BASEBALL

WAGNER CREDITS NO-TRADE CLAUSE FOR DEAL WITH METS Billy Wagner and the Mets finalized their $43 million, four-year contract yesterday, and the ace reliever was introduced at a Shea Stadium news conference. Wagner saved 38 games for Philadelphia last season and turned down an offer of just more than $30 million over three years to stay with the Phillies.

While the Mets offered a full no-trade clause, Wagner said Philadelphia was willing to include it for only the first two years of a contract. “It came down to the no-trade,” he said. “To me that played a very important role.”

A four-time All-Star, Wagner went 4-3 with a 1.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 75 appearances this year. He has 284 career saves. He takes over as the Mets’ closer from Braden Looper, who became a free agent after going 4-7 with a 3.94 ERA and 28 saves in 36 chances. Wagner’s agreement has a $10.75 million average salary, topping Mariano Rivera’s $10.5 million as the highest for a reliever.

TENNIS

HINGIS EYES RETURN TO WOMEN’S TOUR Martina Hingis is returning to professional tennis – again. The former top-ranked player, who retired from the WTA Tour three years ago because of an ankle injury, won five Grand Slam singles titles in her career and was the youngest player to be ranked no. 1.

The 25-year-old Swiss player made a brief comeback in February, losing in the first round of the Volvo Women’s Open in Thailand. Her previous match was at Filderstadt in October 2002, but she believed she prematurely returned to competition following left ankle surgery, and withdrew from all remaining tournaments.

Hingis won 40 singles titles and 36 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She was only 16 when she took over the top ranking in March 1997. She spent 209 of the next 247 weeks in the top spot. Hingis made her debut on the WTA Tour on October 4, 1994, four days after her 14th birthday. In 1997, she won three of the four majors and missed the Grand Slam by losing the French Open final to Iva Majoli. In 1998, Hingis won all four doubles titles at the majors.

FOOTBALL

RAMS’ MARTZ WANTS TO RETURN Rams coach Mike Martz wants to return to the field after missing the last six games with a heart ailment. Martz said yesterday he would ask his doctor for permission to return to his job. The Rams are 3-3 under interim coach Joe Vitt since Martz stepped down in October with endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the lining of the heart.

“This is the best I’ve felt,” Martz told TV station KMOV. “And when you feel this good, you feel like you should be working.”

Martz said he last saw his doctor a week ago, but hasn’t set up an appointment that he hoped would clear him to return. Martz has made several appearances at Rams Park since stepping down and said he felt much better in recent weeks. Still, the news caught team officials somewhat by surprise.

“Our response is until he is cleared medically, any type of conjecture is premature,” team spokesman Duane Lewis said.

TRACK AND FIELD

GATLIN, FELIX NAMED NATION’S TOP TRACK ATHLETES Sprinters Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix will receive Jesse Owens Awards as the top American male and female track and field athletes of the year. The awards from USA Track & Field will be presented Thursday during a Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Jacksonville, Fla.

The 23-year-old Gatlin, who also won the award in 2004, swept the 100- and 200-meter events at both the IAAF World Outdoor Championships and the USA Outdoor Championships. At the USA meet, the concluding event of the Visa Championship Series, he became the first man since 1985 to win the 100/200 double.

Felix, 19, won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics. This year, she dominated the women’s 200 meters, earning her first world title and winning every race she entered.

Previous winners include Edwin Moses, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Mary Decker, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Florence Griffith Joyner.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

UCONN SLIPS BY SCRAPPY ARMY SQUAD Rudy Gay had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals, and Connecticut shook off a sluggish start to beat Army 68–4 last night. The third-ranked Huskies (5-0) were coming off victories over Arizona and Gonzaga to win the Maui Invitational, but they struggled for long periods against the scrappy Black Knights (2-3).

Jarrell Brown had a career-high 26 points for Army, including four 3-pointers that helped the Black Knights go up by as many as six points in the first half. The Huskies finally got their up-tempo game going with the help of Rashad Anderson, who scored 11 points in the final 3:43 of the period. He had three 3-pointers and a steal in a 16-5 UConn run, and the Huskies closed the half with a 35-27 lead.

– Associated Press