Light late add to AFC Pro Bowl roster

football
Patriots left tackle Matt Light was chosen yesterday to play in his first Pro Bowl, replacing the Ravens' Jonathan Ogden on the AFC team. Light, a second-round pick in 2001 out of Purdue, will be the sole Patriots representative Saturday in Honolulu after defensive end Richard Seymour withdrew because of lingering elbow and groin problems. Ogden, who had been selected for his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl, missed the Ravens' penultimate regular-season game with a toe injury. Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks will be appearing in his 10th consecutive game after being added to the NFC squad in place of the Bears' Lance Briggs (left foot). Chicago center Olin Kreutz, a Honolulu native, also dropped out in the aftermath of Sunday's game; he will be replaced by the Cowboys' Andre Gurode.

Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera met with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to discuss their head coaching vacancy. Rivera didn't officially become a candidate until speaking with Jones Monday. However, he'd been expecting the call since Jones decided to hold the job open through Super Bowl week, when Rivera was off limits because he was getting his team ready for the game. "Just the fact that Mr. Jones waited until now, that bodes well for me," said Rivera. Indianapolis quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell will become the 10th person interviewed today . . . Redskins right tackle Jon Jansen, 31, signed a five-year, $23 million contract extension. Jansen, who had two years left on his previous contract, agreed to a deal that includes more than $10 million in bonus money but also gives the Redskins salary cap relief . . . Wide receiver P.K. Sam, a fifth-round Patriots draft pick in 2004, was one of seven free agents signed by the Dolphins . . . Britt Reid, the 21-year-old son of Eagles coach Andy Reid, was charged with nine drug and weapon offenses stemming from a Jan. 30 incident in which he is accused of pointing a gun at another motorist.

Baseball

Righthander Aaron Harang avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $36.5 million, four-year contract that made him the Reds' highest-paid pitcher. Harang, 28, tied for the league lead with 16 wins and led the NL with 216 strikeouts and six complete games when he made $2.35 million last season . . . Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes, who hit .267 last year with 26 homers, 79 RBIs, and 25 steals, agreed to a one-year contract worth $4,575,000 . . . Miguel Tejada got two hits and drove in a run as the Dominican Republic won the Caribbean Series for the 16th time, beating Mexico, 5-3, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The Dominicans (5-0) clinched when Puerto Rico (3-2) later lost to Venezuela, 3-1 . . . Lefthander Bruce Chen, who was 0-7 with a 6.93 ERA in 40 appearances for Baltimore last year, agreed to a minor league contract with the Rangers . . . Lew Burdette, MVP of the 1957 World Series when he pitched the Milwaukee Braves to their only championship, died yesterday in Winter Garden, Fla. Burdette, who had lung cancer, was 80. Obituary, Page B8.

basketball

The Chicago Bulls fined forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 one day after the rookie said he only was interested in the money for the NBA's slam dunk contest Feb. 17. Thomas was quoted in yesterday's editions of the Chicago Tribune as saying: "I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day." Also competing for the $35,000 first prize in Las Vegas will be the Celtics' Gerald Green, the Magic's Dwight Howard, and defending champion Nate Robinson of the Knicks . . . Bucks center Dan Gadzuric dislocated his left shoulder Saturday in a loss to Miami and will miss six weeks.

colleges

Miami forward Raymond Hicks was suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules by basketball coach Frank Haith. The Hurricanes, who will host Boston College tonight, have already lost center Anthony King (wrist), forward Adrian Thomas (abdominal), and forward Fabio Nass (knee) to season-ending injuries, and will be without forward Jimmy Graham, who has missed the last six games with a broken hand . . . Jordan Thull, competing in only his sixth collegiate meet, set the Northeastern pole vault mark Monday, clearing 17 feet 3/4 inches. Thull, a freshman from Salem, Conn., bettered Don Heyburn's records for both indoors (16-9, 1982) and outdoors (17-0, 1983) during a nonscoring meet at the BU Track and Tennis Center. Thull was a two-time All-American at East Lyme High and holds the New England High School mark (16-1).

Miscellany

Liverpool chairman David Moores said he will sell his 51 percent stake in the club to George Gillett Jr., owner of the Montreal Canadiens, and Tom Hicks, who owns the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. The $430.8 million offer includes an agreement to pay off about $89 million of club debt and pledges to build a 60,000-seat stadium . . . Olympic champion Paul Hamm and his twin brother, Morgan, have decided to return to competitive gymnastics this year with an eye toward the 2008 Games in Beijing . . . The Daytona 500's purse will be about $18.4 million, the highest for a US auto race, with the winner getting at least $1.44 million Feb. 18, another record, according to Daytona International Speedway . . . Willye White, the only American to have competed on five Olympic track and field teams and a two-time silver medalist (long jump in '56; 400-meter relay in '64), died of pancreatic cancer in Chicago. She was 67.