Daily Sports Capsule

*Index*
FOOTBALL	BASEBALL	BASKETBALL	UMASS DARTMOUTH

FOOTBALL

Joe Montana, who led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles, was among the 71 former NFL players, coaches and contributors nominated for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. Montana spent 13 seasons with the 49ers and two with the Kansas City Chiefs before retiring in 1994. Others on the list include defensive back Ronnie Lott, wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, defensive linemen Charles Mann, Leonard Marshall and Steve McMichael, and linebacker Karl Mecklenburg. A list of 15 finalists will be announced in mid-January, with the 2000 inductees scheduled to be announced on Jan. 29, the day before the Super Bowl. ... The Seattle Seahawks have lost starting center Kevin Glover for the remainder of the season because of a blood clot in his lung, his second major physical crisis in two seasons. A 15-year NFL veteran who returned to the lineup this season after having back surgery in December, Glover will be hospitalized for four or five days. Coach Mike Holmgren said Glover will probably be placed on injured reserve and replaced by Chris Gray for Monday night's game at Green Bay. ... Matt O'Dwyer, a guard for the Cincinnati Bengals, has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and third-degree assault in connection with a July bar brawl in Long Beach, N.Y. O'Dwyer, formerly of the New York Jets, originally was charged with assaulting police officers, harassment and disorderly conduct after an altercation that also involved the Jets' two starting offensive tackles, Jumbo Elliott and Jason Fabini. O'Dwyer will be sentenced Dec. 21, but will not serve time in jail. O'Dwyer is expected be fined or ordered to perform community service. ... The neck injury that has sidelined Michael Irvin is no longer his biggest hurdle in returning to the Dallas Cowboys. Tests for the herniated disc Irvin sustained earlier this month have uncovered a narrow spinal cord, a genetic condition that increases risk of serious injury if he takes another blow to the head or neck. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the threat posed by Irvin's condition will have more to do with whether the receiver plays football again than his current injury. ... Steve McNair says he's healthy, and the Tennessee Titans quarterback has been cleared by doctors. Coach Jeff Fisher is hedging his bets, however, and won't say whether McNair will start Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. McNair got most of the work yesterday, but Fisher stretched practice out an extra half hour to make sure backup Neil O'Donnell also got plenty of repetitions with the first team. The starting job has belonged to O'Donnell since McNair had surgery Sept. 19 to repair a ruptured disc in his back. ... Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell and running back Fred Taylor are both listed as probable for Sunday's game at Cincinnati. Brunell has a strained muscle near his ribs. Taylor has been out since Oct. 3 with an aggravated hamstring.

BASEBALL

Sammy Sosa met on the field with Don Baylor prior to Game 4 of the World Series yesterday at Yankee Stadium and believes the Atlanta Braves hitting coach will be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs. Baylor, who managed Colorado from 1993-98, already has interviewed with Chicago, Anaheim and Milwaukee. The Cubs are thought to have the inside track. "I pretty much understand that the strongest candidate we have is Don Baylor," Sosa said after receiving the Hank Aaron Award as the top hitter in the National League. "I believe that Don Baylor would be a good decision." The Cubs fired Jim Riggleman after finishing last in the NL Central with a 67-95 record. ... The New York Yankees' dominance hasn't turned off viewers this season. NBC posted a 16.8 national rating and a 27 share for Tuesday night's Game 3, up 9 percent from the third game of the Yankees and San Diego Padres series in 1998. The three-game combined average is a 15.4 and a 25 share, a 15 percent increase from last season, a four-game Yankees sweep. Each ratings point represents about 1 million households. Share represents the percentage of sets tuned to the show. ... Cleveland Indians reliever Steve Karsay had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, the club said yesterday. The elbow is expected to be in good shape for the start of spring training. Karsay, 10-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 50 appearances this season, went on the disabled list Aug. 25-Sept. 21 with soreness in his pitching elbow. He made two appearances in the AL playoffs against Boston, allowing three runs and five hits in three innings.

BASKETBALL

Derrick Coleman was accused of driving drunk yesterday after a collision with a tractor-trailer in Charlotte, N.C., that sent him, teammate Eldridge Recasner and a woman to the hospital. The Charlotte Hornets power forward, who has had previous run-ins with the law, received stitches for cuts to his nose and forehead and was released from Carolinas Medical Center. Recasner, a reserve guard, had a partially collapsed lung and a badly bruised chest and shoulder and will remain hospitalized for a few days. The woman was treated at the center for facial cuts and was listed in fair condition. Police arrested Coleman on a charge of driving while under the influence. Information on his blood-alcohol level wasn't immediately available. ... Connecticut, the defending NCAA and Big East champion, was the runaway No. 1 choice by the league's coaches in the preseason poll released yesterday. The Huskies, who return three starters from the team that beat Duke for the national championship last season, received 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes. Syracuse received two No. 1 votes and 131 points, nine fewer than Connecticut. St. John's was third with 119 points and Miami, which got the other first-place vote, was fourth with 114. UConn guard Khalid El-Amin was chosen as the preseason player of the year. Joining El-Amin on the preseason first team were seniors Johnny Hemsley of Miami and Etan Thomas of Syracuse and sophomores Troy Murphy of Notre Dame and Erick Barkley of St. John's. ... Master P is going back to his day job. The rap artist and producer, whose real name is Percy Miller, was waived by the Toronto Raptors yesterday along with former Duke forward Antonio Lang. The 29-year-old Miller was a training camp invitee by the Raptors.

UMASS DARTMOUTH

Goalie Jennifer Nelson made 18 saves for the women's soccer team yesterday in a 3-0 non-conference loss at Worcester State College. The game was the season finale for the Corsairs, who finished 6-12-0 overall and 2-5-0 in the Little East Conference.

-- Compiled from wire reports