Cox deal in works
MARIETTA, Ga. - Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox may escape charges of striking his wife if he successfully completes violence counseling and an alcohol evaluation, his lawyer said Friday after a court appearance.
Cox agreed to counseling during a brief hearing in Cobb County Domestic Violence Court. Magistrate T.O. Sturdivant put the charges on hold for 90 days pending the outcome of counseling.
Cox, 53, was charged with simple battery May 7 after his wife called police to their home northwest of Atlanta. Pamela Cox told police her husband hit her, but she retracted the statement the next day.
The judge instructed Mrs. Cox to attend a YWCA battered women's program.
"With the counseling, if completed, the case should be dismissed," Cox's lawyer, Stephen Steele, said after the hearing.
The couple declined to comment. Mrs. Cox followed closely behind her husband as they left the courtroom, putting her arm around him.
All-Star game agreement
NEW YORK - Baseball players agreed Friday to play this summer's All-Star game after owners settled an unfair labor practice complaint stemming from their failure to make a $7.8 million benefits payment last summer.
As part of the agreement, owners said they will make an $8.2 million payment to the benefits plan no later than June 1. They agreed to make the $7.8 million payment for this summer's game on Aug. 1. The game will be played July 11 at Arlington, Texas.
"We're going to continue to keep talking to try to broaden this," union head Donald Fehr said from Boston, where he was attending a meeting of sports lawyers. "There is a long way to go and a lot of issues out there, but it's not insignificant in the scope of things."
As a result of the two-page agreement, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew the unfair labor practice complaint it filed Dec. 14. The owners' trial on the more extensive complaint of attempting to eliminate free agent bidding and salary arbitration was pushed back to June 19. The trial had been scheduled to start next Monday before administrative law judge Edwin Bennett.
Pendleton suspended
NEW YORK - Florida Marlins third baseman Terry Pendleton was suspended for four games for bumping an umpire, but he immediately appealed Friday's ruling and will be able to play pending a hearing.
Pendleton made contact with umpire Bill Hohn during Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Lanford, Cards agree
ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Ray Lankford avoided arbitration Friday and agreed to a $2.8 million, one-year deal, a raise of $1.15 million
Beck signs new deal
SAN FRANCISCO - Reliever Rod Beck and the San Francisco Giants agreed Friday to a one-year contract $2,242,500, nearly triple his $750,000 salary last season.