BASEBALL

METS DUMP ISHII Kazuhisa Ishii’s disappointing tenure with the Mets came to an end as the Mets released the Japanese left-handed hurler yesterday. Ishii went just 3-9 with a 5.14 ERA in 19 games in 2005 after he was acquired last off-season from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old owns a career record of 39-34 with a 4.44 ERA in 105 big league games. He won a career-high 14 games in his rookie campaign in 2002 with the Dodgers.

The Mets also signed righthander Jose Parra and lefthanders Darren Oliver and Pedro Feliciano to minor league contracts yesterday.

WASHBURN LEAVES L.A. FOR SEATTLE Jarrod Washburn and the Mariners agreed to a four-year contract yesterday, giving Seattle the proven starting pitcher it has been looking for this off-season. The left-hander went 8-8 with a 3.20 ERA in 29 starts for the Los Angeles Angels last season. He is 75-57 with a 3.93 ERA during his eight-year major league career, all with the Angels. Washburn fills Seattle’s primary offseason need – another starter to help anchor a staff led by 43-year-old Jamie Moyer, who re-signed with the Mariners earlier this month.

PIERZYNSKI INKS THREE-YEAR DEAL WITH WHITE SOX Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and the Chicago White Sox agreed yesterday to a $15 million, three-year contract and avoided salary arbitration. Pierzynski, who was eligible for free agency in 2006, will earn $4 million next season and $5.5 million each in 2007 and 2008.

Signed after spending a year in San Francisco, Pierzynski helped the White Sox win their first World Series since 1917 last season. He committed one error – none over his final 119 games – and batted .257 with a career-high 18 home runs and 56 RBI.

HOCKEY

AILING LEMIEUX SIDELINED INDEFINITELY Mario Lemieux will be out of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ lineup indefinitely and won’t practice for 10 days to two weeks as doctors adjust the medication he began taking this month for an irregular heartbeat.

Lemieux’s pulse began racing again Friday night during an overtime loss to Buffalo, his first game back after being hospitalized December 7 with a trial fibrillation – a fluttering in his heart that causes his pulse to dramatically speed at times.

Lemieux did not make the trip to Buffalo for the following day’s game, and he met again Monday with his doctors to reevaluate his treatment. He was cleared to work out daily, but will be monitored at all times in case the problem flares up again.

Lemieux’s doctors thought they had determined the proper dosage of his medication before he played Friday but, Patrick said,”My personal opinion is he came back too soon this time, so why rush it? Let’s do it the right way and make sure he’s ready when he comes back.”

There is no indication his latest medical problem will force Lemieux to retire for the second time in an oft-interrupted Hall of Fame career that began in 1984. But Patrick said that can’t be ruled out if the problem doesn’t go away.

TENNIS

HINGIS TO MAKE COMPETITIVE COMEBACK JANUARY 1 Martina Hingis will make her competitive return to tennis at a WTA tournament in Australia on New Year’s Day. Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam winner, announced last month that she planned a return to the professional circuit in 2006. She retired in 2002 because of chronic leg injuries.

Maria Sharapova, ranked no. 4 in the world, is among the entrants for the Australian women’s hard-court tournament at Royal Pines. Hingis hopes to receive a wild card into the Australian Open, a tournament she won three times.

“I know I’ll get some tough matches and it will allow me to get used to the Australian summer coming from the European winter, both of which will be helpful with my preparation for the Australian Open,” Hingis said.

Hingis made a brief comeback in February at the Thailand Open to raise funds for Asian tsunami victims, and lost in the first round. She was 16 when she took over the top ranking in March 1997. She won 40 career singles titles and 36 doubles titles.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

BUSH NAMED AP PLAYER OF THE YEAR Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush of USC received 59 votes from a panel of 65 media members to win the annual AP Player of the Year award yesterday. Texas quarterback Vince Young received five votes and Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley got the other.

Bush has also won the Walter Camp player of the year award, the Doak Walker Award as best running back in the country and was a unanimous AP first-team All-American. Bush, who ran for 1,658 yards with an 8.9-yard average per carry this season, is the first running back to win AP Player of the Year since 1999, when Ron Dayne of Wisconsin did it. Ricky Williams of Texas won the first AP Player of the Year award in 1998.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DUKE’S POLL STREAK CONTINUES Only UCLA has had a better run than Duke in the Associated Press college basketball poll. The Blue Devils were no. 1 for the seventh straight week yesterday, extending their streak of consecutive poll appearances to 173 – second only to UCLA’s run of 221 from 1966 to 1980.

While Duke extended its streak – which includes preseason rankings – Arizona’s regular-season run ended. The Wildcats (5-3) dropped out of the Top 25 after being ranked in 312 polls. They had been ranked in every poll since the start of the 1987-88 season except for the preseason polls in 1995 and 2002. Arizona was in 329 of 331 polls in that span, including 28 weeks at no. 1.

Tennessee and Ohio State moved into the rankings for the first time this season, while Louisville and Texas dropped seven and nine places, respectively. Duke (10-0), which beat Valparaiso 104-77 in its only game last week, received 66 first-place votes and 1,793 points from the national media panel. Connecticut (8-0) and Villanova (7-0) held second and third, receiving five and one no. 1 votes, respectively.

– Associated Press