Braves, Giants to settle issue
ATLANTA, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The San Francisco Giants Monday night will try to become the first team to rally from a two games to one deficit in the National League Division Series when they face the Atlanta Braves in a decisive Game Five.
The National League has never had a team rally to win the Division Series after losing two of the first three games. Six teams have accomplished the feat in the American League, but only two when the fifth game was on the road.
The Minnesota Twins won the final two games of the ALDS against Oakland this season, including Game Five in Oakland on Sunday.
The Giants kept their season alive and forced the do-or-die Game Four with an 8-3 victory Sunday. Livan Hernandez pitched eight-plus strong innings, and Rich Aurilia homered and drove in four runs for San Francisco, which won an elimination game for the first time since 1962.
The Giants are trying to win their first postseason series since 1989, when they beat the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series before losing to the Athletics in the World Series.
The Braves are trying to advance to their second straight NLCS and 10th in 11 seasons. They fell to 6-2 in Division Series-clinching games, and are 10-5 all time at Turner Field in the NLDS.
Panthers reach contract with Bouwmeester
SUNRISE, Fla., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Florida Panthers agreed to terms Monday on a three-year contract with defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, their first-round pick and the third overall selection in the 2002 draft.
Bouwmeester had to reach an agreement with Florida by 3 p.m. EDT in order to play in the NHL this season. If not, he would have spent the season in juniors.
The 6-4, 210-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta collected two assists in six preseason games with the Panthers.
Bouwmeester, the top-ranked North American prospect and a smooth-skating offensive-minded defenseman, had 11 goals and 50 assists in 61 games for Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League last season. He was one of only four players in Canadian history to appear at the World Junior Championships at the age of 16.
Knicks hit Sprewell with huge fine
NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The New York Knicks Monday slapped a whopping $250,000 fine on veteran guard Latrell Sprewell for failing to inform the team that he broke his right pinky on Sept. 20, two weeks before the start of training camp.
Sprewell had surgery last Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined at least six weeks.
Knicks President Scott Layden, Coach Don Chaney and Madison Square Garden President Steve Mills met with Sprewell Monday at the team's Westchester County (N.Y.) practice facility before hitting him with the fine. He left the facility without speaking to reporters.
Layden emphasized that Sprewell was not officially suspended, but the injury will likely force him to miss the first two weeks of the regular season.
Management was not overly concerned with how Sprewell broke the hand, but rather why he waited 10 days to inform them of what had happened.
The Knicks were known in the past for excusing Sprewell for many transgressions. He skipped all of training camp in 1999 without explaining, and routinely arrived late for games during his four seasons in New York.
Orioles grant RHP Maduro free agency
BALTIMORE, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Baltimore Orioles pitcher Calvin Maduro elected to become a free agent Monday after clearing waivers last week.
Maduro went 2-5 with a 5.56 ERA in 12 games, including 10 starts, for the Orioles this past season before going on the disabled list on June 7. The righthander had surgery in June to repair a fractured bone spur and bone chips in his elbow.
The Orioles also announced Monday that righthanded pitcher Kris Foster cleared waivers and was sent outright to Class AAA Ottawa of the International League.
Foster went 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 14 games for Class AAA Rochester this past season. He went on the disabled list on May 17 with bone chips in his right elbow and was sidelined the remainder of the campaign.
Huggins out of hospital
CINCINNATI, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- University of Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins Monday morning was released from The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. He will continue his recovery from the heart attack he suffered on Sept. 28 at home.
Huggins will appear at the team's Breakfast with Bob program and speak to fans and media before Saturday's first official practice session of the upcoming campaign.
Huggins, 49, suffered a heart attack in Pittsburgh while on a recruiting trip. He was at the Pittsburgh airport when the incident occurred. He was taken to the Beaver Medical Center in suburban Pittsburgh.
Huggins, was transferred to the Christ Hospital on Oct. 2, underwent a heart catheterization and a stent placement for management of an acute myocardial infarction. Dr. Kereiakes credits Beaver for providing aggressive and expeditious care.
Huggins is the second-winningest active coach in Division I with a 500-172 record and .736 percentage in 21 seasons. He has led the Bearcats to postseason play in each of his 13 seasons at Cincinnati, and his 1991-92 squad reached the Final Four at the NCAA Tournament.
Hantuchova advances at Porsche Tennis GP
FILDERSTADT, Germany, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Eighth seed Daniela Hantuchova advanced Monday to the second round of the $625,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Hantuchova routed Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3, for her 13th victory in her last 17 matches. She has advanced to at least the quarterfinals in her last four events.
The 19-year-old Slovakian won her first career title at Indian Wells in March and appeared in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Russian Tatiana Panova and Anna Smashnova of Israel also were first-round winners Monday. Panova dispatched Italy's Silvia Farina-Elia, 6-3, 6-2, and will face third seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia in the second round. Smashnova advanced to a meeting with second-seeded Lindsay Davenport of the United States with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Switzerland's Patty Schnyder.
Davenport and Dokic received first-round byes, along with top seed Jennifer Capriati of the United States and No. 4 Justine Henin of Belgium.
Hocking may be lost to Twins
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The surprising Minnesota Twins are facing the possibility of playing the balance of baseball's postseason without veteran utility infielder Denny Hocking, who suffered a finger injury in the pile of teammates that landed in the middle of the field after they eliminated the favored Oakland Athletics Sunday in the American League Division Series.
Hocking ran to the infield to join his teammate in celebration and, at some point in the big pile, got his hand stepped on, breaking the fingernail on his right middle finger.
