The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 22

THE COURIER-NEWS SPORTS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1997 C-4 Wilpon: Mets not cheap VEGAS LINE ON TV TODAY Co-owner pleads for (Home Team in CAPS) '60 seconds of some positives' from the New Sport Tim Event Channel Olympics 1:00 Men's hockey, Nordic skiing TNT Basketball 7:00 Miami-Providence ESPN Basketball 7:30 Nets-Hawks FSNY Basketball 7:30 Butgars-Seton HaH FSNY2 Olympics 8:00 Ladies figure skating, Alpine Skiing CBS Basketball 8:00 Knicks-Jazz MSG, TBS Basketball 9:00 Duke-Ctemson ESPN Olympics 12:35 Skiing, Men's Hockey CBS York press. By KIT STIER Staff Writer Derrick Barnes, LB, England; Anthony Cobbs, CB. Frankfurt; Jake Delhomme, OB, Amsterdam; Larry Townsend. DE, England New York Giants Kory Blackwet, CB, Scotland; Wi Brice, Amsterdam. Oakland Raiders Kenyan Branscomb, WR, Frankfurt; Scott Curry, Frankfurt Taase Faumui, DE, Amsterdam; Shay Muirbrook, LB, Barcelona; Shatony Sargeant, DT, Rhein; Todd Studer.

QB. Scotland. Philadelphia Eagles Anthony Ree. CB. England.

Pittsburgh Steeiert Aaron Heme. Frankfurt; Mike Quinn, QB, Rhein. San Francisco 49ert Vince Bradford. LB, Rhein; Shon Mitchea. RB.

England; Brandon Noble, DT, Barcelona; Reynard Rutherford, RB. Frankfurt Curtis Shearer. WR, Scotland. Seattle Seahawks Jim Arellanes. OB, Rhein; Greg Bloe-dom, England: T.J.

Cunriingham, Amsterdam; Oscar Gray, RB, England; Robert Wilson, WR, Rhein. St Louis Rams Tyji Armstrong, TE, Amsterdam; WendaH Gaines, Amsterdam; Tom Nutten, Amsterdam; Kurt Warner. OB, Amsterdam. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Kenneth McDanief, Rhein; Steve Lee, RB, Scotland. Tennessee Oilers George McCulkxigh, CB, Barcelona; Isaiah Mustala, WR.

Barcelona; James Rltchey. QB, Barcelona; Armon Williams, CB, Barcelona. Washington Redskins Patrick Augafa, 0 Frankfurt Tim Denton, CB, Rhein; Danny Knight, Rhein; Eric Matthews, WR, Rhein; Alex Smith, RB, Barcelona. the Mets are unwilling pay for star players. "I think it's an unfair perception.

Right now, we have a payroll just short of $50 million. "But that's not what's guiding us. We're guided by trying to put the best team on the field in 1998, without destroying ourselves in 1999 and 2000." Wilpon said the Sheffield deal isn't dead yet. He spent about as much time discussing the possibility of obtaining Sheffield as be did about the need to sell tickets. Yet when pressed about his club's efforts to acquire Sheffield, Wilpon conceded the asking price remains too high.

At the same time, he said the Mets aren't 100 percent convinced the outfielder would be a good fit "I can tell you Butch Huskey isn't going anywhere," Wilpon said of the current Mets right fielder. Wilpon said reports that the Mets asked the Marlins to pick up $19 million of Sheffield's $60 million, six-year contract and that the Marlins offered to take only $11 million, were way off base. Mets general manager Steve Phillips said his last words to the Marlins about Sheffield were, "If you guys change your mind, you know where I am." Wilpon said any deal the Mets might make for Sheffield would require the Marlins to pay more of the contract than they last offered. Besides, Wilpon said, the Mets don't need a star of Sheffield's magnitude because the club has a couple on the horizon Huskey, third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo and shortstop Rey Ordonez. Wilpon said Hundley has already achieved star status.

"I think as we go from being a very poor team to a good team, that changes," Wilpon said. "I think that changes if we win and get in the postseason. You'll bear a lot about the players, just like the Yankees." Wilpon grew weary of the discussion about Sheffield and the talk of what the Mets may or may not be lacking in the way of talent The owner called for "60 seconds of some positives!" Wilpon said unkind words written about his team don't bother him. "But we do need some people to believe, because we need to sell some tickets," Wilpon said. "We need some revenue to sell some tickets.

