In Brief

BASEBALL

Cardinals GM: Team didn't know McGwire used steroids

Not long after the St. Louis Cardinals hired Mark McGwire as hitting coach, general manager John Mozeliak began to worry he might have to find a replacement.

Mozeliak said Saturday he began preparing an "exit strategy" while the team waited for McGwire to address the issue of steroids. McGwire was hired in late October but waited about two months before admitting last week that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player.

Mozeliak said the Cardinals didn't know McGwire had used steroids when he was hired and that they would have made the move anyway.

McGwire, the former single-season home run king, will make his first public appearance in St. Louis since the hire at the team's Winter Warm-Up today. He'll be onstage at a hotel near Busch Stadium fielding questions from fans and speaking with the media.

McGwire, 46, has apologized for using steroids and human growth hormone on and off for a decade, including 1998 when he hit 70 homers to break Roger Maris' 37-year-old record.

Also: The Chicago White Sox avoided salary arbitration with two of their top players, agreeing to a one-year, $7.5 million contract with closer Bobby Jenks and a one-year, $3.2 million deal with outfielder Carlos Quentin.

The moves came one day after both players filed for arbitration.

Jenks was 3-4 with a 3.71 ERA and 29 saves last season, falling one save shy of his fourth consecutive 30-save season.

Quentin batted .236 with 21 home runs and 56 RBIs in 99 games while battling plantar fasciitis in his left foot, a condition that landed him on the disabled list from May 29 to July 19.

Right-handed reliever Nick Masset and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $2.58 million, two-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

Masset went 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA in a team-high 74 appearances last season. In two seasons with Cincinnati, the 27-year-old is 6-1 with a 2.32 ERA.

Former All-Star Jose Offerman threw a punch at an umpire during an argument in a Dominican winter league game in Santo Domingo, the second time in 21/2 years that he has attacked someone on a baseball field.

Offerman, manager of the Licey Tigers, appeared to hit first-base umpire Daniel Rayburn in the face or neck with his fist during a heated discussion in a game against the Cibao Giants. Rayburn fell to the ground.

Offerman was detained by stadium security and taken to a police station to wait until the end of the game to see if Rayburn would press charges.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Alabama's Saban on BCS title: 'Not the end ... the beginning'

Thousands of Alabama fans came out to celebrate the Crimson Tide's Bowl Championship Series title with fireworks and cheers on a chilly, damp day in Tuscaloosa, then headed home with a promise from coach Nick Saban.

Speaking from a stage erected at midfield of Bryant-Denny Stadium with the team behind him, Saban told a crowd estimated at 38,000 that he's not done winning at Alabama.

"I want everybody here to know this is not the end," Saban said. "This is the beginning."

UNLV ATHLETICS

Bell, Helms pace Lady Rebels in upset victory over Utah

Freshman Mia Bell sank a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer with 29 seconds to play to lift the Lady Rebels to a 54-49 upset victory over Utah in a Mountain West Conference game in Salt Lake City.

The victory, the first in league play for UNLV (8-10, 1-3), snapped Utah's 19-game home win streak and was the team's first at the Huntsman Center since 2004.

A 3-point try in the closing seconds by Pahranagat Valley graduate Kalee Whipple missed for Utah (10-6, 1-2). Whipple led all scorers with 23 points.

Erica Helms had 19 points for UNLV.

Also: The Rebels men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept Air Force in a Mountain West Conference meet at Buchanan Natatorium.

The men (6-1, 4-0 MWC) captured 12 events to win, 164-129. Kier Maitland (500-yard freestyle, 1,650 free), Kyle Virva (50 and 200 free) and David Seiler (100 backstroke, 200 individual medley) won two events each.

The women (2-7, 2-4 MWC) rolled 208-80, with Anja Crawford (100 backstroke, 200 IM) and Rachelle Zuccaro (1- and 3-meter diving) posting dual victories.

Freshman Emily Block captured the 60-meter sprint in a time of 7.61 seconds as the Rebels track and field team opened its indoor season at the Lumberjack Invitational in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Deja Edwards won the triple jump (39 feet, 0 inches) and Bailey Kuestermayer was first in the 3,000 meters (10:57.64).

Sophomore Rumyana Terzieva advanced to the finals of flight-two singles in the Freeman Memorial Tennis Championships at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Terzieva defeated Arizona State's Amanda Martin, 6-4, 6-1. She will meet Stanford's Natalie Dillon in today's flight final.

MISCELLANEOUS

Wranglers' offense on empty in second straight loss to Aces

The Wranglers' offensive woes continued in a 3-0 ECHL loss to the Alaska Aces in Anchorage.

One night after managing just one goal against the Aces, Las Vegas (16-18-4, 36 points) was stymied by goaltender Frank Doyle, who stopped 37 shots. The Wranglers also were 0-for-10 on the power play.

Forward Alexandre Imbeault scored two of Alaska's three goals.

Also: Tina Charles scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help top-ranked Connecticut rout No. 3 Notre Dame 70-46 in Storrs, Conn., for its 56th straight women's basketball victory.

Maya Moore added 20 points for the Huskies, who have the second-longest winning streak in women's basketball history. They are 14 short of the NCAA and school record set from 2001 to 2003.

Tennessee point guard Melvin Goins and guard Cameron Tatum will rejoin the Volunteers today after serving suspensions for their Jan. 1 arrests.

Coach Bruce Pearl said he decided to reinstate the pair after learning more details from the legal investigation and Tennessee's student judicial affairs process.

Pearl suspended Goins, a junior, and Tatum, a sophomore, along with forward Tyler Smith and center Brian Williams after the four were arrested on misdemeanor gun, drug and alcohol charges during a traffic stop.

Marcos Baghdatis warmed up for the first Grand Slam of the year with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Richard Gasquet in the final of the Sydney International.

Baghdatis, runner-up to Roger Federer at the 2006 Australian Open, won the first set before the players had a 75-minute wait during a rainstorm at Sydney Olympic Park.

Pole winner Andy McMillin of San Diego leads the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge in his Trophy-Truck heading into today's final eight laps over the 6.25-mile course at the Laughlin Events Park in Laughlin.

Racing will resume at 7 a.m. today, with the featured Trophy-Truck division scheduled to start at 1 p.m.