BASEBALL: Sentencing delayed
The sentencing of former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski was postponed for a third time yesterday in San Francisco at federal prosecutors’ request.
As Radomski’s sentencing was postponed from Dec. 14 to Feb. 8, lawyers for Hearst Corp. filed a 66-page brief with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York asking that names of players implicated by Radomski in a federal agent’s sworn statement be made public.
Radomski pleaded guilty in April to selling drugs to numerous athletes and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and baseball steroid investigator George Mitchell.
* Catcher Jason Kendall and the Brewers reached a preliminary agreement yesterday on a one-year contract. The deal, which includes a 2009 option that could become guaranteed, is subject to Kendall passing a physical.
NBA: Arenas out 3 months
Gilbert Arenas, Washington’s leading scorer, underwent surgery on his left knee yesterday and will miss about three months.
* Ron Artest, who scored a season-high 33 points for Sacramento against the Suns on Tuesday night, missed last night’s rematch because of personal reasons. Artest made the overnight trip from Sacramento to Phoenix, but quickly returned home to be with his daughter, who was undergoing a medical procedure.
* The NBA shifted Tim Duncan from center to forward on its All-Star ballot, boosting the San Antonio player’s chances of making his ninth consecutive start. Houston center Yao Ming gets overwhelming support from China and has been elected to start every year of his career. He received the highest vote total in history in 2005. The All-Star Game is Feb. 17 in New Orleans.
SOCCER: England loses
England will miss next year’s European Championship. Needing only a tie at home in its final qualifier, England allowed two quick goals, got an equalizer off David Beckham‘s cross and then lost to Croatia 3-2 last night at Wembley.
It’s the first major tournament England will miss since the 1994 World Cup, and is likely to lead to the departure of coach Steve McClaren.
Sweden and Turkey qualified with victories in the final round, and Portugal made it with a 0-0 tie with Finland. Russia beat Andorra 1-0 and took advantage of England’s loss to Croatia. Already in the tournament were: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, defending champion Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. The draw for the four groups is Dec. 2 in Lucerne, Switzerland.
* In qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Brazil rallied to defeat visiting Uruguay 2-1 on a pair of goals by Luis Fabiano and Ecuador routed visiting Peru 5-1.
* Red Bulls midfielder Joe Vide was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft yesterday. He played two seasons with the Red Bulls after being taken with the fifth pick overall in the 2006 supplemental draft.
COLLEGE: Fowles dunks
Sylvia Fowles became the sixth player to dunk in a women’s college basketball game and sixth-ranked LSU defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 72-37 in Baton Rouge. The other five women college basketball players were Georganne Wells of West Virginia, Charlotte Smith of North Carolina, Sancho Lyttle of Houston, and Michelle Snow and Candace Parker, both of Tennessee.