We need some revenue to do the things we do." Team vice president David Howard said ticket sales are up about 20 percent over the same period a year ago. NBA FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG WASHINGTON No Lint Milwaukee ATLANTA 4 Nets ORLANDO No Une Minnesota UTAH 84 Knicks La Lakers 24 PHOENIX SEATTLE 9 Portland VANCOUVER Pick Boston Charlotte 8 GOLDEN ST COLLEGE BASKETBALL FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG SETON HALL 2 Rutgers FLORIDA ST Pick Georgia Tech CAROLINA ST 7 Virginia PROVIDENCE 2 Miami VATECH 2 Dayton Miami-0 8 OHIO LASALLE Pick Duquesne MICHIGAN 9 Toledo Michigan 1314 MICHIGAN INDIANA ST 5 Illinois MARSHALL 5)4 Bowling Green Richmond 3 GEORGE MASON UMASS 3 Rhode Island ST JOHN'S 9 Boston Co GEORGIA 11 Alabama NC WILMINGTON 9 Va Common WM MARY 11 Carolina ODU 7 American Kentucky No Line FLORIDA TEXAS TECH 4V4 Oklahoma St MINNESOTA 11 Perm St IOWA ST Pick Kansas St OKLAHOMA TO Baylor Mississippi LSU TEXAS K'A Texas Memphis 4 TULANE ILLINOIS 18 N'westem SO MISS 4 St Louis Purdue 3 IOWA ARKANSAS Carolina NEBRASKA 8 Missouri SW MISSIOURI ST1054 Bradley VANDERBILT 9 Auburn Illinois St 2 EVANSVILLE Duke 2 CLEMSON Uda 11 Use EresnoSt 17 San Jose St 1. Stanford 2. LSU 3. Southern California 4.

Miami 5. Florida 6. Alabama 7. Arizona 8. Arizona State 9.

Texas Tech 10. Washington 11. Michigan 12. Rice 13. Auburn 14.

UCLA 15. South Alabama 16. South Carolina 17. Georgia Tech 18. Duke 19.

Baylor 20. Tennessee 21. Ohio State 22. Wichita State 23. Clemson 24.

Texas 25. Oklahoma 9- 0 2- 0 7- 2 6- 3 6- 3 3- 0 16- 0 .10 3 7- 2 3- 0 0- 0 5- 2 7- 4 6- 1 4- 2 3-3 9-0 5- 3 6- 1 1- 2 0- 0 5- 1 7- 0 5- 0 play. Next: at No. 11 Duke, Thursday. 11.

Duke did not play. Next vs. No. 10 North Carolina State, Thursday. 12.

Florida (197) tost to Georgia 792. Next: vs. Mississippi State, Sunday. 13. Florida International (21-1) did not play.

Next at Mercer. Thursday. 14. VanderMt (18-6) did not play. Next at DePaul, Thursday.

15. Virginia (17-7) did not play. Next: at Wake Forest Thursday. 16. Hawaii (22-1) did not play.

Next at Tulsa, Thursday. 17. Alabama (19-7) did not play. Next at Georgia Southern, today. 18.

Western Kentucky (20-7) did not play. Next: vs. Lamar, Saturday. 19. Clemson (20-6) did not play.

Next vs. NC-Asheville, today. 20. Utah (19-3) did riot play. Next at UNLV, Thursday.

21. Washington (16-6) did not play. Next vs. No. 5 Stanford, Thursday.

22. Stephen F. Austin (21-3) dk) not play. Next: vs. Texas-Arlington, Saturday.

23. Wisconsin (18-8) dk) not play. Next vs. No. 9 Illinois, Friday.

24. Iowa State (20-5) did not play. Next at Kansas State, today. 25. Southwest Missouri State (184) did not play.

Next vs. Indiana State, Thursday. PORT ST, LUCIE, Fla. Co-owner Fred Wilpon says any perception that the New York Mets are cheap is untrue and unfair, that there will be organization-wide disappointment if the team doesn't reach the playoffs this year and that he'd like just a minute of positive spin on his ballclub from the New York media. Wilpon addressed a wide range of topics with reporters after the Mets workout was cut short by heavy rains at Thomas J.

