Fast Break
Baseball
Fassero says he’s retiring
Former Seattle Mariners pitcher Jeff Fassero is retiring from baseball after winning 121 games over 16 major league seasons.
The 44-year-old lefty worked out for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Feb. 2.
“I thought I threw really well. I guess they didn’t think so,” Fassero said during a telephone interview. “They were the ones that showed the most interest.”
He finished 121-124 with a 4.11 ERA and 25 saves in 242 starts and 478 relief appearances for Montreal, Seattle, Texas, Boston, the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco.
NBA
Sonics retiring Haywood’s 24
Spencer Haywood’s No. 24 will become the sixth jersey to be retired by the Seattle SuperSonics, the team announced Friday.
Haywood will be honored on Feb. 26 when the Sonics host Portland. The five other players with their numbers retired – Fred Brown, Lenny Wilkens, Nate McMillan, Gus Williams and Jack Sikma – will be on hand for the ceremony.
Haywood played five years with the Sonics, 1970-1975, averaging 24.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. He was twice named to the all-NBA first team and was a four-time All-Star. Haywood will be the first player to have his number retired since Williams in March 2004.
SportsLink
Voters send Zags to NIT
It’s hardly scientific, but a spokesmanreview.com online poll overwhelmingly suggests the Gonzaga men’s basketball team will end up in the National Invitational Tournament in March.
As of early Friday evening, with just less than 600 votes cast, 56 percent of voters said the Zags will miss out on the NCAAs and play in the NIT. Just 17 percent felt the Zags would earn the automatic bid into the NCAAs by winning the West Coast Conference tournament.
Check out all the poll results and cast your vote at spokesmanreview.com/ sports.
College football
Weis guy has a plan
Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis, angry that some recruits orally committed to the Irish only to change their minds and pledge their troth elsewhere, is pushing for an additional, earlier signing date – say, Aug. 1 – to help alleviate the flip-flopping.
“If you’re married,” Weis told the Chicago Tribune, “you shouldn’t be looking at other women.”