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.

BASEBALL
SHOULDER SURGERY TO END WOOD’S SEASON
Chicago Cubs right-hander Kerry Wood will undergo season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday and hopes to be ready to pitch by spring training.
With the Cubs nearly out of playoff competition, the team wanted to give Wood as much time as possible for recovery and rehab. Wood concurred with the decision, general manager Jim Hendry said. Wood was not immediately available for comment yesterday. Wood, who made his first major league relief appearance August 5 in a switch from the rotation to alleviate the soreness in his shoulder, was available to pitch last night before he is sidelined for the rest of the season.
SLUMPING PALMEIRO LOSES FIRST BASE JOB
Rafael Palmeiro has lost his job as the Baltimore Orioles’ regular first baseman, the result of a prolonged slump that began after he returned from a 10-day suspension for testing positive for steroids.
Mired in a 2-for-22 skid in which he has gone hitless in his last 14 at-bats, Palmeiro has no homers and just one RBI in six games since returning from his suspension.
WELLS SUSPENSION UPHELD; OUT SIX GAMES
Red Sox pitcher David Wells will sit out six games for pushing an umpire, having failed in his attempt to shorten the suspension yesterday and then blasting Bud Selig for the appeals process and accusing the commissioner of delaying Rafael Palmeiro’s steroids suspension.
“I don’t know what the point was even having a hearing,” Wells said. “They said I clearly bumped him and sprayed him with spit. That’s coming from a guy that works for the commissioner, so what can you do?”
Wells, who was scheduled to start Friday against Baltimore, will instead pitch Sunday.
BASKETBALL
SAN ANTONIO SIGNS VAN EXEL
Nick Van Exel, second among active players in 3-pointers, signed a free-agent contract with the San Antonio Spurs yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The 33-year-old Van Exel is coming off a season in Portland in which he posted some of the lowest numbers of his 12-year NBA career. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 53 games for the Trail Blazers. The 6-foot-1-inch guard has averaged 15.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 815 regular-season games.
BUCKS GET ERVIN JOHNSON BACK
Center Ervin Johnson returned to the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday, signing a one-year contract with the team he played for from 1997-2003. Johnson has averaged 4.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocked shots in 12 NBA seasons.
SOCCER
HARKES, RAMOS, BALBOA INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME
Former U.S. national team stars John Harkes, Tab Ramos, and Marcelo Balboa were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame yesterday. Former player Fernando Clavijo and former U.S. Soccer Federation general secretary Hank Steinbrecher also were inducted along with five players.
Ramos scored eight goals in 81 games with the national team and played in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cups. Harkes played in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and was a U.S. team captain. He had six goals in 90 international appearances. Balboa was the first U.S. player to make 100 international appearances. He finished with 13 goals in 128 games.
– Associated Press