Daily Sports Capsule
BASEBALL
Florida Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff yesterday, and although he will miss the 1998 season, a team spokesman said he is expected to pitch again. Fernandez led the Marlins this year with 17 wins, but pitched less than three innings in a 7-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves in the National League playoffs. The tear was discovered after that game. He finished 17-12 with a 3.59 ERA and 183 strikeouts. ...Paul Molitor, Buck Martinez, Larry Bowa and Tim Johnson are on general manager Gord Ash's short list to be the next manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. Molitor, 41, helped Toronto win its second straight World Series in 1993, stayed three years in all, then spent his 19th and 20th major-league seasons with the Minnesota Twins, mainly as a designated hitter. He filed for free agency Tuesday. ... Despite spirited lobbying by a few fans and front office executives, the Kansas City Royals seem to be leaning toward staying in the American League. Sources close to the team said this week they would be surprised if the Royals did not opt to remain in the AL Central and let Milwaukee exercise its option to switch to the National League. However, there is still support for switching to the NL, where the Royals would have natural geographic rivals in St. Louis, Chicago and Denver. ... A New York Family Court judge has dropped child abuse charges against Mets outfielder Carl Everett and his wife but ruled that Linda Everett inflicted "excessive corporal punishment" on their two children and that her husband did little to stop her. The children will remain in foster care while Berman decides whether to return custody to the Everetts. In the meantime, the Everetts will be allowed supervised visits with the children.
FOOTBALL
Tony Bennett, one of the Indianapolis Colts' top defensive players, was placed on injured reserve yesterday, meaning he's out for the season. Bennett had his second arthroscopic knee surgery within a month on Sunday. Bennett injured the knee at Pittsburgh on Oct. 12. The Colts also signed quarterback Kerwin Bell to take the roster spot of Jim Harbaugh, who's on the non-football injury list after chipping a bone in his right hand after an altercation with former Buffalo quarterback Jim Kelly, now an NBC broadcaster. Bell, who played in one game last season, had been released by the Colts in training camp. ... Middle linebacker George Koonce, the Green Bay Packers' leading tackler last season, practiced yesterday for the first time since injuring a knee in last season's playoffs. Koonce underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee to repair the anterior cruciate ligament on Jan. 9. The Packers now have three weeks to decide whether to activate him or put him on injured reserve, ending his season. ... Deciding that 102,501 seats just aren't enough, the University of Michigan is planning to add 5,200 seats to perpetually sold-out Michigan Stadium. The plan would make Michigan's stadium the largest in the nation again, a distinction it held from 1992-1995. The University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium became the largest stadium with the addition of seats for the 1996 season. It has 102,544 seats.
HOCKEY
The future of the Edmonton Oilers became further clouded yesterday when owner Peter Pocklington postponed a news conference that would have dealt with the team's proposed sale. The Oilers gave no reason for the postponement, and the news conference has been rescheduled from Friday until next week. Pocklington was in Houston this week to try to close a deal to sell the Oilers to Leslie Alexander, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets. Reports last week said Pocklington and Alexander are proposing a deal in which Alexander would buy the team for $85 million and keep it in Edmonton for three years. He would then sell the team to local buyers if the team was making money and be granted an expansion franchise in Houston instead. ... Jacques Martin, who led the Ottawa Senators out of last place and into the playoffs, is the lowest-paid NHL coach, according to the Nov. 7 edition of The Hockey News. Martin earns $236,000 this season to rank last in the league, just behind Vancouver's Tom Renney and Montreal rookie Alain Vigneault, who are earning $254,000 apiece. Detroit's Scotty Bowman, tops the list at $970,000, followed by New Jersey's Jacques Lemaire at $850,000.
BASKETBALL
The Washington Wizards placed starting center Gheorghe Muresan and reserve guard Tim Legler on the injured list yesterday. Muresan missed all seven preseason games with a stretched tendon in his right ankle. Legler is sidelined with a pulled right hamstring. The 7-foot-7 Muresan also had injury problems heading into last season, missing training camp and the first five games with a strained hip flexor. He returned to average 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 60 percent from the floor in 72 games.
TENNIS
Boris Becker made another farewell yesterday, his last match in Paris that ended with a 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-3 loss to Pete Sampras in the second round of the Paris Open. Becker is playing only selected events as he winds up his career and has retired from Grand Slam tournament play. He is a three-time champion in Paris but his ranking (23rd) was not enough for him to be seeded this year. In other action, Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden upset No. 2 seed Michael Chang 6-3, 6-2.
SOCCER
Diego Maradona, beset by rumors of a new positive doping test, said yesterday he has decided to retire from soccer. Maradona, who turns 37 today, played Sunday in Boca Juniors' 2-1 Argentine Football Association victory at River Plate. On Tuesday, radio reports in Buenos Aires said Maradona tested positive after undergoing a drug test after the game. The reports could not be confirmed and the AFA said results would not be announced until today.
-- COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS
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