'KISS CAM' ARREST: A wanted man arrested after his parole officer spotted him kissing his girlfriend on the scoreboard at a Cincinnati Reds game pleaded guilty to drug charges Monday.
David Horton was sentenced to two years in prison for trafficking and possession of cocaine, and 2 1/2 years for violating his parole.
Horton and his parole officer attended the May 7 Reds game in which the smooching couple appeared on the "Kiss Cam" at Great American Ball Park. The parole officer and a police officer arrested Horton at his front-row seat.
Horton had been arrested March 27 and was indicted for trafficking and possession of cocaine. He was accused of failing to appear in court on those charges.
Horton, 24, was convicted of felonious assault in 1999 for stabbing two men. He was granted parole after serving two years of a four-year prison sentence.
RICE IN CWS: Wade Townsend struck out nine, and Dane Bubela's two-run single helped Rice advance to the College World Series for the fourth time in seven years with a 5-2 victory over Houston on Monday.
The Owls (53-11) won the best-of-three series and will play in the CWS for the second straight year. Rice, 1-6 in the CWS, was eliminated with two straight losses last season.
Townsend (10-1) worked eight inning and allowed four hits, including an RBI single by Travis Tully in the first inning. He walked two and retired 11 straight over one stretch.
Bubela broke a 2-all tie in fourth with a two-out single, and Justin Ruchti added an RBI single in the sixth.Houston was trying to reach the CWS for the first time since 1967.
OREGON WOOS MLB: Three baseball officials planned to meet Tuesday with Portland's mayor and business leaders to discuss moving the Montreal Expos to Oregon.
Baseball's delegation includes general counsel Tom Ostertag, executive vice president for administration John McHale Jr. and chief financial officer Jonathan Mariner.
Portland is bidding for the Expos along with northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. It is unclear whether the team will be moved for the 2004 season.
Baseball owners want funding for a new ballpark in place before deciding on a new home for the Expos. Various proposals have been made, but full funding has not been put in place in any of the three areas.
RED SOX COACH: Dave Wallace, a former pitching coach for the Mets and Dodgers who was working in the Los Angeles front office, was hired by the Boston Red Sox on Monday to be their interim pitching coach while Tony Cloninger takes a leave of absence to fight cancer.
It's not clear how long Cloninger, who has been receiving chemotherapy near his Kings Mountain, N.C., home, will be out. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer this spring.
"First and foremost in our mind is Tony's recovery, and getting him back to health," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "Tony's going to take some time to get better. His role when he returns will depend on his health."
Although Wallace has spent most of his time in the NL, he said he would quickly get up to speed on the Red Sox staff. He was already aware of some of the problems, including a series of injuries and the team's 5.26 ERA — second-worst in the league.
DODGERS SIGN PIAZZA: The Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to terms with seven selections from last week's draft, including first-round pick Chad Billingsley and Thomas Piazza, the younger brother of Mike Piazza.
Billingsley, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-handed pitcher, was the 24th overall pick in the draft. He was 6-1 with a 1.49 ERA and one save in 11 games at Defiance, Ohio, High.