Webber accepts buyout from 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers completed the paperwork to buy out the remaining 1 1/2 seasons on Chris Webber's contract, ending two disappointing years for the former All-Star who did not want to be part of the franchise's rebuilding process. Webber missed 11 of the last 14 games, officially with foot and ankle injuries. If there are no problems after the paperwork is forwarded to the NBA office, the Sixers expect to waive Webber today. Once he clears waivers after 48 business hours, teams will be eligible to sign him. Webber was due nearly $21 million this season and $22 million next season . . . Milwaukee guard Mo Williams will miss 2-3 weeks after spraining his left shoulder during Monday's loss to Denver . . . Nets center Nenad Krstic had surgery on the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.

On his way home after the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series parade, Mark Mulder told manager Tony La Russa he wanted the team and the town to see him at his best. Mulder made good on those parting words yesterday, agreeing to a $13 million, two-year contract that could be worth up to $45,075,000 over three seasons. The 29-year-old lefthander, who was 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA in 17 starts last season, is recovering from rotator cuff surgery and is expected to miss the first half of next season.

John Thomson was surprisingly candid about one of the reasons he chose the Blue Jays over the Mets: He didn't want to pitch to New York catcher Paul Lo Duca. Thomson agreed to a $500,000, one-year contract with the Blue Jays and will get a chance to win a spot in their rotation during spring training. The righthander said the Mets also offered a major league deal. "As far as just looking at Paul Lo Duca across the field, I'm not really into how he acts behind the plate," Thomson said . . . Lefthanded reliever Scott Schoeneweis and the Mets reached a preliminary agreement on a $10.8 million, three-year contract . . . Relief pitcher Tim Worrell retired after a 14-year career that ended with the Giants . . . Ken Griffey Jr.'s broken left hand should be fully healed before the Reds start spring training next month . . . The tumor that was removed from former Yankees star Bobby Murcer's brain during surgery last month was malignant. The 60-year-old Murcer is a Yankees broadcaster . . . Holy Cross shortstop and coach Jack Barry was elected to the first veterans class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Flyers captain Peter Forsberg is expected back in the lineup tonight against the Canadiens. Forsberg, who missed four games with a groin injury, skated in practice and announced he's ready to go. Forsberg has spent the last few days trying, again, to perfect a skate boot for his troublesome right ankle, which was surgically repaired last May. The Flyers, 0-13-3 without Forsberg, just completed the worst half-season in franchise history.

Venus Williams withdrew from the Australian Open because of an aggravated left wrist injury. She joins top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne on the sideline for the first Grand Slam of the season. Williams had an injury-plagued 2006, playing only two matches after Wimbledon and finishing the year ranked No. 48 . . . Serena Williams lost, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, to Sybille Bammer in the quarterfinals of the Hobart (Australia) International women's tournament . . . Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo was upset in the quarterfinals of the Sydney International and Nikolay Davydenko withdrew . Mauresmo lost to Jelena Jankovic, 7-5, 6-0, in the quarterfinals. Davydenko lost the first set, 6-4, to Paul-Henri Mathieu before retiring with pain in his right foot.

Doctors in Kennett Square, Pa., were "pulling out all the stops" to save Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who suffered a significant setback in his recovery from laminitis after months of upbeat reports. Chief surgeon Dean Richardson removed damaged tissue from Barbaro's left hind hoof, and co-owner Gretchen Jackson said that the colt was lightly sedated and back in a protective sling in his ICU stall at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center. "They're taking extreme measures," Jackson said.

Olympic gold medalists Meseret Defar and Joanna Hayes have been added to the lineup for the Reebok Boston Indoor Games Jan. 27 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. Defar, the 2004 champion at 5,000 meters and Hayes, the 2004 gold medalist in the 100-meter hurdles, join Tirunesh Dibaba, world champion in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter races, top pole vaulter Steve Hooker, American miler Alan Webb, and Olympian Shalane Flanagan from Marblehead, Mass., the American outdoor champion at 5,000 meters . . . WBA super welterweight champion Travis Simms, who recaptured the title Saturday, filed a suit against Norwalk's (Conn.) Recreation and Parks Department, claiming an injury during a city-sanctioned basketball game had sidelined his boxing career for two years.