BASEBALL

CROSBY, BAY WIN ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby was just a vote shy of being a unanimous pick for AL Rookie of the Year, and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jason Bay easily won the NL award yesterday.

Crosby received 27 of 28 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America for 138 points. White Sox closer Shingo Takatsu received the other first place vote and finished second with 44 points, followed by Baltimore pitcher Daniel Cabrera with 29 points.

Bay, the first Pittsburgh player and first Canadian to win the NL award, got 25 of 32 first-place votes and 146 points. San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene received seven first-place votes, 24 seconds, and one third for 108 points, and Padres reliever Akinori Otsuka was next with 23 points.

Crosby led AL rookies in hits (130), doubles (34), and walks (58), and was third among all AL players with 4.17 pitches per plate appearance. However, his 141 strikeouts were the most for Oakland since Jose Canseco’s 152 in 1991. Bay hit .282 with 26 homers and 82 RBI. The 26-year-old from Trail, British Columbia, had the most homers by an NL rookie since Albert Pujols hit 37 three years ago.

PADRES SEND LONG TO ROYALS FOR MAY

The San Diego Padres traded one of their extra outfielders, Terrence Long, to Kansas City for left-hander Darrell May and right-hander Ryan Bukvich yesterday. The Royals also obtained right-hander Dennis Tankersley.

May, who has averaged close to 200 innings the last two seasons, will become the fourth starter. The Padres still hope to re-sign David Wells, who is a free agent. Bukvich gives the Padres a power arm out of the bullpen.

FOOTBALL

LEFTWICH TO MISS TWO GAMES Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich probably will miss two games with a sprained left knee. Leftwich was re-evaluated yesterday, and doctors determined there was no need for surgery. But he will remain in a brace and on crutches this week. Coach Jack Del Rio said he expected Leftwich to return November 28 at Minnesota.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

KANSAS TOPS FIRST AP POLL

Kansas stood atop The Associated Press’s Top 25 yesterday, the 13th straight season the Jayhawks have been ranked 11th or higher in the first poll, but the first time they’ve entered at no. 1 since 1956.

Kansas received 25 first-place votes and 1,697 points from the national press panel, edging Wake Forest, which had 22 first-place votes and 1,680 points.

Georgia Tech and North Carolina of the ACC were third and fourth in the balloting. It is the second time in three years that one conference has had the nos. 2-4 in the preseason poll.

No. 11 Duke, no. 15 Maryland, and no. 19 North Carolina State round out the ACC teams in the poll. After Duke came Mississippi State, Michigan State, Louisville, Maryland, Texas, Pittsburgh, Alabama, North Carolina State, and Notre Dame. The last five teams in the poll were Wisconsin, Washington, Florida, Memphis, and Gonzaga.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UTAH SLIPS IN NEW BCS POLL

Utah slipped one spot to seventh in the Bowl Championship Series standings yester day, a drop that could cost the unbeaten Utes a berth in one of the four big-money bowl games.

The top five in the BCS stayed the same, with Southern California, Oklahoma, and Auburn leading the way, followed by California and Wisconsin.

The first- and second-place teams in the final standings will play in the Orange Bowl on January 4 for the BCS national title.

Utah is trying to become the first team from a non-BCS conference (Mountain West) to play in a BCS game. The Utes can guarantee a spot in what probably would be the Fiesta Bowl by finishing in the top six.

HOCKEY

BOURQUE, COFFEY, MURPHY INDUCTED INTO HALL

Ray Bourque, the finest defenseman of his generation, entered the Hockey Hall of Fame yesterday with Paul Coffey and Larry Murphy. The three stellar defenseman combined for nine Stanley Cups and joined the Hall with builder Cliff Fletcher and hockey writer Jim Kelley.

Bourque played for 22 NHL seasons and was a five-time Norris Trophy winner. He spent his whole career in Boston until he capped it by winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in his final season in 2001.

Coffey won three Stanley Cups in Edmonton and one in Pittsburgh. His 48 goals in 1985-86 are the most by a defenseman in one season and that year he set the record for longest consecutive-games points streak by a defenseman (28). He won the Norris Trophy three times.

Murphy won two titles with Pittsburgh and two more with Detroit. The records he set in 1980-81 for rookie defensemen – most assists (60) and most points (76) – still stand.

KOVALEV, JAGR SIGN WITH RUSSIAN TEAMS

Alexei Kovalev is the latest NHL player to join a European team during the lockout, agreeing to play in his native Russia. Kovalev, an unrestricted free agent, is joining Russia’s AK Bars Kazan.

Since the lockout began, about 250 NHL players have headed to teams in Europe, roughly one-third of the league.

Also, the Rangers’ Jaromir Jagr is leaving the Czech league to play for the Russian club Omsk Avangard, the Czech daily newspaper Sport reported yesterday.

Kovalev joins a Kazan lineup loaded with NHL talent. The team signed Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier last Thursday and is close to doing the same with Brad Richards. Kaza already has Ilya Kovalchuk of Atlanta, Nik Antropov of Toronto, Darius Kasparaitis of the Rangers, Ruslan Salei of Anaheim, Fred Brathwaite of Columbus, Denis Arkhipov of Nashville, and Alexei Morozov of Pittsburgh.

SWIMMING

PHELPS ARRESTED ON DUI CHARGE

Six-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps was arrested last week and charged with drunken driving.

A trooper saw the 19-year-old swimmer go through a stop sign Thursday night, state police said yesterday. The trooper saw signs of intoxication and arrested Phelps for driving under the influence, police said. Phelps also was charged with violation of a license restriction and failure to obey a stop sign. The legal drinking age in Maryland is 21.

– Associated Press