White Stadium Tuesday. Wilpon said he feels he and Nelson Doubleday own a contender, even if the club hasn't obtained a top-flight starting pitcher, catcher Todd Hundley could miss most of the season and Gary Sheffield remains Florida's right fielder. "I don't think it's true," Wilpon said when asked about the perception that HOCKEY Yanks have a catcher's duel Odds provided by National Sports Services, Inc. (httpwwwnssnet) PRO BASKETBALL American Basketball League EASTERN CONFERENCE Pet GB x-Columbus 36 8 .818 y-New England 24 20 545 12 Atlanta 15 29 .341 21 Philadelphia 13 31 .295 23 WESTERN CONFERENCE Pet GB x-Portland 27 16 .628 y-Long Beach 26 18 .591 y-SanJose 21 22 .488 6 y-Colorado 20 23 .465 7 Seattle 14 29 .326 13 x-dinched conference title y-dinched playoff berth Monday's Game Columbus 101, Atlanta 70 Tuesday's Games Late game not included Long Beach 106, Philadelphia 93 San Jose at Colorado, (n) Portland at Seattle, (n) End Regular Season By CECIL HARRIS Staff Writer 1 National Hockey League EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division TPts GF GA New Jersey 34 16 6 74 158 110 Philadelphia 29 17 9 67 160 123 Washington 26 19 11 63 156 143 Y. Rangers 17 24 16 50 140 154 Y.

Islanders 20 29 8 48 148 158 Florida 18 27 12 48 138 160 Tampa Bay 10 37 9 29 104 185 Northeast Division TPts GF GA Pittsburgh 29 16 13 71 160 132 Montreal 28 21 7 63 168 141 Boston 23 22 11 57 140 139 Ottawa 23 25 10 56 130 140 Buffalo 22 21 12 56 143 138 Carolina 21 29 7 49 139 161 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division TPts GF GA Dallas 36 13 8 60 174 115 Detroit 31 15 12 74 177 136 St. Louis 30 21 8 68 173 145 Phoenix 24 22 11 59 162 159 Chicago 22 25 9 53 134 133 Toronto 19 29 7 45 129 162 Pacific Division TPts GF GA Colorado 29 13 16 74 172 138 LosAngeles 26 20 9 61 161 146 San Jose 21 28 7 49 139 152 Edmonton 19 28 10 48 141 164 Anaheim 19 28 9 47 137 171 Calgary 16 30 11 43 149 178 Vancouver 16 33 8 40 153 203 Sunday, Feb. 8-Tuesday, Feb. 24 Olympic Break The Women's Top Twenty Five The top 25 teams In The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Feb. 15, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last ranking: Record Pts Pv 1.

Tennessee (38) 28-0 950 1 2. Connecticut 24-2 887 2 3. Old Dominion 21-2 884 3 4. Louisiana Tech 20-3 841 4 5. Stanford 15-5 795 6 6 Texas Tech 184 754 7 7.

North Carolina 20-5 691 5 8. Arizona 16-5 623 9 9. Illinois 164 618 9 10. N.Carolina St 194 571 11 11. Duke 184 559 13 12.

Florida 19-6 536 8 13. Fla. International 21-1 456 14 14. Vanderbilt 18-5 442 15 15. Virginia 17-7 377 12 16.

Hawaii 22-1 352 16 17. Alabama 19-7 280 24 18. W. Kentucky 19-7 268 18 19. Clemson 20-6 257 21 20.

Utah 19-3 246 20 21. Washington 164 208 17 22. Stephen F.Austin 20-3 170 22 23. Wisconsin 18-8 115 19 24. Iowa St.

20-5 64 23 25. SW Missouri St. 184 62 25 Others receiving votes: Nebraska 36, Rutgers 36, Drake 35, Iowa 31, UCLA 28, Memphis 27, Oregon 23, Liberty 16, Marquette 16, Kansas 11, Tulane 11, New Mexico 9, Colorado St. 8, Georgia 8, LSU 7, Auburn 6, Kent 5, George Washington 4, Bowling Green 3, Butler 2, American U. 1.

E. Kentucky 1. Girardi Posada Asked how he intends to do that, Posada pondered the question for nearly half a minute. "I don't know how to tell you. I just have to do it," he said.

"In spring training, I'm going to get a chance to catch every pitcher. Last season, Doc (Gooden) was the really the only pitcher I got a regular chance with until September." Girardi fractured his left index finger in a September game, enabling Posada to make 11 straight starts. Posada had a career-best five-game bit streak during that span and found a personal comfort zone. "I felt so relaxed knowing that I was going to play that day and the next day, no matter what That helped a lot," he said. "I was catching the best pitchers on the team and we were winning, so Joe wasn't missed." Despite Posada's burgeoning skills, the Yankees almost certainly would miss Girardi were he to miss an extended stretch of games.

