Soccer
DUNN JOINS FREEZZ: James Dunn is finally an official member of the Utah Freezz.
It would've happened over a month ago, but Dunn was tied up in a contract dispute with his former team. The defender's contract with the National Professional Soccer League didn't end until Sept. 30, but even though the Baltimore Blast's season ended in April, they wouldn't relinquish his rights.
Dunn, who turns 30 on Thursday, has played on four championship teams both in indoor and outdoor soccer. He was the NPSL Defender of the Year in 1999-2000.
Golf
SKINS GAME: Tiger Woods will join Greg Norman, Jesper Parnevik and defending champion Colin Montgomerie in the 19th annual Skins Game, which for the first time will require players to post the low score on back-to-back holes to earn money.
Woods will play the Thanksgiving weekend event for the first time since 1997 as part of his endorsement deal with Disney, which owns ABC Sports.
Each of the first six holes will be worth $25,000, while the next six will be worth $50,000 and the Nos. 13-17 will be worth $70,000. The 18th hole is worth $200,000.
All four players have agreed to donate 20 percent of the $1 million purse to the victims of the New York disaster.
Hockey
SABRE RE-SIGNS: Forward Erik Rasmussen re-signed with the Sabres, agreeing to a three-year contract. Rasmussen had 12 goals and 31 points last season.
NO ERREY COMEBACK: Bob Errey's second attempt at a comeback with Pittsburgh failed, clearing his way to return to their broadcast booth.
Errey, a forward on the Penguins' Stanley Cup championship teams in 1991 and 1992, hadn't played in the NHL since 1998 when he asked general manager Craig Patrick to allow him to attend training camp.
Errey tried a similar comeback two years ago but, like this season, was cut late in camp. He will now resume working as the analyst on the Penguins' radio network.
HEADED TO UTAH: The Florida Panthers have assigned center Serge Payer to the Utah Grizzlies. The 6-foot, 203-pounder split time between the NHL and AHL last season.
PLANTE PASSES AWAY: Former Utah Grizzlies media relations director Jean-Marc Plante collapsed and died while playing street hockey in Alabama Sunday. The 31-year-old, who was the athletic marketing director at the University of Alabama-Huntsville at the time of his death, was scheduled to assist SLOC officials at hockey venues during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Tennis
KREMLIN CUP: The Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Russia, opened without stars Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport, who withdrew in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
In first-round women's action, wild-card entry Anastasia Myskina beat Magui Serna of Spain 6-2, 6-2, Francesca Schiavone of Italy defeated Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-4, 6-2, and Daja Bedanova of the Czech Republic eliminated Cristina Torrens-Valero of Spain 6-0, 6-3.
On the men's side, where Yevgeny Kafelnikov is seeking his fifth straight title, sixth-seeded Fabrice Santoro breezed into the second round by beating Galo Blanco 6-2, 6-1.
Track and field
SLANEY DENIED: The Supreme Court refused to hear Mary Slaney's challenge of drug-testing rules, ending her hopes of reclaiming a medal she lost after being accused of doping.
The distance runner claimed that birth control pills may have led to her only positive test in a 25-year career.
Skiing
NO OLYMPICS FOR BURAAS: Olympic champion Hans Petter Buraas of Norway will miss the entire ski season and the Salt Lake City Games because of a neck injury.
He took what appeared to be a minor spill during training in May. He was later hospitalized with neck pain and loss of sensation in his arms.