Owens Says He’d Rather Play in Philadelphia

Even though he was traded to Baltimore, Terrell Owens still hopes to catch passes from Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia next season.

One day after the San Francisco 49ers sent the receiver to the Ravens, Owens said he’s not happy with the deal and plans to file a grievance.

“This is about me getting a fair shot at a team that I want to go to. Baltimore is definitely one of my choices, but Philly was my ‘A’ choice, my priority on my list,” Owens said in an interview on ESPN Friday night.

“I talked to my agent earlier and we’re going to file a grievance for the situation and we’re going to hope for the best possible situation.”

Desperate for a No. 1 receiver, the Eagles reportedly agreed to a contract with Owens that included a signing bonus believed to be worth about $10 million. But the volatile receiver was traded to the Ravens for a second-round draft choice Thursday before Philadelphia could work out a trade with the 49ers.

San Francisco General Manager Terry Donahue said Eagle Coach Andy Reid offered a fifth-round pick and receiver James Thrash for Owens.

“We had no interest in that whatsoever,” Donahue said.

Donahue said he countered with a list of other players he’d want for Owens, but the teams couldn’t agree on a deal.

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John Tait, a fixture on one of the NFL’s best offensive lines in Kansas City, signed an offer sheet with the Chicago Bears.

A transition player, Tait agreed to a six-year offer with the Bears. The Chiefs have a week to match the contract or let Tait, a six-year veteran, go to the Bears.

To keep Tait, the Chiefs would have to renegotiate some contracts or cut players to remain under the $80.6-million salary cap.

Winter Sports

Stephan Eberharter won the next-to-last World Cup downhill to clinch his third consecutive season title in the discipline. Bode Miller, meanwhile, finished 26th and lost his lead in the overall World Cup standings.

Eberharter sped down the Lillehammer Olympic course in Kvitfjell, Norway, in 1 minute 43.41 seconds for his fourth downhill victory this season.

Hermann Maier, the three-time overall champion, finished ninth but it was enough for the Austrian star to take the overall lead from Miller.

Miller, of Franconia, N.H., is trying to become the first American man to win the overall crown since Phil Mahre in 1983. With five races left, Maier leads the overall standings with 1,105 points. Miller has 1,089 and Eberharter 1,061.

Tennis

Fourth-seeded Vincent Spadea solved the powerful serve of Andy Roddick and beat the U.S. Open champion, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, in a semifinal match at the Franklin Templeton Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Spadea will meet seventh-seeded Nicolas Kiefer, who outlasted Victor Hanescu, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Top-ranked Roger Federer defeated Jarkko Nieminen, 7-6 (7), 6-2, to advance to the finals of the Dubai Open in the United Arab Emirates. Federer will play Feliciano Lopez, who defeated Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, to reach his first final.

Third-seeded Anastasia Myskina won the Qatar Open in Doha for the second consecutive year, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Track and Field

Two Russian women set world indoor records, Allen Johnson won the 60-meter hurdles for the third time and long jumper Savante Stringfellow gave the United States a third gold medal to equal Russia’s total at the World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 15 feet, 11 1/4 inches to regain the world mark in the pole vault, and Tatyana Lebedeva first equaled and then twice beat the record to win the triple jump in 50-4 3/4.

Johnson won the hurdles in a season-best 7.36 seconds to equal Greg Foster’s 17-year-old U.S. record.

Stringfellow’s winning long jump was 27-6 3/4.

Soccer

Defending champion Arsenal reached the English FA Cup semifinals with a 5-1 victory over Portsmouth. Manchester United also advanced by defeating Fulham, 2-1.

Ronaldo pulled a muscle in his left thigh in the 74th minute of Real Madrid’s 1-1 tie with Racing Santander in a Spanish league match. The star Brazilian striker, who has a league-leading 22 goals, will sit out Wednesday’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich.

Miscellany

An agreement in principle has been reached, pending NBA approval because of possible playoff scheduling complications, to stage the April 24 match for the vacant World Boxing Council heavyweight title between Vitali Klitschko and Corrie Sanders at Staples Center.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas had been the front-runner to land the fight, but Staples Center executive Tim Leiweke entered the bidding at the last minute.

“We’re the ones who gave Vitali Klitschko his big chance last year,” Leiweke said last week, “and we feel this should be our fight.”

Stanford won its 23rd consecutive Pacific 10 men’s swimming and diving championship at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach. The Cardinal finished with 866.5 points. California was second with 773, followed by Arizona (522.5) and USC (505).

Dallas (4-1) defeated Grand Rapids, 66-50, in an Arena Football League game at Dallas. The Rampage is 0-5.... Orlando (2-2) kept Indiana (0-5) winless with a 50-38 victory before 12,893 at Orlando, Fla.