With questions concerning the Yankees' starting rotation Cone's comeback after surgery, Irabu's and Mendoza's effectiveness Girardi's ability to handle a staff may be needed more than ever. "As a catcher, my No. 1 job is defense. That's where the focus has to be," Girardi said. "I don't think about the competition.

I just prepare myself to play and let the organization decide what my role will be." COLLEGE BASKETBALL Top 25 Farad How the top 25 teams In The Associated Press' college basketball poll fared Tuesday: 1. North Carolina (26-1) did not play. Next: vs. North Carolina State, Saturday. 2.

Duke (23-2) did not play. Next: at Clem-son, today. 3. Arizona (22-3) did not play. Next at Oregon Stale, Thursday.

4. Kansas (28-3) did not play. Next: vs. Iowa State. Saturday.

5. Purdue (22-4) did not play. Next: at Iowa, today. 6. Utah (21-2) did not play.

Next: vs. Air Force, Saturday. 7. Connecticut (23-4) beat Notre Dame 88-79. Next at Villanova, Saturday.

8. Kentucky (22-4) did not play. Next at Florida, today. 9. Princeton (21-1) beat Pennsylvania 71-52.

Next: vs. Harvard, Friday. TAMPA, Fla. Both Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada say their competition for the New York Yankees' No. 1 catcher's job is friendly, but one wouldn't know it from their quotes.

Posada at Legends Field before Tuesday's workout "I know that sooner or later, I'm going to be the No. 1 guy. Hopefully, that'll come real soon. I want it this year. I'm here to try to win this job." Countered Girardi: "What Jorge needs most is experience.

He's going to be the Yankees' catcher some day. It's going to happen. But I'm not going to give up the job. He's going to have to take it." Girardi, at 33, is seven years older than Posada and a polished handler of pitchers and caller of games. Yet it's hard to overlook Posada's potential as a strong-armed, switch-hitting catcher with power from both sides.

Several teams inquired about Posada last year and during the offseason, but the Yankees wouldn't part with him. Girardi, meanwhile, was left unprotected in the expansion draft. "I can't say I was surprised, because every year when I go into spring training, I have to earn my job," Girardi said. "There's competition, but I just prepare myself to play every day as I always have." Although manager Joe Torre says TENNIS TRANSACTIONS Tuesday's Sports Transaction By The Associated Press BASEBALL National League NEW YORK METS-Named Tim FoS manager of Kingsport of the Appalachian League. FOOTBALL National Football League BALTIMORE RAVENS-Acquired RB Errict Rhett for a 1 999 third-round draft pick.

Re-signed TE Eric Green to a two-year contract. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS-Named Jon Torine conditioning coach. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS-fleleased 5 Dana HaH. MINNESOTA VIKINGS-Re-signed DL John Handle to a five-year contract NEW YORK JETS-Signed WR Bernard Holmes. ST.

LOUIS RAMS-Named Ed White offensive line coach. HOCKEY National Hockey League CAROLINA HURRICANES Assigned 6 Tripp Tracy from Richmond of the ECHL to New Haven of the AHL MONTREAL CANADIENS Assigned -Brett Clark to Fredericton of the AHL Recalled Brad Brown from Fredericton. NEW YORK ISLANDERS Recalled 0 Strudwk and Jason Holland from Kentucky of the AHL American Hockey League PORTLAND PIRATES Announced that Jan Benda has been recalled from loan to the German National Team. Assigned LW 'Rob Bonneau to Hampton Roads of the ECHL COLLEGE AKRON Named Kevin Brown assistant track and field coach. FORDHAM Named Tom Pajic recruiting coordinator.

HUNTINGDON COLLEGE Named Lisa Donaldson women's basketball coach. LAFAYETTE Named Tim Lenahan men's soccer coach. PURDUE Announced the resignation of Bob Prange. men's and women golf coach and director of golf operations, eflec-tive June 30. TEXAS Named J.B.

Grimes offensive line coach. Girardi is his catcher, he also says Posada will get a chance to win the job. Only Girardi and Posada will start behind the plate this spring. Their playing time will most likely be equal. "I'll look at last year's records and see their number of at-bats and there's a minimum number of at-bats that you like to see regulars get and they'll both get that minimum," Torre said.

