GOLF

MICKELSON WINS BELLSOUTH CLASSIC IN PLAYOFF

Phil Mickelson made a 13-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole yesterday to win the BellSouth Classic over Rich Beem and give the defending Masters champion momentum heading to Augusta this weekend.

Mickelson, Beem, Jose Maria Olazabal, Jobe Brandt, and Arjun Atwal tied at 8-under 208 after the final round in the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament to set up the five-man playoff. Brandt and Arjun were eliminated on the first playoff hole and Olazabal was out after the third playoff hole.

With the weather sunny and in the 70s, the scores came down yesterday after the first two rounds were washed out by rain on Thursday and Friday and delayed 99 minutes on Saturday at the TPC at Sugar Loaf. Mickelson, the tour’s leading money-winner, earned $900,000 of the $5 million purse.

BASKETBALL

BOEHEIM, CALHOUN AMONG HALL INDUCTEES

Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun, who led their teams to NCAA titles in 2003 and 2004,were elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Coach and broadcaster Hubie Brown, Brazilian women’s star Hortencia Marcari, and Sue Gunter, who coached LSU to 708 wins, also were voted into the hall in balloting announced yesterday.

Boeheim and Calhoun, longtime Big East rivals, both recorded their 700th career wins this season. They have three national titles among them – two for Calhoun, whose Huskies also won the title in 1999.

Brown was elected under the category of contributor for his impact on the game as a coach, clinician, broadcaster, and ambassador. He left the Memphis Grizzlies this season when he retired and was voted NBA Coach of the Year in 2004 to go with the same award he won in 1978 with Atlanta.

PITT’S TAFT TO ENTER DRAFT

Pitt sophomore center Chris Taft said yesterday he’ll bypass his final two college seasons and enter the NBA draft. The 6-foot-10-inch Taft finished third on the team in scoring (13.3 points) and was second in rebounding (7.5). His size, quickness, and athleticism could make him a top-10 pick in the June draft.

BULLS’ DENG OUT FOR SEASON

Chicago Bulls rookie forward Luol Deng is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right wrist, Bulls General Manager John Paxson said yesterday. Deng, a starter who averages 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds, likely will undergo surgery after an MRI Sunday night revealed a torn ligament in his wrist.

Center Eddy Curry, who missed the last two games because of tests for an irregular heartbeat, could be back playing by the end of the week after being released from the hospital yesterday, Paxson said. Curry, who leads the team with 16.1 points per game, will be allowed to play if outpatient tests over the next two days are normal.

BASEBALL

38 MINOR LEAGUERS SUSPENDED FOR DRUG VIOLATIONS

Seattle’s Damian Moss and the Los Angeles Angels’ Francisco Cordova were among 38 players suspended yesterday for violating baseball’s minor league steroids policy. Oakland’s David Castillo was suspended for 60 games, the penalty for a third violation. All the others were suspended for 15 games, the ban given to first offenders.

Eight of the 38 positives came from the Seattle organization, seven from the Chicago Cubs, five each from the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland, and Texas, and four from San Diego. There were two from Colorado, and one each from St. Louis and the Chicago White Sox. The commissioner’s office said one suspension was the result of off-season testing and the rest stemmed from 925 tests conducted during spring training.

RAMIREZ SIGNS NEW DEAL WITH CUBS

Third baseman Aramis Ramirez and the Chicago Cubs agreed yesterday to a a $42 million, four-year contract that includes a mutual option for 2009. Ramirez batted .318 with 36 homers and 103 RBI last season and would have been eligible to become a free agent at the end of the 2005 season.

SWIMMING

PHELPS WINS QUALIFIERS IN TWO EVENTS

Michael Phelps overtook American record holder Jason Lezak and won the 100-meter freestyle in 49 seconds flat last night. It was the fastest he has ever swum that event. Later, he easily won the 200 individual medley in 1 minute, 57.44 seconds for his fifth and final victory in the U.S. world championship trials.

The top two finishers in each event automatically qualified for the world championships in Montreal this summer. The 19-year-old Phelps also won the 100 butterfly and the 200 and 400 freestyles. With the possibility of three relays, he could swim in as many as eight events in Montreal.

FOOTABALL

SUPREME COURT PASSES ON CLARETT APPEAL

The U.S. Supreme Court declined yesterday to consider the appeal of former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, who challenged the NFL’s draft eligibility rules.

Without comment, justices let stand a lower court ruling that said federal labor law allows teams to set rules for when players can enter the league. Clarett was two years out of high school when he sued the NFL, arguing the league rule requiring that a player be at least three years out of high school violates federal antitrust laws. He said the stipulation was arbitrary and robbed young players of the opportunity to earn a living. Regardless of how the high court acted, Clarett is eligible for this month’s draft.

HOCKEY

UNION REJECTS TWO LEAGUE PROPOSALS

The NHL players’ union rejected two league proposals yesterday during a meeting aimed at trying to end a lockout that canceled the season. The NHL, meantime, filed a second charge against the union with the National Labor Relations Board, this time challenging the threat of decertification for agents representing replacement players.

The first proposal was a team-by-team, $37.5-million salary cap deal that did not have a fixed link between player costs and league revenues; the second was based on linkage, with player costs taking up no more than 54% of league revenues. There was no counterproposal from the union.

The NHLPA has warned agents, although not in writing, that they faced possible decertification if they represented any player crossing the line to be a replacement player. The NHL hinted at the use of replacement players at a March 1 board of governors meeting.

The league’s first charge against the union was filed with the NLRB on March 25 and involved a policy that appears to financially penalize members who become replacement players.

– Associated Press