World Cup Draw Doesn’t Draw ESPN Viewers

While the World Cup draw was estimated to have been watched by 500 million internationally, only 313,000 U.S. households tuned in to coverage on ESPN.

Sunday’s draw received an 0.5 rating on ESPN, which is available to 62.7 million of the 94.2 million U.S. homes with televisions.

Coverage on Univision with Spanish language commentary was watched in 375,000 homes. The network, which says it is available to 6,265,000 households, got a 6.0 rating for its coverage.

Basketball

The Portland Trail Blazers put Clyde Drexler on the injured list and replaced him on the roster with Jaren Jackson.

Drexler suffered a sprained left ankle during Sunday night’s game against Milwaukee and will be sidelined for 10 days to three weeks.

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Armon Gilliam of the New Jersey Nets was fined $7,500 by the NBA for flagrantly fouling Dale Davis of Indiana last Saturday.

Antonio Davis, Vern Fleming, Sam Mitchell, Byron Scott and Kenny Williams of the Pacers were fined $2,500 each for leaving the bench after Gilliam’s foul.

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New York Knick guard Doc Rivers underwent surgery for ligament damage in his left knee and won’t return this season.

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Cleveland Cavalier rookie Chris Mills, hospitalized briefly after a dizzy spell during a game at Miami last Thursday, was cleared to resume full activity.

The dizziness was traced to atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, the cause of which has not been determined.

The condition is common in young athletes and is different from the heart problems that killed basketball players Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers, said Lon Castle, a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist.

Hockey

Edmonton Oiler owner Peter Pocklington was blocked by a court order from taking any further action to move his team pending a trial to decide whether he can break his lease with the Northlands Coliseum.

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Defenseman Bryan Marchment of the Hartford Whalers was suspended for two games and fined $500 by the NHL for an illegal check earlier this month against Mike Gartner of the New York Rangers.

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The Russian Olympic hockey team defeated the Russian national team, 8-1, and won the title in the Izvestia’s Cup tournament after Sweden defeated Team USA, 8-3, for third place at Moscow.

Jurisprudence

The passenger killed when the car driven by Houston Oiler Jeff Alm crashed had a blood alcohol level of .30, three times the legal limit in Texas, police said. Sean Lynch died when he was thrown from Alm’s car after it struck a barrier on a freeway ramp last week. Alm, apparently overcome with grief and guilt, fatally shot himself on the Houston highway where the accident took place. Test results for Alm aren’t expected for two weeks.

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Brien Taylor, the top pitching prospect in the New York Yankees’ organization, suffered what was thought to be a minor injury of his pitching shoulder in a fight in Beaufort, N.C. Taylor, who was arrested on a misdemeanor charge and released, was 13-7 with a 3.48 earned-run average last season for double-A Albany, N.Y. He was the Yankees’ top draft pick in 1991.

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Outfielder Kevin Mitchell of the Cincinnati Reds testified that he did not rape Linda Chavers of San Diego, who is suing Mitchell for emotional distress stemming from an alleged date rape. . . . Drugs apparently did not play a role in the Dec. 12 car crash that seriously injured Sacramento King rookie Bobby Hurley, police said.

Miscellany

The International Boxing Federation said it will not sanction a proposed heavyweight championship unification bout between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, saying that Holyfield must first make a mandatory defense against No. 1 contender Michael Moorer. . . . Montreal catcher Darrin Fletcher agreed to a three-year contract with the Expos worth $2,625,000. . . . Skip Holtz, offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and son of Irish Coach Lou Holtz, has been hired as coach at Connecticut, according to a Hartford radio report.

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Andre Agassi is expected to miss the Australian Open in January because of surgery for tendinitis in his right wrist, according to the New York Times. . . . Toronto Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston and executive vice president Pat Gillick have been chosen sportsmen of the year by the Sporting News. . . . Skater Gorsha Sur, a Russian who defected to the United States in 1990, has not yet been granted U.S. citizenship, and his appeal to compete in the Olympics--filed with ice-dancing partner Renee Rocha--has been rejected by the U.S. Olympic Committee. . . . Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne will join his team in Miami to prepare for the Orange Bowl after attending his mother’s funeral today. Erma Osborne, 86, died Monday after a series of strokes.