For The Record

Scoped
The left knee of Tiger Woods, who had fluid around his anterior cruciate ligament and benign cysts removed during a one-hour procedure in Park City, Utah. Woods had been bothered by inflammation in the knee for most of the year. Still, two weeks before the operation he won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Kauai, Hawaii, by a tournament-record 14 strokes and shot a course-record 61 in the final round. Woods, 26, should be back on his feet this week and is expected to return to competition early next year.

Alleged
By Heat coach Pat Riley, that NBA officials "have an absolute hatred for me" and "are happy as hell" that the Heat (6-17) is struggling. Riley made the remarks after a 97-92 loss to the Knicks last Friday in which New York attempted 21 more foul shots than the Heat did and benefited from what appeared to be an erroneous out-of-bounds call in the waning moments. This year Miami has shot 418 free throws to 635 by its opponents, the largest differential in the league. Riley, who spoke with NBA officials by phone on Saturday, claims that after a Heat loss last year in Cleveland ref Steve Javie told him that "it's giving us [refs] absolute delight to watch you and your team die." Riley intends to present the league with a detailed case demonstrating referee bias. Says NBA V.P. of operations Stu Jackson, "The allegations are unfounded and very disturbing."

Died

Of a heart attack, former Saints defensive lineman Frank Warren, 43, whose 52� sacks place him fourth on the team's alltime list. Warren's 13-year stint with New Orleans was interrupted when he was suspended for the 1990 season for violating the league's drug policy. After retiring in '94 Warren joined the staff of then Saints coach Jim Mora as an assistant. Two years later he tried to play again, but the comeback was cut short by heart disease. "He's handled adversity on and off the field better than any player I've ever known," Mora said of Warren in '94.

?Of head injuries sustained when he fell to the ice before a hockey game, Les Costello, 74, the Maple Leafs forward who left the NHL to become a priest. Costello had two goals and two assists in the 1948 playoffs as Toronto won the Stanley Cup, but he quit the next season. In '62 Costello formed the Flying Fathers, a barnstorming squad of Catholic priests that has raised more than $4 million for charity. Costello's fatal injuries occurred before a Flying Fathers game two weeks ago.

Waived
By the Magic, forward Horace Grant, ending a six-year association with the team. Grant, 37, has missed all but five games this season with a left knee injury. "I don't know why I would deserve this," he said after his release. One possibility: Grant's scuffle with coach Doc Rivers, 41, on Orlando's Dec. 10 charter flight. Grant and Rivers have feuded since last year, and after Grant criticized teammate Tracy McGrady in an Internet column, Rivers confronted him on the plane. The two had to be separated. The next day Grant, who has played on four title teams in his 16-year-career, was let go. "That was the last straw, absolutely," said Rivers.