"That may be 60 to 70 at-bats." Being the underdog, Posada must make the most of his chances. He's a tireless worker who has bulked up from 175 pounds to 208 the last three years. But he lacks Girardi's experience in dealing with pitchers as diverse as David Cone, Andy Pettitte, David Wells, Hideki Irabu and Ramiro Mendoza. "I've got to make the pitchers feel comfortable when I'm behind the plate," Posada said. "Make them feel good.

Win their confidence." Big East Women's Standings (Records through Feb. 17) Big East 7 CONFERENCE OVERALL TEAM PCT. PCT Rutgers 12 3 JM0 16 7 .696 Miami 10 5 .667 15 8 .652 Providence 6 9 .400 10 13 .435 Syracuse 6 10 .375 11 13 .458 Georgetown 4 11 567 7 16 304 SetonHal 4 11 567 6 17 261 Pittsburgh 2 14 .125 5 19 208 Big East 6 CcrrectcutM 1 .933 25 2 .926 Wanova 12 4 .750 18 6 .750 NotieDamelO 5 .667 16 7 .696 BostonCot 9 6 .603 14 9 .609 WVigha 6 9 .400 10 13 .435 StJohn's 4 11 267 6 17 261 European Community Championship ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) Results Tuesday of the $1 million European Community Championship at Antwerp Sports Palace: Singles First Round Albert Portas, Spain, def. Dominik Hrbaty, Slovakia, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-1), 64. Bohdan Ulihrach, Czech Republic, def.

Fabrice Santoro, France, 6-2, 64. Thomas Johansson, Sweden, def. Jonas Bjorkman (3), 6-1, 6-2. Cedric Pioline, France, def. Magnus Gustafsson, Sweden, 64, 7-6 (8-6).

Karol Kucera (7), Slovakia, def. Johan Van Herck, Belgium, 6-7 (3-7), 64. 6-2. Petr Korda (1), Czech Republic, def. Wayne Ferreira, South Africa, 6-3, 6-2.

Faber Grand Prix HANOVER, Germany (AP) Results Tuesday of the $450,000 Faber Grand Prix; Singles First Round Andrea Glass, Germany, def. Barbara Paulus, Austria, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Lisa Raymond (8), Wayne, def. Alexandra Fusai, France, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Sabine Appelmans, Belgium, def.

Irina Spiriea (5), Romania, 4-1, walkover. Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgaria, def. Meike Babel, Germany, 64, 6-2. FOOTBALL BASEBALL ROUNDUP BASEBALL Remaining Marlins visit White House HIGH SCHOOLS iu. stamora cm not play.

Next vs. Washington, Thursday. 11 New Mexico (20-3) did not play. Next vs. Texas-El Paso, Thursday.

12. UCLA (19-5) did not play. Next: at Southern California, today. 13. South Carolina (194) did not play.

Next at No. 16 Arkansas, today. 14. Michigan State (19-5) beat No. 22 Michigan 80-75.

Next: at Wisconsin, Saturday. 15. Mississippi (17-5) rJd not play. Next at LSU, today. 16.

Arkansas (20-5) did not play.vs. No. 13 South Carolina, today. 17. Cincinnati (19-5) did not play.

Next at Alabama-Birmingham, Thursday. 18. Massachusetts (19-6) did not play. Next vs. Rhode Island, today.

19. Texas Christian (23-4) did not play. Next: vs. No. 11 New Mexico, Saturday.

20. West Virginia (21-5) did not play. Next vs. Seton HaH. Sunday.

21. Syracuse (20-5) did not play. Next at Rutgers, Saturday. 22. Michigan (18-8) lost to No.

14 Michigan State 80-75. Next: vs. Indiana. Sunday. 23.

Illinois (18-8) did not play. Next vs. Northwestern, today 24. George Washington (20-6) did not play. Next: vs.

Temple. Sunday. 25. Maryland (15-8) did not play. Next: vs.

Wake Forest Thursday. Tuesday's ColleoeBasketbaH Scores Boston U. 83, Northeastern 79 Pittsburgh 80, Georgetown 79 Princeton 71, Perm 52 SOUTH E. Tennessee St 81, W. Carolina 69 UNC-Greensboro 58, Furman 56 MIDWEST Connecticut 88, Notre Dame 79 Michigan St.

