FOOTBALL

SEAHAWKS FINALIZE DEAL FOR RICE

The trade that sent the greatest receiver in NFL history from the Oakland Raiders to Seattle was formally announced after the league trade deadline passed yesterday afternoon.

Seattle gave up a seventh-round draft choice in 2005 to acquire the 42-year-old Jerry Rice. The trade reunites Rice, a 13-time Pro Bowl selection, with coach Mike Holmgren, who was the 49ers quarterbacks coach from 1986-88 and offensive coordinator from 1989-91 when Rice played in San Francisco.

Rice became disenchanted this season when the Raiders (2-4) stopped throwing him the ball. He has five catches for 67 yards this season after leading the Raiders with 63 catches for 869 yards last season. Rice holds NFL records for most career receptions (1,524), most yards receiving (22,533) and most TD receptions (194). Seattle will pay the remainder of his $1.35 million contract this season.

BUCS TRADE MCCARDELL TO CHARGERS

Disgruntled Tampa Bay holdout Keenan McCardell got what he wanted yesterday when the Buccaneers traded him to San Diego for two draft picks. The 34-year-old wide receiver stayed away from training camp and vowed to sit out the entire season if the Bucs did not give him a substantial raise over the $2.5 million he was scheduled to earn under a contract that also would have paid him $2.75 million in 2005. The Chargers gave up third- and sixth-round draft picks in 2005 for McCardell.

COWBOYS, BROWNS SWAP RECEIVERS

Antonio Bryant was traded from Dallas to Cleveland yesterday for Quincy Morgan. The deal will give the two receivers, both former second-round picks who have shown flashes of being stars, fresh starts.

Bryant landed in coach Bill Parcells’s doghouse during a workout in June, when he threw a sweaty jersey at Parcells’s face because he was upset about his status behind Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn. He has 16 catches for 266 yards this season. Morgan caught three touchdown passes this season from Jeff Garcia, but was disappointed with his reduced role over the last 1 1 /2 seasons. He complained last week that he wasn’t getting the ball enough, arguing that he couldn’t be productive if he didn’t get any opportunities.

SOCCER

JUVENTUS EDGES PAST BAYERN; OWEN SCORES FOR REAL

Pavel Nedved scored the winner as Juventus edged Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first meeting between the two storied sides. In yesterday’s most surprising result, Manchester United was held to a 0-0 draw at Sparta Prague, while Michael Owen marked his first Real Madrid start with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev.

Owen took a cross from Ronaldo to beat goalkeeper Olexandr Shovkovskiy in the 35th minute. Real’s win was a bright spot for nine-time European champion, on its second coach of the season, and languishing in the bottom half of the Spanish league in its worst-ever start to the season.

BASKETBALL

NETS SQUEAK BY EXPANSION BOBCATS

Jason Collins had 14 points and 10 rebounds and the Nets avoided the embarrassment of being the first team to lose to the Charlotte Bobcats, rallying for a 96-89 preseason win last night.

Richard Jefferson and Zoran Planinic added 14 points apiece and Rodney Buford had 13 for the Nets, who trailed by 13 points in the first half and by nine midway through the third quarter. Jacque Vaughn had 10 of his 12 points in the second half, when the Nets shot 56.3% from the field and held the Bobcats to 36.1%.

Primoz Brezez had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the expansion Bobcats, who have lost their first three preseason games. Emeka Okafor, the second pick in the NBA draft, had 10 points and seven rebounds.

KNICKS LOSE TO JAZZ

Carlos Boozer had eight points and nine rebounds in his first preseason game for Utah, and free agent Keith McLeod finished with 11 points and six assists in the Jazz’s 113-89 win over the Knicks last night.

Michael Sweetney scored 18 points and rookie Trevor Ariza added 15 for the Knicks, who lost for the first time in the preseason. New York was without Allan Houston, who did not dress because of a sore left knee.

McLeod struggled initially when he replaced starter Carlos Arroyo early in the first quarter, but settled down in the second and helped lead the Jazz to a 71-49 halftime lead. Utah also moved shooting guard Raja Bell over a spot to the point and he led the team with 18 points.

TRACK AND FIELD

BALCO CASE: HARRISON BANNED FOR FOUR YEARS

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Alvin Harrison accepted a four-year suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on yesterday for drug violations uncovered in the Balco case. The 30-year-old sprinter, who won gold as part of U.S. relay teams at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, was charged with violations of anti-doping rules based in part on evidence presented in the Senate in May, then turned over to Usada before the Athens Games.

The evidence did not include a positive drug test, but did include information gathered during the federal probe of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Harrison became the second athlete to accept a suspension for using illegal substances despite not testing positive. Sprinter Kelli White, who forfeited two world titles, earlier accepted a two-year suspension.

Another 10 athletes have received sanctions for testing positive for THG or modafinil, two of the drugs linked to Balco. Among them is Harrison’s twin brother, Calvin, who is serving a two-year suspension.

BASEBALL

XM SATELLITE RADIO, MLB INK DEAL

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. is raising the ante in its programming battle with rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., signing an 11-year programming deal with Major League Baseball, a person familiar with the matter said late yesterday.

The deal would put baseball games for every major league team on XM’s service beginning next year, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The story was first reported in The Sports Business Daily, a newspaper published by Street & Smith’s Sports Group.

The deal would be worth $470 million in cash over eight years, with Major League Baseball having the option to extend the arrangement by up to three additional years at $60 million per year. That would make the deal potentially worth up to $650 million.

– Associated Press

BOXING

ESPN TO ANNOUNCE NEW TV BOXING PACKAGE

In a surprising renewal of their interest in televising professional boxing, executives from ESPN and the New Jersey-based promotional company Main Events will announce a monthly 12-fight package for the next year today.

Earlier this fall, citing the lack of interest among advertisers and a dwindling fan base, the ESPN network chose to pull “Friday Night Fights” off the air.

The first boxing card of the new series will feature unbeaten lightweight Juan Diaz against Julien Lorcey on November 4, and the next has heavyweight prospect Dominick Guinn going against an unknown opponent on December 3.

Shelly Finkel, who manages many Main Events fighters, said, “This will only give an outlet to more fighters. The more exposure they get, the better off they are.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

TENNIS

MASTER STROKE

Andre Agassi got past big-serving Max Mirnyi 7–6 (5), 6–3 yesterday to reach the third round at the Madrid Masters. The second-seeded Agassi, the tournament’s 2002 champion, owns a record 17 Masters titles. Agassi’s next match is against no. 14-seeded Vince Spadea or Spanish teen Rafael Nadal, a 6–2, 6–1 winner against Davide Sanguinetti yesterday.

– Associated Press