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August

Aug. 2 -- The International Amateur Athletic Federation reduced Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor's drug suspension from two years to one, making him eligible for the 2000 Olympic games. But it did not exonerate him for drug use. A two-time world champion, the world record-holder and the '92 Olympic champion, Sotomayor was stripped of his gold medal in the high jump at last year's Pan American Games after testing positive for cocaine.

Aug. 4 -- Terry Labonte, still suffering the effects of a crash last month in Daytona, announced he would sit out the Brickyard 400, ending a string of 655 consecutive starts that began 21 years ago. The 43-year-old Labonte built his reputation as NASCAR's Iron Man by driving in every Winston Cup event since Jan. 14, 1979, at Riverside, Calif.

Aug. 8 -- Darren Dreifort of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit two homers and was the winning pitcher in a 7-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Aug. 12 -- Evander Holyfield won a 12-round unanimous decision over John Ruiz in Las Vegas for the vacant WBA heavyweight title.

Aug. 12 -- Anaheim's Kent Mercker, who suffered a brain hemorrhage while pitching against Texas on May 11, made his return, allowing three runs on five hits over 3 2-3 innings as the Angels beat the Yankees 9-6.

Aug. 13 -- Meg Mallon shot a 3-under-par 69 to win the du Maurier Classic, the last women's major championship ever in Canada. Mallon finished with a 6-under 282 total for a one-stroke margin over Rosie Jones (68) and her first major title since 1991.

Aug. 16 -- The first four-team trade in NBA history was completed when nine players switched teams, with Howard Eisley going to Dallas, Danny Fortson to Golden State, Donyell Marshall to Utah and Robert Pack to Boston. The Celtics also got center John "Hot Rod" Williams from Dallas, Utah's first-round pick in 2001 and a "substantial amount of cash," general manager Chris Wallace said. Boston also sent guard Dana Barros to Dallas. Utah received center Bruno Sundov from Dallas, the Mavericks got forward Bill Curley from Golden State and the Jazz sent forward Adam Keefe to the Warriors.

Aug. 17 -- Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was fined $250,000 by the NFL for obstructing an Atlanta police investigation of a double murder after the Super Bowl.

Aug. 17 -- The founder of the International Boxing Federation was acquitted of charges he took bribes from promoters and managers to manipulate boxers' rankings. But Robert W. Lee was found guilty on six of the 33 felony counts, including tax evasion, money laundering and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

Aug. 17 -- Chicago White Sox pitcher James Baldwin tied an AL record by hitting four batters in a 5-3 loss to Baltimore.

Aug. 18 -- Darin Erstad of Anaheim made a spectacular, game-saving catch in the 10th inning and followed it with a homer in the 11th as the Angels defeated the New York Yankees 9-8.

Aug. 18 -- Tiger Woods tied the 36-hole scoring record in the PGA Championship with a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over unheralded Scott Dunlap. Woods was at 11-under 133, tying the mark for relation to par last set by Mark O'Meara and Ernie Els in 1995.

Aug. 19 -- The New York Yankees hit a record-tying three sacrifice flies in one inning, the third, during a 9-1 win over Anaheim -- a feat accomplished three times in major league history. The Yankees also hit three sacrifice flies in one inning earlier this season, joining the Chicago White Sox, who did it on July 1, 1962, against Cleveland.

Aug. 19 -- It was the third time in major league history that a team had three sacrifice flies in an inning. Oddly, it was the second time the Yankees have done it this year. They did it June 29 at Detroit, matching the record set by the Chicago White Sox on July 1, 1962, against Cleveland.

Aug. 19 -- Houston's Jeff Bagwell is the eighth player in major league history to record five straight seasons with 30 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored. He hit two homers and drove in five runs in a 10-8 win over Milwaukee.

Aug. 20 -- Tiger Woods won the PGA Championship in a playoff over Bob May, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year. Woods, winner of four of the last five majors, won his first in a playoff. He became the first player to repeat as PGA champion since Denny Shute in 1937. Woods, with an 18-under 270, holds the scoring record in relation to par in every major championship.

Aug. 22 -- The New Jersey Devils finally became part of the YankeeNets family of teams. The deal was reportedly for $175 million. The National Hockey League last month approved the sale of the Devils from John McMullen to Puck Holdings LLC, an affiliate of YankeeNets. YankeeNets owns baseball's New York Yankees and the NBA's New Jersey Nets.

Aug. 22 -- Colorado tied an NL record by using 10 pitchers in a 7-6, 12-inning win over Atlanta. Catcher Brent Mayne worked a scoreless 12th inning to become the first position player to win a game since the Yankees' Rocky Colovito on Aug. 25, 1968.

Aug. 22 -- Eric Karros became the first player in Dodger franchise history to hit two homers in the same inning as Los Angeles defeated Montreal 14-6.

Aug. 22 -- Alex Ochoa of Cincinnati hit the 142nd grand slam of the season, a major league record, in the Reds' 5-4 loss to Philadelphia.

Aug. 25 -- Tiger Woods shot a 9-under-par 61 in the NEC Invitational to set a standard on the PGA Tour with a 36-hole score of 125. The 125 broke the record of 126 previously held by six players. Only four other players have had a 125 in consecutive rounds, but not the first two. It also was his 29th consecutive round at par or better, the longest streak since the PGA Tour began keeping such statistics in 1980.

Aug. 25 -- Australia's Karrie Webb matched the LPGA Tour's 18-hole record with an 11-under 61 in the second round of the Oldsmobile Classic. Annika Sorenstam shot an 11-under 61 last year in the first round of the Sara Lee Classic. Webb also broke the tour's 36-hole total with a 17-under 127 mark on the Walnut Hills course. Michelle McGann set the previous record of 16 under last year in the Sara Lee Classic.

Aug. 25 -- The Little Leaguers from Maracaibo, Venezuela, arrived with only one bat, but departed with the World Series title after beating Bellaire, Texas, 3-2. Ruben Mavarez pitched a four-hitter as Venezuela claimed its second World Series championship in six years and fifth overall for Latin America.

Aug. 26 -- The Houston Comets completed another championship run by beating the New York Liberty 79-73 in overtime for their fourth WNBA championship in a row, remaining the only champions in the league's history. The last major sport pro team to win four in a row was the NHL's New York Islanders, from 1980-83.

Aug. 27 -- Darrin Fletcher of the Toronto Blue Jays hit three homers in a 6-4 win over Texas.

Aug. 28 -- Tim Hudson held Chicago to one hit for the first shutout of his two-year career as Oakland beat the White Sox 3-0.

Aug. 29 -- Second-seeded Gustavo Kuerten, the reigning French Open king, was beaten 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) by qualifier Wayne Arthurs in the U.S. Open. Kuerten became only the second No. 2 seed to be eliminated in the first round since the Open era began in 1956.

Aug. 29 -- Pedro Martinez came within three outs of his first career no-hitter, leading the Boston Red Sox to a brawl-filled 8-0 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After hitting leadoff man Gerald Williams in the first inning with his fourth pitch of the night, Martinez retired 24 in a row before John Flaherty singled to the right-center on a 2-2 pitch leading off the ninth. Martinez then retired his next three batters, finishing with the third one-hitter of his career. Eight Devil Rays -- five players, manager Larry Rothschild and two coaches -- were ejected during five altercations caused by four hit batsmen.

Aug. 29 -- Anaheim's Darin Erstad went 3-for-5 to reach 200 hits faster than any player in 65 years as the Angels defeated Toronto 9-4. Ducky Medwick of the St. Louis Cardinals did it in 131 games in 1935.

Files from AP