80. Michigan 75 SOUTHWEST No scores reported from the SOUTHWEST. FAR WEST No scores reported from the FAR WEST. Women's Top 25 Fared How the top 25 teams in The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll fared Tuesday: 1. Tennessee (29-0) did not play.

Next vs. Louisiana State, Sunday. 2. Connecticut (25-2) did not play. Next vs.

St. John's, today. 3. Ok) Dominion (22-2) beat NC-Wilm-kigton 92-51. Next vs.

William and Mary, Friday. 4. Louisiana Tech (20-3) did not play. Next: vs. Arkansas State, Saturday.

5. Stanford (15-5) did not play. Next: at No. 21 Washington, Thursday. 6 Texas Tech (184) did not play.

Next: at Oklahoma, Thursday 7. North Carolina (20-5) did not play. Next vs. Maryland, Friday. 8.

Arizona (16-5) did not play. Next: vs. Oregon State. Thursday. 9.

Illinois (1 8-6) did not play. Next: at No. 23 Wisconsin, Friday. 10. North Carolina State (204) did not NFL-Europe Allocation NEW YORK (AP) The hst of players the National Football League teams have allocated to NFL Europe, with name of NFL team, players name, position and Europe team.

Baltimore Ravens Wally Richardson, QB. England. Buffalo Bills Jim Ballardm OB, Scotland; Joe Cum-mings, LB, Barcelona; Mitchell Galloway. Frankfurt; Jerry Reese, WR, Scotland; Mike Rockwood, T. Scotland.

Carolina Panthers Marquette Smith, RB, Rhein. Chicago Bears Mark Lee, 0E, Scotland: Chris Miller, WR, Scotland; Marcus Robinson, WR, Rhein; Ernmett Zteli, Scotland. Cincinnati Bengals Joe Davis, Barcelona; Bill Kushner, PK, Frankfurt Denver Broncos Duane Ashman, DE, Rhein; Darrick Branch, WR, Frankfurt Hillary Butler, LB, Frankfurt; Josh La Rocca, QB, England; Matt Lepsis, Barcelona. Detroit Lions Jerome Davis, DE, Frankfurt, Chris Dit-toe, OB, Frankfurt; Kevin Sheahan, DT, Amsterdam. Green Bay Packers Joe Andruzzi, Scotland; Anthony Fooje, CB, Barcelona; Dmo Phifyaw, RB, Scotland.

Jacksonville Jaguars Kevin Devine, CB, Amsterdam; Ricky Parker, CB. Amsterdam; Malcolm Thomas, RB, Amsterdam. Kansas City Chiefs Kotto Cotton. WR, Amsterdam: Kwame Ellis, CB, Scotland; Reggie Jones, WR, England. Miami Dolphin Nate Cochran.

Rhein; Barry Stokes, Scotland: Randy Wheeler. Rhein. Minnesota Vikings Obafemi Avanbadeio, RB. England; BOYS BASKETBALL Union County Tournament Second round Scotch Plains-Fanwood vs. Cranford at Dunn Center, Elizabeth, 7 Westfiek) vs.

Roselle at Rahway, 8:30 New Providence vs. Union State Prep Tournament Rutgers Prep at Wardlaw-Hartridge, 6 Greater Middlesex Tournament South Ptainfieid at Carteret. 7 South River at Piscataway, 7 Regular season North Hunterdon at Hunterdon Central, 5:15 Warren HHIs at voorhees, 7 GIRLS BASKETBALL State Prep tournament Quarterfinals GUI St. Bernards at Rutgers Prep. 6:30 HunterdonWarren Tournament preliminary Belvidere at Souih Hunterdon, 7 Regular season Manville at Dayton, 5:30 Voorhees at North Warren, 7 North Hunterdon at Hunterdon Central, 7 WRESTLING East Orange at North Plainfield 4 Plainfiek) at Shabazz, 4 Somerville at New Providence 4 Seton HaH Prep at Watchung Hills, 5:15 Middlesex at Monroe, 5:30 Goverjior Livingston at Caldwell, 8 ICE HOCKEY West'Essex at Bridgewater-Raritan, 9:15 SWIMMING Boys Public A semifinals 1998 Spring Training Schedule Wednesday, Feb.

25 U. of Miami vs, Florida at Viera, 1 p.m. i Arizona State vs. Anaheim at Tempe, 3:05 p.m. Thursday, Feb.

26 Minnesota vs. Toronto at Dunedin, U. of Georgia vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, 1:05 p.m. Florida State vs.

