BASKETBALL

CHRIS WEBBER TO SIGN WITH HOMETOWN PISTONS

Chris Webber will sign with the Detroit Pistons, returning to the area where he starred in college and was tarnished in a booster scandal.

The five-time All- Star was waived by the Philadelphia 76ers last week. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after clearing waivers today, freeing him to sign a new deal.

“Joining the Pistons will allow me the opportunity to play the game I love in my hometown of Detroit surrounded by my family,” Webber said in a statement yesterday.

BASEBALL

DONTRELLE WILLIS AGREES TO $6.45 MILLION, ONE-YEAR DEAL

Newlywed Dontrelle Willis expects to become a first-time father in May, and saving for his daughter’s college tuition should be no problem.

The Florida Marlins ace agreed yesterday to a one-year contract for $6.45 million, a hefty salary for the team with the lowest payroll in the major leagues by far last year.

“I’m very happy,” Willis said. “How can you not be? I’m very appreciative to go out and have the opportunity to play baseball.”

Willis was married in December, and his wife is expecting a girl in May. “It’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “It’s something you can’t fathom, but you’d better get used to it.”

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

GINN, PETERSON HEADED TO NFL, BROHM STAYING IN SCHOOL

Ted Ginn Jr. and Adrian Peterson both sprinted to touchdowns the last time they touched the ball in college. Next up, they hope to score big in the NFL.

Ginn, Ohio State’s game-breaking receiver and return man, and Peterson, Oklahoma’s fleet running back, will pass up their senior seasons to enter the NFL draft. Yesterday was the deadline for underclassmen to declare their intentions.

“It wasn’t easy,” Peterson said. “I haven’t been sleeping much. I just put it all in God’s hands.”

A week after his team lost to Florida 41–14 in the national championship game, Ohio State tailback Antonio Pittman also said he was leaving early for the NFL.

Record-breaking Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan declared himself eligible for the draft, too, but left himself the option of returning to the Warriors.

Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, however, said he was staying in school.

“I went back and forth a little bit,” he said. “But I think in the beginning I always wanted to come back. That was really what I wanted to do.”

Brohm said he wavered before reaching a final decision Saturday night, but ultimately felt finishing what he started at Louisville was more important than the potential millions awaiting him in the NFL.