In the clincher against the A's, Hocking had two hits and drove in the game's first run.
Packers, Bears in NFL spotlight
CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Green Bay Packers, who recorded a season sweep last year, Monday night will play the arch-rival Chicago Bears in the weekly NFL Monday night special.
In his career, Favre is 16-4 overall against the historic series. His 38 touchdowns against Chicago is the most versus any NFL team.
Last season, the Packers swept both games with the Bears -- 20-12 at Chicago on Nov. 11, and 17-7 on Dec. 9. Favre passed for 475 yards and three touchdowns and has won 14 of the last 16 meetings.
Ahman Green provided Green Bay with a solid running game, rushing for 218 yards in the sweep, while the Packers held Chicago's Anthony Thomas to 99 yards on 37 carries.
On Monday, Favre will face a defense that is missing four starters because of injuries.
Weakside linebacker Warrick Holdman, the Bears' second-leading tackler in 2001, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery last Monday to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. Holdman sustained the injury in the first quarter of last week's 33-27 overtime loss to Buffalo.
Mike Caldwell, a 10-year veteran who started all 16 games for the Philadelphia Eagles last season and signed with the Bears as a free agent, will replace Holdman.
Couch upset with Browns fans
CLEVELAND, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Tim Couch, who struggled against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night before being sidelined with a concussion in the fourth quarter, unleashed a profanity-laced verbal tirade on fans of the Cleveland Browns after the contest.
On an errant snap by center Dave Wohlabaugh, who was playing with a broken hand, Couch chased the ball down and took a shot to the head from Baltimore linebacker Peter Boulware in the end zone. He finished 16-of-26 for 216 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Couch left the game with 10:09 remaining with what was described as a mild concussion. Before getting hurt, he struggled and the fans at Municipal Stadium were chanting for his backup, Kelly Holcomb, to replace him earlier in the second half.
"I've been in this city four years now and I've laid it on the line," Couch said. "For them (fans) to turn on me and boo me, it's a joke, it's a (bleeping) joke. I'm lying in the end zone hurt, and they're cheering. That's (bleeping) bull(bleep). Today really got to me. I do feel the players and coaches believe in me, but it's tough having to fight two battles, playing against the Baltimore Ravens and being booed in your home stadium. This is not how I wanted it to be, but I guess this is the way it is going to have to be."
LSU running back out with broken arm
BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Injury-plagued LaBrandon Toefield, the top running back for 15th-ranked LSU, Sunday underwent surgery to repair the fractured radius in his left forearm, according to head coach Nick Saban.
Toefield, an All-Southeast Conference selection at tailback last season, suffered the injury Saturday in the second quarter of the Tigers' 48-0 homecoming win over Louisiana-Lafayette. He is expected to be out of action for at least six weeks.
LSU team doctor Brent Bankston performed the 45-minute surgery. "The fracture was relatively a clean break and it went back together very easily," said Bankston. "The surgery required the placing of a plate along with seven screws into Toefield's arm to stabilize the bone. He will be in a cast for at least four weeks and will begin therapy after that."
Toefield, a junior from Independence, La., had played in all five games for the Tigers this year, and ranked second on the squad with 323 yards. He earned First Team All-SEC honors in 2001 after rushing for 992 yards and 19 touchdowns, the latter tying a league record. For his career, Toefield has rushed for 1,997 yards and 26 touchdowns in 27 regular season games for the Tigers. He missed most of last year's SEC Championship game and all of the Sugar Bowl after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee in the first half of the Tigers' 31-20 win over Tennessee.
Saban said Toefield, who redshirted in 1999, likely will not be granted a medical waiver from the NCAA to get a extra year of eligibility because of the injury because it probably is too late in the season. Also, he missed his senior season at Independence (La.) High School because of a torn ACL in his left knee, was hurt against Ole Miss in both 2000 and 2001, missing the Arkansas game in 2000 as a result of a sprained knee and missing the second half of the Ole Miss game in 2001 with a sprained ankle.
If rehab goes well, Toefield might be able to play in the Tigers' last two regular-season contests, Nov. 23 against Ole Miss and No. 29 at Arkansas.
Orlando makes two training camp cuts
ORLANDO, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Orlando Magic Monday trimmed their roster to 18 by waiving guard Corey Benjamin and forward-center Jabari Smith.
Benjamin, 24, a first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 1998, spent last season in Italy with the S.S. Sutor Montegranaro and in the American Basketball Association with the Southern California Surf. He signed with Orlando on Sept. 23. He has averaged 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 14.2 minutes per contest in 144 NBA games, all with the Bulls.
Smith was bothered by a knee injury last season. He averaged 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 11 games with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 6-11 Smith was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft. He has averaged 3.1 points and 1.1 boards in 32 career games.
Orlando plays its first preseason game Tuesday at Atlanta.
Johansson halts skid at Lyon Tennis
LYON, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson snapped a three-match losing streak Monday with a 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory over France's Fabrice Santoro at the $761,000 Lyon Tennis Grand Prix.
Johansson won for just the second time in his last seven matches. He missed the U.S. Open last month due to a shoulder injury. But the fourth seed from Sweden improved to 6-1 lifetime against Santoro - the 1997 champion.
Sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile defeated Jose Acasuso of Argentina, 6-4, 7-5, for the second time in as many weeks. Gonzalez beat his friend and practice partner in the final at Palermo eight days ago. He also topped the Argentine in the quarterfinals at Vina del Mar, where the 22-year-old Gonzalez went on to capture his first career trophy.
Australian Wayne Arthurs also booked his place in the second round with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 triumph over Spain's Fernando Vicente.
