FOOTBALL

JOHNSON, EYEING RETURN TO NEW YORK, MEETS WITH GIANTS Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson visited with the Giants yesterday, a team official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of team policy. Johnson left Giants Stadium in a limousine without talking to reporters.

Johnson was released by the Cowboys a week ago, just hours after the Philadelphia Eagles released controversial wideout Terrell Owens. Dallas signed Owens to a three-year, $25 million contract last Saturday. Johnson led the Cowboys in receptions last season with 71 for 839 yards and six touchdowns.

Johnson, 33, the first overall pick in the 1996 draft, caught 305 passes for 31 touchdowns in four years with the Jets but often voiced his displeasure at not being a bigger part of the offense.

He later spent four years with Tampa Bay and caught 106 passes – but only one touchdown – for the Bucs in 2001, and was acquired by Dallas in a trade for Joey Galloway after the Bucs deactivated him for the final four games of the 2003 season following repeated run-ins with head coach Jon Gruden.

COLTS SIGN VINATIERI AWAY FROM PATRIOTS The Indianapolis Colts are switching from the NFL’s most accurate kicker to the best in the clutch. Taking a key piece from the rival Patriots, Indianapolis agreed in principle to a deal with Adam Vinatieri, the Colts said last night. Vinatieri, who twice hit winning kicks in the Super Bowl for the Patriots, replaces former Pro Bowl kicker Mike Vanderjagt.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The Patriots allowed Vinatieri to test free agency rather than putting a franchise designation on him, which would have cost the team $3 million next season. Vinatieri, 33, had been named the team’s franchise player twice, including last year, when he was paid $2.5 million.

Vanderjagt spent all eight of his NFL seasons with the Colts after playing in the Canadian Football League. He scored a franchise record 995 points and made 217 career field goals in 248 attempts, the highest accuracy rate (87.5%) in league history.

SEAHAWKS, PETERSON AGREE ON SEVEN-YEAR DEAL The Seattle Seahawks have agreed on the parameters of a new contract with San Francisco 49ers free agent linebacker Julian Peterson. Peterson’s agent, Kevin Poston, said yesterday the contract is for $54 million over seven years and includes $18.5 million guaranteed.

Peterson had been seeking a long-term contract for three years, since he became an All Pro and two-time Pro Bowler with a career-high seven sacks, 95 tackles, and two interceptions in 2003. The 49ers kept him from free agency by using their franchise-player designation on him in both 2004 – when he was seeking at least $20 million guaranteed – and in 2005.

HENDERSON SIGNS SIX-YEAR EXTENSION WITH JAGUARS Defensive end John Henderson signed a six-year contract extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday, locking up another cornerstone of one of the league’s top defenses. Terms of the deal were not released, but Henderson’s agent, Tim McGee, said the new contract gave Henderson more guaranteed money than any other NFL tackle.

A Pro-Bowler in 2004,Henderson had three sacks and 70 tackles last season, the most by any interior lineman in the AFC. The 6-foot-7, 328-pounder has started every game in four seasons and has 254 tackles and 18 1/2 sacks.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NAISMITH AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED Connecticut’s Rudy Gay, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, Duke’s J.J. Redick, and Allan Ray of Villanova have been named finalists for the 2006 Naismith Trophy as the top college basketball player in the country, the Atlanta Tipoff Club said yesterday. The club’s board of selectors, composed of journalists, coaches, and administrators, whittled a list of 30 prospective winners down to the final four.

Ray, a senior guard, is averaging 18.8 points while shooting 40% from the field. Redick, a senior guard, is averaging 27.4 points per game and has 136 3-pointers. Gay, a sophomore forward, averages 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds for Connecticut. Morrison, a junior forward, leads the nation with 28.4 points per game.

The men’s college player of the year will be announced in Indianapolis on April 2 in conjunction with the National Association of Basketball Coaches Awards Show.

GOLF

WOODS TO PLAY MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP Tiger Woods said yesterday he will play the World Match Play Championship in England the week before the Ryder Cup, a grueling tournament that features one of the most impressive lists of champions in golf. Woods has played the HSBC World Match Play Championship only one other time, losing on the final hole to Mark O’Meara in 1998 after blowing a 4-up lead at Wentworth Club.

The 16-man field has 36-hole matches each round and offers $1.75 million to the winner, the richest payoff in the world among official tournaments. U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell won last year, adding to the legacy of the event. Since it began in 1964, only four winners do not have a major championship – Graham Marsh, Isao Aoki, Colin Montgomerie, and Lee Westwood. Ernie Els has won a record six times.

The HSBC World Match Play Championship will be September 14-17, a week before the Ryder Cup in Ireland. Woods is eligible as the no. 1 ranked player in the world. The rest of the field is determined by performances in the majors, a ranking list from five top European tour events, plus two other European tour players not otherwise eligible.

– Associated Press