Tampa Bay at St Petersburg, 1:05 p.m. Milwaukee vs. Oakland at Phoenix, 3:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. Colorado at Tucson, 3:05 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 27 Boston College vs Boston at Fort Myers, 1:05 p.m. Minnesota vs. Texas at Port Charlotte, 1:05 p.m. Florida vs.

Tampa Bay at St Petersburg, 1:05 p.m. Philadelphia vs. Toronto at Dunedin, 1:05 p.m. 'Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh at Bradenton, 1:05 p.m.

Kansas City vs. Atlanta at Kissimmee, 1:05 p.m. Houston vs. Los Angeles at Vera Beach, 1:05 p.m. Detroit vs.

New York Yankees at Tampa, 1:15 p.m. Oakland vs. Anaheim at Tempe, 3:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs vs. Seattle at Peoria, 3:05 p.m.

San Diego vs. Milwaukee at Maryvakt, 3:05 p.m. Chicago White Sox vs. Arizona at Tucson, 3:05 p.m. San Francisco vs.

Colorado at Tucson, 3:05 p.m Baseball America Top 25 DURHAM, C. (AP) The Top 25 college baseball teams as determined by the staff of Baseball America magazine with records through February 15th and rank (tie games are not included in records): Record Pvt WASHINGTON (AP) Finally arriving at a place that understands cutbacks, the Florida Marlins showed up at the White House on Tuesday missing 10 of their World Series heroes. "They're all working on the '98 budget cuts," Bobby Bonilla told President Clinton, who burst into laughter. Nineteen Marlins greeted the president in the East Room of the White House following an offseason of payroll purges. Twelve of the 25 players who beat Cleveland last October are no longer with the team, and just two of the former players Jeff Conine and Tony Saunders showed up Tuesday.

"There's no use going to Washington," said pitcher Robb Nen, who spent the day at Scottsdale, practicing with his new team, San Francisco. "It's not worth it to meet the president," Nen said. "If I was still with those guys, maybe. But now, I'm dedicated to this team. My goal now is to get ready for March 31." CARAY'S PROGNOSIS POOR: Longtime Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, 78, remained unconscious and in critical condition in Rancho Mirage, and a spokesman said the family is "hoping for another miracle." will become a free agent after the season.

OLD-TIMERS AWARDED: In San Francisco, a group of former players was awarded $58,000 and interest for royalties owed by major league baseball for the use of their pictures and names. Ronald Katz, a lawyer for the players, said the total jury award, with interest, should surpass $80,000. Although it is not a substantial amount when distributed among the 384 former players in the class that brought the lawsuit, he was pleased with the outcome. BROWN REPORTS: evin Brown, traded in December from the World Series champion Florida Marlins to the San Diego Padres, reported to his new team in Peoria, Ariz "I think we all felt like we got blind-sided with the dismantling of the team," Brown said. "But after the trade came about, reality kind of sank in and you kind of move on." Brown, who had permission to report four days late, played catch and did some defensive drills.

"It was just as though he didn't miss any days at all," Padres pitching coach Dave Stewart said. "It's a credit to him. He's a hard worker and it's obvious that he did some work in the offseason." "Things do not look good," Bill Wills said. "However, in Harry's past, there have been many times when things did not look good for recovery, and he's beaten them every time." OWNERS 3, PLAYERS 0: Baseball owners improved to 3-0 in salary arbitration Tuesday when a three-man panel ruled for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their case against catcher Jorge Fabregas. Fabregas, Arizona's fourth pick in the expansion draft, will get $875,000 this year rather than the $1.5 million he requested.

"I'm disappointed it went the way it did. It's time to move on. It's time to play baseball," Fabregas said. "I have no bitter taste against the Diamondbacks. They're a class organization.

I'm happy to be here. I stood up for what I believed in." Fabregas made $275,000 last season, when he hit .258 for the Chicago White Sox with seven homers and 51 RBIs in 360 at-bats. Seven more cases remain among the 81 players who filed for arbitration last month. In the biggest, New York Yankees Bernie Williams will ask today for a raise from $5.3 million to $9 million, which would be a record for a one-year baseball contract. The Yankees have offered $7.5 million to the outfielder, who says he Scotch Plains-Fanwood vs.

