Roundup

Officials discuss baseball's future in Olympics

NEW YORK (AP) -- Baseball leaders met on Monday to discuss ways to ensure that the sport remains part of the Olympic program.

Robert DuPuy, president and chief operating officer of major league baseball, and Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Association, talked with Aldo Notari, president of the Interational Baseball Federation, Marty Mankamyer, president of the United States Olympic Committee and USA Baseball president Mike Gaski.

They will meet again on Oct. 3 in Switzerland with IOC president Jacques Rogge.

In August, the IOC Program Commission recommended that baseball, softball and modern pentathlon be dropped from the Olympics beginning with the 2008 games in Beijing. The IOC executive committee will decide whether to accept that recommendation at a meeting in Mexico City Nov. 25-26. If the recommendation is accepted, the full IOC membership would make a final decision on Nov. 27.

Schueler ends ties with White Sox

CHICAGO -- Ron Schueler resigned from the Chicago White Sox after stepping down two years ago as general manager to concentrate on scouting.

Schueler turned over the GM title to Ken Williams after the 2000 season so he could work as a scout and special consultant to owner Jerry Reinsdorf. His two-year contract as senior vice president with the White Sox would have expired in five weeks.

The 54-year-old Schueler was White Sox general manager for 10 years and stepped down after Chicago won the AL Central title in 2000. He leaves on good terms but said he was disappointed with the slide in team chemistry the past two years.

"Things don't seem the same in the clubhouse," he said. "I don't see that confidence in the players' eyes anymore, that chemistry. I felt we had things in place two years ago to make a big run for it, but it hasn't materialized."

Reds catcher to have hernia surgery

CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Reds catcher Jason LaRue will have season-ending surgery Tuesday to repair a hernia.

LaRue, placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday, established career highs this season with a .249 average and 52 RBIs in 113 games for the Reds. He tied his career high with 12 home runs.

Corky Miller, a backup catcher who played with the Reds earlier this season, will rejoin the team Tuesday as they open their final road trip of the season against the Chicago Cubs.

Miller batted .250 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 37 games this season with Cincinnati. He hit .231 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 43 games with Class AAA Louisville.

Court drops Montefusco's case against ESPN

PHILADELPHIA -- A federal appeals court refused to reinstate a lawsuit filed by former major league pitcher John Montefusco against ESPN, agreeing with a lower court ruling that his being compared to O.J. Simpson is not defamation.

Montefusco, the National League Rookie of the Year with San Francisco in 1975, had sued over a March 19, 2000, broadcast on ESPN's "SportsCenter 2000" that compared his prosecution on domestic-violence charges to the trial of Simpson for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson.

A month earlier, Montefusco had been sentenced to three years probation for trespass and simple assault against his former wife.

Ordonez wins AL Player of the Week again

NEW YORK -- Chicago White Sox outfielder Magglio Ordonez was named American League Player of the Week, becoming the first player to capture the award three times this season.

Ordonez hit four homers and batted .429 in leading the White Sox to a 5-1 record last week.

Establishing career-highs with 36 homers, 128 RBI and 113 runs scored this season, Ordonez previously won the player of the week award on May 12 and Aug. 12.

Other players considered for the award were Ordonez's teammates D'Angelo Jimenez and Mark Buehrle along with Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox.

Rolen named National League Player of the Week

NEW YORK -- St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Scott Rolen, who hit five home runs in six games, was named NL Player of the Week.

Acquired from Philadelphia before the trade deadline, Rolen hit .421, drove in eight runs and had 24 total bases for the Cardinals, who clinched the NL Central Division title with a 9-3 win over Houston last Friday. Rolen made a diving catch for the final out of that game.

Rolen won player of the week honors once previously in Aug. 2001 with Philadelphia.

Two of Rolen's teammates -- Eli Marrero and Jim Edmonds -- were nominated for the award along with Vladimir Guerrero of Montreal and pitcher Greg Maddux of Atlanta.

 

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