $252 million contract. When the Rangers finished last in 2001, Melvin took the fall and was fired.
Diamondbacks lose again
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Scott Rolen and J.D. Drew each hit three-run homers off Curt Schilling Wednesday to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-1 victory and a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who suffered their season-high sixth straight loss.
The sweep enabled St. Louis (94-64) to draw even with Arizona (94-64) for the second-best record in the National League and the Cardinals hold the tiebreaker advantage for the homefield advantage if the teams meet in the playoffs on the basis of winning the season series, 4-2.
The Diamondbacks appeared to be a lock for the National League West title a week ago, but now hold just a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place San Francisco (91-66), which hosts San Diego on Wednesday night.
Despite the losing streak, the Diamonbacks clinched at least a wild card berth when Los Angeles lost to Colorado on Tuesday.
Other National League results: Atlanta 7, Philadelphia 1; Florida 10, Montreal 2; Pittsburgh 4, New York 3; Cincinnati 8, Chicago 2; Houston 7, Milwaukee 5; San Francisco 6, San Diego 0.
Boston eliminated from playoff contention
CHICAGO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Joe Crede homered and drove in four runs and Jeff Liefer and Magglio Ordonez also went deep Wednesday night to power the Chicago White Sox to a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
After staving off elimination for four consecutive games, the Red Sox were knocked out of playoff contention.
Rocky Biddle (3-4) won for the second time in three outings after failing to earn a victory in his first four starts this season. The righthander gave up two runs and six hits in five-plus innings. He struck out two, walked two and improved to 1-1 in his two career starts against the Red Sox.
Other American League results: Toronto 3, Baltimore 2; New York 4, Tampa bay 3; Texas 4, Anaheim 3; Minnesota 7, Cleveland 5 in 12 innings; Detroit 7, Kansas City 6 in 12 innings.
Dallas wins playoff opener
DALLAS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Sparked by a three-point performance from Antonio Martinez and two assists from Oscar Pareja, the Dallas Burn opened the MLS playoffs Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids.
Dallas scored four unanswered goals after falling behind early.
The win was especially sweet for the Burn since Rapids defender Rick Titus struggled while being directly involved in three of Dallas' four goals. Before the playoffs started, Titus was quoted as saying, "Dallas is done. They peaked too early in the season."
Ryder Cup nears after year's delay
SUTTON COLDFIELD, England, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- American Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange said Wednesday that while the terrorist attacks that forced a year's delay in the competition are never far from anyone's minds, he does not plan to use it as a motivational toll for his players.
The best golfers from the United States and Europe begin three days worth of matches Friday with the Americans trying to keep the Cup they won in record-setting comeback fashion in 1999.
The matches were to have taken place last September, but the attacks on the United States came 17 days prior to the scheduled start of the event.
As a result, the Ryder Cup was pushed back a year and now will take place in even-numbered years after being held in odd-numbered years since its beginning in 1927.
"When you talk about it and remember it, you want to do it the proper way," Strange said. "And we have 2001 on our hats. We have it on our bags. That was never changed.
"We have a couple of wonderful posters in the team rooms. It's around. I don't think it's anything that will be seriously discussed in the team room because we lived through it.
"Just think about it. Do do you all (the media) sit in this room talking about it? I think the idea is that everybody knows why we're a year late. There's no hiding that, and that's enough."
The 24 players involved went through their next-to-last practice rounds Wednesday during another day of ideal weather in the English midlands.
Some showers were forecast for Thursday's opening ceremonies, but partly cloudy skies were expected to return for the start of the matches Friday and continue through the weekend.
Eight team matches -- four in the morning and four in the afternoon -- will be played Friday and Saturday with 12 singles matches set for Sunday. Because the United States holds the Cup, it needs only to win 14 points to keep it. The European team needs 14 ½ points to win back the Cup.
Rolen to stay in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Scott Rolen declined a lucrative offer from the Philadelphia Phillies, but apparently likes one from the St. Louis Cardinalsfine.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that Rolen, acquired from the Phillies in a July 29 trade, has agreed in principle on an eight-year deal worth about $90 million. The deal would make the All-Star third baseman, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, the highest-paid player in franchise history in total value.
The newspaper said the announcement will be made before the playoffs begin next week.
According to various reports, Rolen turned down a seven-year, $90 million offer from the Phillies because he was concerned about the direction of the franchise. He avoided arbitration last winter by signing a one-year, $8.6 million deal with the Phillies.
Murray traded to Raptors
TORONTO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The rebuilding Cleveland Cavaliers traded forward Lamond Murray to the Toronto Raptors Wednesday for reserve center Michael Stewart and a future first-round draft pick.
The Cavaliers also sent a future second-round pick to the Raptors with Murray, their leading scorer. Since the end of the season, the Cavs have traded 2001-02 starters Murray, Wesley Person and Andre Miller.
Murray averaged a career-high 16.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 71 games last season, his eighth in the NBA and third with Cleveland. He shot 42.4 percent from 3-point range, good for 13th in the NBA.
The 6-7 Murray has averaged 12.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 584 career games. He should provide a scoring boost to the Raptors, whose bench was shallow after losing Keon Clark and Chris Childs to free agency.
Bure to have knee surgery
NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- New York Rangers star right wing Pavel Bure will undergo arthroscopic surgery Thursday on his twice-rebuilt right knee.
An MRI taken on Wednesday revealed that Bure has a posterior tear of the medial meniscus, but showed no damage to either the ACL or the MCL. It will not be known how long Bure will be sidelined until after the surgery.
Bure, 30, complained of stiffness in the knee during the second intermission of Tuesday's exhibition game against the New Jersey Devils, yet still played in the third period and assisted on a goal by Vladimir Malakhov. It is believed Bure sustained the injury when taken into the boards by Turner Stevenson and Mike Danton in the second period.
