O'Neal rips Jackson and officiating

Shaquille O'Neal isn't at all happy with some of the calls being made against him, and he didn't mince words about the five fouls he received in Miami's 90-78 loss to the New Jersey Nets Sunday, taking aim at referees and NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson yesterday. ''That was the most ridiculous game I've ever been part of," he said. ''When you got a guy like Stu Jackson at the top, it shows why referees are the way they are. It starts at the top. There was a lot of flopping [Sunday] and they just fell for it. They make these rules up and they don't follow them. We all know there's a double standard. I just wish they wouldn't make it so obvious." Heat coach Pat Riley added,. ''There is a huge double standard, they're pushing and shoving at him all the time.. . . Daryl Morey was named the Houston Rockets' assistant general manager and the team said he will take over as general manager after next season when current GM Carroll Dawson moves to senior consultant. Morey spent the last three years as senior vice president of operations and information for the Celtics.

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace was given an automatic one-game suspension after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season Sunday in a 109-102 win over the Phoenix Suns. Wallace will sit out tonight's game against the New Orleans Hornets. He will receive an additional one-game suspension after every two technicals he gets for the remainder of the season . . . Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis pleaded guilty in Redmond, Wash., to reckless driving and was given a one-year suspended sentence . . . Arkansas assistant coach Ronny Thompson, son of former Georgetown coach John Thompson, and brother of current Hoyas coach John Thompson III, will be named Ball State coach today, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said.

BASEBALL

Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia will likely be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained abdominal muscle -- not the kind of strong start he and the Indians were hoping for. Sabathia was forced from Sunday night's rain-soaked season-opening loss to the White Sox in Chicago after just 37 pitches. In the third inning, he felt his muscle ''grab a little bit" while delivering a pitch to Tadahito Iguchi. ''It was just the one pitch," Sabathia said. ''I don't know what caused it." . The Indians said the 290-pound lefthander underwent an MRI exam yesterday and in all likelihood will be rested until the injury is completely healed . . . The Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Dave Littlefield agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2008, the second time in three seasons he got a new deal on Opening Day . . . The San Diego Padres claimed catcher Rob Bowen off waivers from the Tigers . . . The Marlins extended the contract of general manager Larry Beinfest through the 2010 season.

Righthander John Lackey and the Los Angeles Angels agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2008 that guarantees him an additional $13.25 million. Lackey, who will start tonight in Seattle against the Mariners, agreed in January to a $3.76 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. His new deal guarantees him $17.01 million over three seasons. Lackey, 27, was 14-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 33 starts last season. . . The World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances was applied during the World Baseball Classic, according to the International Baseball Federation. The IBAF said that claims WADA's list was not used during the event were ''absolutely false." . . . The children of the late Kirby Puckett, Catherine and Kirby Jr., will throw the ceremonial first pitches in the Twins home opener a week from today.

FOOTBALL

The Cincinnati Bengals signed unrestricted free agent defensive tackle Sam Adams to a three-year contract. Adams started the first eight games last season for the Buffalo Bills before suffering an ankle injury that limited him to six games with one start in the season's second half . . . The Washington Redskins signed cornerback Kenny Wright. A seven-year veteran, Wright started all 16 games in his only season with the Jacksonville Jaguars last year. The Redskins also re-signed free agent defensive end Demetric Evans . . . The Miami Dolphins re-signed running back Sammy Morris to a one-year contract . . . The Arizona Cardinals re-signed Defensive tackles Langston Moore and Tim Bulman to one-year contracts. Bulman joined the Cardinals last spring as an undrafted rookie out of Boston College . . . Six Mississippi State freshman football players pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting an off-duty police officer. Police charged Tray Rutland, Keith Fitzhugh, Derek Pegues, Michael Gates, Charles Burns, and Quinton Wesley. Police chief David Lindley said officer Demetric Armstead attempted to intervene when an argument between two women at a party hosted by two sororities grew violent Saturday night. The suspects allegedly began to assault Armstead, who was at the event with his fiancée, a member of one of the sororities . . . Peter Hadhazy, a former general manager of the Cleveland Browns and an assistant GM of the Patriots who served in the NFL's office since 1994, died in New York after a brief illness. He was 62.

MISCELLANY

The French Open will offer equal prize money to the men's and women's champions for the first time this year. Each will receive $1.13 million, the French Tennis Federation said. Overall, men will still take home more -- $8.09 million to $7.41 million for women. Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam tournament that pays the men's winner more than the women's . . . Arizona will face Illinois, and Gonzaga will play Texas in the Basketball Hall of Fame's inaugural fall doubleheader Dec. 2 in Phoenix . . . The Columbus Blue Jackets recalled Dan Fritsche from Syracuse to replace forward Nikolai Zherdev who sprained his right knee Saturday . . . Three-time champion and world record-holder Paula Radcliffe pulled out of the April 23d London Marathon because of a foot injury.