Sports Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

FOOTBALL
GIANTS’ WILLIAMS OUT AFTER KNEE SURGERY
Giants safety Shaun Williams will be sidelined the rest of the season after surgery on his left knee yesterday. Williams was hurt in practice last Friday, when he intercepted a pass and landed awkwardly. This is the second year in a row the season has ended early for Williams, the team’s first-round pick in 1998. He injured a knee against Philadelphia last November 16 and missed the final six games. The Giants’ starting free safety last season, Omar Stoutmire, also is out for the season with a knee injury. Veteran Brent Alexander is starting at free safety and rookie Gibril Wilson has replaced Williams.
CYCLING
DOPING CHIEF DISCOUNTS HAMILTON’S GOLD
Tyler Hamilton’s title from the Athens Games is “no longer a gold medal in the eyes of the world” because of the cyclist’s failed drug test, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency said yesterday. WADA chief Dick Pound suggested Hamilton got away with cheating in Athens, where a preliminary test indicated he had received an endurance-boosting blood transfusion. The IOC dropped its probe because Hamilton’s backup specimen mistakenly was frozen and there weren’t enough red blood cells left to analyze. That meant Hamilton was able to keep his gold medal. But Hamilton still faces a possible two-year ban over a separate positive blood test at the Spanish Vuelta two weeks after the Olympics. Hamilton’s Phonak team said both blood samples he provided there came back positive. The American insists he is innocent and has vowed to clear his name.
BASKETBALL
FOX ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Rick Fox retired yesterday, ending a 13-year career during which he was part of three NBA championship teams with the Lakers. Fox, beset by injuries last season, was traded by the Lakers to the Celtics on August 6. It had been expected he would retire rather than report to Boston’s training camp beginning Monday. The 35-year-old forward averaged a career-low 4.8 points last season with Los Angeles. Fox was bothered by foot, neck, and back injuries that limited him to 38 games. Fox began his NBA career in Boston, where he spent six seasons after being drafted out of North Carolina. He signed as a free agent with the Lakers in 1997. He had career averages of 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 930 games.
BASEBALL
INDIANS PITCHER SHOT ON TEAM BUS
Cleveland Indians pitcher Kyle Denney was hit in the leg by a bullet that pierced the team’s bus late Wednesday night, but he was not seriously hurt, perhaps thanks to white cheerleading boots he was wearing as part of a hazing ritual.
Team trainers removed the bullet from Denney’s right calf. He stayed overnight at a Kansas City hotel after being treated at a hospital, a team spokesman said. The rest of the team was unharmed.
The shooting occurred as the team rode to Kansas City International Airport after a game with the Royals. The shot was fired into the side of one of the Indians’ two buses while it was on an exit ramp. It was unknown who fired the shot or for what reason.
As part of a rookie hazing ritual, Denney was wearing a USC cheerleader’s outfit, including the high white boots, on the trip to the airport.
– Associated Press