BASEBALL

SHEFFIELD UNDERGOES SHOULDER SURGERY Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield had surgery on his left shoulder yesterday, and the team expects him to be ready for the start of spring training.

Sheffield, 36, hit .290 with 36 home runs and 121 RBI in his first season with the Yankees. Because of his bad shoulder, he often had trouble raising his glove above chest level to catch fly balls in right field.

MARTINEZ WAITS ON YANKEES With an offer in hand from the Mets, Pedro Martinez will wait to see what the Yankees do before deciding where he’ll play next year.

The free-agent ace isn’t close to making a decision on where to sign, a person close to Martinez said yesterday on condition of anonymity. Martinez is likely to wait until the Yankees determine their level of interest, which could hinge on whether they acquire Randy Johnson from Arizona in a possible trade for Javier Vazquez. The Mets offered Martinez a $37.5 million, three-year contract last weekend.

BENITEZ AGREES TO DEAL WITH GIANTS Free agent Armando Benitez and the San Francisco Giants agreed yesterday to a $21.5 million, three-year contract, a move that stabilizes the club’s closer role that’s been in flux since Robb Nen got injured two years ago. Benitez bounced back from a subpar 2003 season to save an NL-leading 47 games in 51 chances and lead all relievers with a 1.29 ERA for the Florida Marlins this year.

DC COUNCIL APPROVES BALLPARK FOR NATIONALS The District of Columbia Council approved financing a ballpark for the Washington-bound Expos after voting yesterday to cap funding at $630 million. The council approved the plan 6-4 with three members, including Chair Linda W. Cropp, voting present. The measure must be approved a second time to become law. The deal signed in September by the Expos and Washington Mayor Anthony A. Williams did not contain a cap.

PRO FOOTBALL

CLEVELAND’S DAVIS RESIGNS Cleveland Browns coach Butch Davis resigned under pressure yesterday, leaving a last place team with five games left in a sinking season. The team went 24-36 and made the playoffs just once in Davis’s four seasons as head coach. Davis left with three years remaining on a contract worth about $12 million. Offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie will coach the Browns for the rest of the season.

Pressure had been mounting on Davis for weeks as the Browns’ season crumbled with a score of injuries to key players and a handful of agonizing losses. The Browns are 3-8 this year and just 8-19 since the end of the 2002 season.

GRAMATICA CUT BY TAMPA BAY The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released struggling kicker Martin Gramatica yesterday and replaced him with Arena Football League kicker Jay Taylor.

The team’s career scoring leader missed three field goals in Sunday’s 21-14 loss at Carolina and was 11-for-19 overall this season. He missed seven of his last nine attempts and had not made a field goal over 22 yards since October 10.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

WILLINGHAM FIRED BY NOTRE DAME Coach Tyrone Willingham was fired by Notre Dame yesterday after three seasons in which he failed to return the storied football program to prominence.

Willingham went 21-15, including 6-5 this season. The Fighting Irish lost 41-10 to no. 1 USC on Saturday. It was not immediately clear whether Willingham would coach the team at the Insight Bowl on December 28.

Willingham, the first black head coach in any sport for the Irish, was hired from Stanford. With Tony Samuel fired by New Mexico State and Fitz Hill resigning from San Jose State last week, there are now only two black head coaches in Division I-A: Karl Dorrell at UCLA and Sylvester Croom at Mississippi State.

BARNETT NAMED BIG XII COACH OF THE YEAR Nine months after he was suspended by his own school, Colorado coach Gary Barnett was named Associated Press Big XII Coach of the Year yesterday for leading his troubled program to the conference title game. The Buffaloes (7-4) took the Big XII North title by winning their last three games. They will play no. 2 Oklahoma on Saturday for the conference championship.

Colorado has posted a startling turnaround since the program was hit by a sex and recruiting scandal last spring. Barnett was suspended over comments he made related to the controversy, and many thought he would lose his job. Instead, athletic director Dick Tharp resigned, and the school made sweeping changes to its football recruiting policies.

CONNECTICUT HEADED TO FIRST DIVISION I-A BOWL

Connecticut is headed to the Motor City Bowl, the Huskies’ first postseason as a Division I-A team. UConn (7-4) will play the winner of tomorrow night’s Mid-American Conference title game between Toledo (8-3) and Miami of Ohio (8-3).

GEORGIA, BOISE STATE ACCEPT BOWL BIDS Georgia accepted an invitation yesterday to meet Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, the Bulldogs’ third straight appearance in a New Year’s Day game. Considered a national title contender at the beginning of the season, no. 8 Georgia (9-2) fell short with losses to SEC rivals Tennessee and Auburn.

Wisconsin (9-2) accepted an Outback invitation after losing its final two regular-season games to Michigan State and Iowa.

Also yesterday, Boise State accepted a bid to play Louisville in the Liberty Bowl on December 31 in a matchup of the nation’s top two offenses. No. 7 Louisville (9-1) leads the nation in total and scoring offense, while no. 11 Boise State (11-0) is second in both categories.

PEACH BOWL WANTS FLORIDA The Peach Bowl wants Florida to play in the December 31 game. The bowl’s selection committee chose the Gators over Alabama.

There’s one caveat: An Auburn loss in the SEC championship game could force the Peach Bowl to go in a different direction, though that scenario is highly unlikely. Even so, the Peach Bowl is not expected to formally announce Florida as one of its teams until after Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Tennessee. No. 20 Florida (7-4) is expected to play the loser of Saturday’s Miami-Virginia Tech game.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DUKE OUSTS MICHIGAN STATE J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing each scored 29 points and made five 3-pointers, helping 10th-ranked Duke hold off no. 11 Michigan State 81-74 last night in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Redick had 21 points in the first half, and Ewing took up the slack after the break, scoring 15. Paul Davis led the Spartans with 17 points.

– Associated Press