NFL
SEHAWKS WITHDRAW GALLOWAY OFFER: If Joey Galloway is going to catch any passes for Seattle this season, the Seahawks say he's going to do it under his previous contract. The team told Galloway and his agent Monday that it was taking its $35 million contract offer off the table. They issued a statement saying Galloway must play under terms of his existing contract if he wants to play at all.In Scottsdale, Ariz., agent Eric Metz, who met with Seahawks officials in Pittsburgh last weekend, said he was not surprised at the team's stance.
EAGLES' OFFENSE QUESTIONED: Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid would like to see immediate results from his newly installed offense. Instead, he's getting more unanswerable questions.
This new one popped up following Philadelphia's 26-0 loss to the Buffalo Bills: After 11 consecutive quarters without a touchdown, when will the Eagles offense find the end zone again?
The answer will come around faster once a patchwork offensive line stops getting pushed around and plays with more emotion, Reid said Monday.
SAINTS' HEWITT FINED: New Orleans Saints safety Chris Hewitt plans to appeal the NFL's decision to fine him $57,000 for his helmet-first hit on San Francisco quarterback Steve Young.
Hewitt was blitzing when he hit Young just as Young tossed a fourth-down incompletion. That penalty, along with two others, kept San Francisco's game-saving drive alive as the 49ers beat the Saints 28-21 on Sept. 19.
"It was a bad play on his part. It was not a smart play," Saints coach Mike Ditka said of Hewitt's hit Monday. "I can't take my players' aggressiveness away from them, and yet, within the rules of the game, you have to be smart about what you do. The rules simply state, if you're going to hit the quarterback, then pick a spot between his shoulder pads and his thighs and hit him. Don't hit him in the head, don't hit him below the knees."
Hewitt called the fine ridiculous andunavoidable.
CARTER INJURED AGAIN: The Cincinnati Bengals, already 0-3, are losing running back Ki-Jana Carter because of injuries again. Carter, the Bengals' No. 1 draft pick in 1995, dislocated his right kneecap during the first quarter of Cincinnati's 27-3 defeat Sunday at Carolina. It could be the third time in his five pro seasons that he has suffered a season-ending injury. Bengal trainer Paul Sparling said it appears Carter will need surgery.
Baseball
FAN ATTACK: A man accused of jumping out of the stands at a Milwaukee Brewers game last week and leaping on the back of Houston Astros right fielder Bill Spiers is facing disorderly conduct charges.
Berley W. Visgar, 23, of South Beloit, Ill., was charged Monday with two counts of disorderly conduct stemming from the incident last Friday night, District Attorney E. Michael McCann said.
The sheriff's deputy who arrested Visgar said he smelled strongly of alcohol. Visgar admitted drinking at least three beers at the game and both beer and vodka before arriving at the stadium, the criminal complaint said.
Visgar told authorities he never wanted to hurt Spiers but intended to jump on his back to attract the attention of the 14,000 fans, the complaint said.
Witnesses said Visgar asked fans seated around him whether they would pay his fine if he jumped on a player or ran naked onto the field, the complaint said. Some said they would.
Visgar then scaled an 8-foot wall, ran 20 feet across the field and jumped on Spiers' back during the bottom of the sixth inning. Players from both teams quickly entered the fray.
Visgar faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for each charge. He was released from jail Sunday on $1,150 cash bail, sheriff's Sgt. Judy Knitter said. His initial court appearance is scheduled Oct. 14.
COBB'S CHOPPERS: First, Karen Shemonsky of Clarks Summit, Pa., took a tentative step into the world of sports collectibles. Then, she plunged right in.
Shemonsky was intrigued when she saw Ty Cobb's dentures estimated at between $300 and $500 at Sotheby's auction of Barry Halper's collection of sports memorabilia. "When I saw that, I said to my husband, 'That's not bad for a piece of history,"' she said. "It caught my eye. It's so odd, so different."
The Cobb dentures were one of the highlights of Monday's sale as the Halper auction pushed past $14 million. Among the other items sold was a package of underwear endorsed by Babe Ruth that went for $1,840. They were not game-used, a Sotheby's spokesman explained.
The highest-priced items Monday were former New York Yankees owner Del Webb's World Series and AL championship rings from 1947-64. They were auctioned for $310,500.
A glove worn in1960 by Mickey Mantle was sold toBilly Crystal for $239,000. Mantle's1956 Triple Crown award went for $211,500.
Shemonsky bought Cobb's dentures early in the day after scouting the auction on Sunday, driving 132 miles to Manhattan. The couple was brand new at the auction scene, but it didn't take long to get involved.
After watching for a while, Shemonsky even got in a couple of bids -- $900 for a Babe Ruth glove that went for $1,700 and $800 for a pair of Babe Ruth watches that sold for $1,400.
"I didn't push for Ruth," she said. "I knew I wanted the teeth." That might be because her father, Frank Alimenti, practiced dentistry for 53 years in Old Forge, Pa. If she had her choice, she said she would have gone after some Mickey Mantle stuff because he was her favorite player. But those were break-the-bank prices. "For Mantle, you need $20,000 or $30,000," she said.
UMPS, OWNERS HAVE ARBITRATOR:After 31/2 weeks of delays, baseball umpires and owners finally selected an arbitrator to hear their dispute, deciding on Alan Symonette, a 55-year-old Philadelphian.
Symonette has been a salary arbitrator the past two years, serving on panels that ruled for catcher Charles Johnson and against outfielder Matt Lawton.
Umpires want Symonette to rule that 22 umps were illegally terminated by the American and National Leagues on Sept. 2. Owners say they lawfully accepted the resignations the 22 submitted as part of a mass resignation strategy that backfired in July.
In a settlement worked out in Philadelphia federal court on Sept. 2, the sides agreed umpires could file a grievance under their current labor contract. After the grievance was filed, the American Arbitration Association's Philadelphia office gave the sides a list of15 arbitrators, and the owners and umpires took turns crossing out names Monday.
M'S OWNER MAKES OFFERS: In 20 years at Nintendo of America Inc., Howard Lincoln had to be quick to survive as video games went from Donkey Kong to Pokemon. On Monday, he showed he could transfer that fast pace to a much older game -- baseball.
Upon becoming chairman of the Seattle Mariners, Lincoln announced:
-- What he termed top-dollar offers to Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.
-- A timetable for hiring a new general manager.
-- His desire to avoid a legal confrontation over stadium cost overruns.
-- A previously secret agreement that makes the club the first in major league baseball to be controlled by overseas interests.
Griffey and Rodriguez, whose contracts expire next year, have said their future will be in Seattle only if the owners pay to obtain other players who can help the team make the playoffs.
Lincoln said he would boost the player payroll about as high as he can, $65 million to $70 million, about a 30 percent increase, after three years at roughly $50 million.