Westfiek) at Antonio Banks, CB, Amsterdam; Grant North Brunswick High School, 7:30 Boys Parochial semifinals St. Josephs-West New York at Pingry 8 Girts Public A semifinals Baynham, TE, Barcelona; Duane Butler, CB, England; Todd Kurz, PK, England; Eric Newlon-Lenape Valley vs. Westfiek) at Moss, WR, England; Artie Ulmer, LB, Frank' furt; Anthony Walker, CB, Rhein. New England Patriots Norm brunswK Hign school, a Girls Parochial semifinals Oak Knell at Pingry, 8 Prep Championships Todd Doxzen. WR, Amsterdam; Anthony Ladd.

WR, Barcelona: Shawn Turner, WR, Prep A and Boys Championships at England, Devin Wyman. DT, Barcelona. New Orleans Saints lawrenceviiie, SPORTS SCAN hi Elaccpefball Jets' kicker Hall arrested for marijuana hit what "We've done New Yorkseen and we're sending him off in style," Ross, the owner and trainer of Ch. Satin Limited Edition, said Tues day, hours before seven champions vied for the top honor in the dog world. Ross was attending her first Westminster show as was Susannah Rouse, who was busy early Tuesday trying to contain her Briard, Ch.

Norilyn Look Out World, an 85-pound, exuberant French sheepdog with long silky hair. The rules Game starts by the server hitting the bail against the front wall. The players then take turns hitting the ball against any wall before it bounces twice. 'U Scoring Only the server can score points. The first 1 player to score 11 points wins a game.

Must win by two points. The first player to win three games wins the match. The court Racquetball is played in an enclosed area with these dimensions. "He's a piece of work," Rouse said. Norwich Terrier Ch.

Fairewood Continued from Page C-1 and June. There are also a series of satellite events throughout the United States, Canada and Japan designed to foster the growth of the sport. This season New Jersey satellite events have taken place in Fairfield, Lynd-hurst and Woodbridge. "I think in terms of amateur participation, the sport is on the swing," Hurwitz said. "On the tour we're starting to slowly progress but we haven't seen the massive growth." The last professional racquetball event in New Jersey took place in April of 1991 at King's Court in Lyn-dhurst.

Tournament director Bill Ser-afin is hoping this week's event will become a regular stop on the tour. "We haven't had something like this in seven years," he said. "It's pretty awesome. People are looking forward to watching these guys. There's a renewed interest and hopefully this is the start of something.

Hopefully, we'll have a tournament here every year." Petr Korda did neither No. 3 Jonas Bjorkman norfo. 6 Goran Ivanisevic could do win a first-round match. The resurgent Korda, now ranked second in the world after winning the Australian Open last month, beat South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-2 in the European Community Championships to set up a second-round encounter with Spain's Albert Portas. Earlier Tuesday, Bjorkman became the second seed to fall in the first round.

He was ousted by fellow Swede Thomas Johansson 6-1, 6-2. MICHAELS, DEFORD ELECTED: Al Michaels and Frank Deford have been chosen for the National Sports-casters and Sportswriters Association's hall of fame. Bob Costas was named the group's sportscaster of the year for a record seventh time, and Dave Kindred was chosen sportswriter of the year. BEST-IN-SHOW AWAITS: Even before the Westminster Kennel Club crowned its Best-in-Show, Mary Ross already had a successful run with her Shetland sheepdog. From combined wire services If New York Jets kicker John Hall pleads guilty, or is convicted of two misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession following his Monday arrest, be will be subject to random testing and a likely 10,000 fine for violation of the league's substance-abuse policy.

Despite Hall's admission to North Port, Fla. police that he had smoked marijuana upon their confiscation of five grams of marijuana and a pipe, the record-setting kicker is in no apparent danger of suspension. The NFL views marijuana as a banned substance. First-time offenders of the league's substance-abuse policy are placed in an outreach program that subjects violators to counseling and disciplines them through random testing 10 times a month for a two-year period. ELSEWHERE Korda cruises at EC ANTWERP, Belgium Top-seeded Frolic spent Tuesday sitting in her bed and eating chocolates.

Rocki, as she is known, was resting after from winning the terrier group competition Monday night M. side 3 wall TfdH front 4 wa" receiving line minimum 20 (eet 1 2 feet 'J) cfV A i ST SETTLEMENT REACHED: The Atlanta Hockey Club Inc. will name its National Hockey League club the Thrashers after reaching an out-of court settlement with the company that prints skateboarding magazine 40 feet 1 boxet Thrasher. Terms of the settlement weren't dis closed..