Baseball
MLB MOVES: The Baltimore Orioles plugged an infield hole by agreeing to a $12.5 million, three-year contract with free agent second baseman Delino DeShields and re-signed outfielder B.J. Surhoff to a $14 million, three-year deal.The Tigers brought back Willie Blair, acquiring the right-hander in a trade that sent infielder Joe Randa to the New York Mets.
And in some lesser deals, Houston re-signed infielder Tim Bogar to a $1.1 million, two-year contract, Atlanta signed pitcher Mike Remlinger to a $1.1 million, one-year deal and Toronto signed outfielder Geronimo Berroa to a minor-league contract that guarantees him $500,000.
Overshadowing all that was the Clemens chase. The five-time Cy Young Award winner asked Toronto on Wednesday for a trade to a contender or closer to home, and the Blue Jays said they will comply within seven to 10 days. The New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are thought to be the top contenders.
Football
MARSHALL WINS MAC: Chad Pennington threw a 19-yard pass to Nate Poole for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and Marshall beat Toledo 23-17 Friday night for the Mid-American Conference championship.
Marshall (11-1) heads to the Motor City Bowl as the MAC champion for the second straight year and will face Louisville (7-4) on Dec. 23 in Pontiac, Mich.
BILLS LB IN FATAL: Buffalo Bills linebacker Marlo Perry was involved in a car accident that left one person dead late Friday afternoon in Cheektowaga, N.Y.
Police said Perry struck a car being driven by Valentine Stachowski of Buffalo after Stachowski failed to yield while making a left turn. A passenger in Stachowski's car, 70-year-old Alfreda Dannheim of Cheektowaga, was ejected and killed.
Perry was treated at Buffalo's Erie County Medical Center for cuts and bruises and released.
Police said Perry was not at fault for the accident.
POLICY FINED FOR TAMPERING: The NFL fined Cleveland Browns president Carmen Policy $10,000 Friday for comments the league said violated its tampering rules.
Policy's remarks, made at a civic luncheon last week, were in answer to a question about whether the expansion team would be interested in Green Bay Packers coach Mike Holmgren.
The Browns president responded by saying he was not permitted to talk specifically about Holmgren, "because that would be tampering."
But he added, "Let's just say if a head coach who's out there, who has won a Super Bowl, who has been to another Super Bowl, who is coaching a team in contention for the playoffs this year, who is an offensive-minded coach, looking to perhaps move when the season's over, were to be interested . . . "
COACH RESIGNS: Southwest Missouri State football coach Del Miller resigned Friday after he apparently received an unfavorable evaluation.
SCOTT JOINS CLEMSON: It was a business decision when Brad Scott was fired at South Carolina. And it was just business Friday when Scott joined Tommy Bowden's staff at Clemson, the Gamecocks' arch rival.
Scott, who was fired Nov. 23 after five seasons at South Carolina, spent 11 years with Bowden's father, Bobby, as a Florida State assistant. He was the offensive coordinator for four seasons, including the 1993 national championship season.
Basketball
'CAT DEPARTS: Kentucky forward Myron Anthony, suspended at the start of the season for his role in a hit-and-run accident and kept mostly on the bench since his return, has left the team.
Tennis
DAVIS CUP: After five grueling hours, Andrea Gaudenzi succumbed to the pain.
His shoulder aching, his knee bloody, his white outfit caked with clay, Italy's top player grunted, grimaced and gutted it out deep into the fifth set Friday against Sweden's Magnus Norman in the opening match of the Davis Cup final.
Seeing, though, that he could no longer swing the racket with his injured right shoulder, Gaudenzi retired from the match while serving at 6-6 in the deciding set. Officially, the score was 6-7 (9-11), 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 6-3, 6-6 (30-0).
Sweden can clinch its seventh Davis Cup title today by winning the doubles.
Golf
MILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE: Nick Price, seeking his third victory and second in a row at the Million Dollar Challenge, held a one-shot lead over Mark O'Meara after Friday's second round in Sun City, South Africa. Price, the opening-round leader, fired a 4-under 68 for a 135 total, holding off O'Meara, the Masters and British Open champion, who shot a 67.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Paul Gow of Australia took a one-shot lead in the Australian Open by firing a 2-under-par 70 in Friday's wind-blown second round. in Adelaide, Australia. Gow had a 36-hole score of 141.
Greg Norman, playing his first 72-hole tournament since coming back from shoulder surgery, shot a 10-over-par 82 while Fred Couples shot his second consecutive 76. Both were 11 strokes behind the leader.
JCPENNEY CLASSIC: The teams of Kris Tschetter and Steve Jones along with Chris Johnson and Steve Lowery shot 8-under-par 63s Friday to move into a three-way tie with Meg Mallon and Steve Pate in the JCPenney Classic at Palm Harbor, Fla.
Auto racing
NASCAR HONORS: The NASCAR awards banquet Friday night was a rainbow-colored affair for the fourth straight year, thanks to Jeff Gordon and the Hendrick Racing team.
Gordon's team, known as the Rainbow Warriors thanks to the multi-colored logo of primary sponsor DuPont, garnered most of the accolades and most of the money handed out during the ceremony in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
It was the fourth straight Winston Cup championship for the team owned by Rick Hendrick and currently run by younger brother John. Gordon has won titles in 1995, 1997 and 1998, while teammate Terry Labonte beat out the younger driver for the championship in 1996.
Skiing
POSTPONED: Heavy fog forced postponement of a men's World Cup downhill race Friday in Whistler, British Columbia. Organizers hoped to hold the race Saturday.
WOMEN'S SUPER-G: Christiane Mitterwallner of Austria, never better than 19th in four years of World Cup racing, surprised herself and her heavily favored teammates Friday by winning a women's World Cup super-G at Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
Renate Goetschl, who won two downhills for Austria last weekend in Canada, was giving interviews and receiving congratulations from the other skiers when Mitterwallner, 24, moved into the gate as the 37th starter.
Mitterwallner crossed the finish line in 1 minute, 15.64 seconds, only .05 seconds better than Goetschl, who was .04 better than Germany's Martina Ertl.
Figure skating
NHK TROPHY: Evgeny Plyushchenko of Russia took the lead in men's singles at the NHK Trophy figure skating championships on Friday in Sapporo, Japan, while Elena Liashenko of Ukraine led the women's competition.
Marina Anissina and Gwendal Feizerat of France were in front in the ice dancing competition.