BASKETBALL

CRAWFORD OUT 3-6 WEEKS WITH TURF TOE Knicks guard Jamal Crawford is expected to miss three-to-six weeks because of an injured right big toe.

X-rays taken yesterday were negative, but an MRI revealed that Crawford has turf toe. He is expected to be placed on the injured list on Sunday, the Knicks said.

Crawford was injured in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s loss to Boston when Celtics guard Jiri Welsch stepped on his toe. The 6-foot-5 guard is second on the Knicks to Stephon Marbury with 19.3 points and 2.7 assists per game.

JUDGE ALLOWS O’NEAL’S RETURN Indiana forward Jermaine O’Neal can play against Detroit on Christmas after a federal judge upheld an arbitrator’s decision to reduce the Pacers star’s suspension for his part in a November 19 brawl between the teams.

Judge George B. Daniels ruled from the bench yesterday after listening to arguments by lawyers for the NBA and the players’ union and watching a brief videotape of O’Neal punching a fan during the brawl.

The union asked Daniels to temporarily uphold an arbitrator’s decision Wednesday to knock 10 games off a 25-game suspension imposed on O’Neal by NBA commissioner David Stern. Ron Artest’s season-long suspension and the suspensions of two other Indiana players were upheld.

O’Neal, a three-time All-Star and eight-year veteran, is now eligible to return Saturday when the Pacers host the Pistons in the teams’ first matchup since the most violent melee in NBA history.

HAWKS TRADE BARRY TO HOUSTON FOR LUE The Atlanta Hawks traded shooting guard Jon Barry to the Houston Rockets yesterday in exchange for point guard Tyronn Lue.

Lue, 27, averaged 6 points and 2.8 assists in 23 minutes a game this season for the Rockets.

Barry, 33, has also played for Milwaukee, Golden State, the Lakers, Sacramento, Detroit, and Denver. Barry averaged 5.2 points and 1.8 assists in 17 minutes per contest with Atlanta this year.

BASEBALL

VARITEK TO STAY WITH RED SOX Catcher Jason Varitek is staying in Boston, the latest prize in a flurry of free-agent deals by the Red Sox since Pedro Martinez left town.

Varitek and the team agreed yesterday to a $40 million, four-year contract, a lawyer with knowledge of the negotiations said.The deal will be announced today, the lawyer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Varitek will receive a $4 million signing bonus paid over four years and annual salaries of $9 million.The sides compromised over his desire for a no-trade clause,working out a solution that will cover a large part of the contract but not all of it.

PRO FOOTBALL

FALCONS GIVE VICK 10-YEAR, $130 MILLION EXTENSION The Atlanta Falcons offered Michael Vick a 10-year contract yesterday that guarantees the star quarterback an NFLrecord $37 million in bonuses and is worth $130 million. The contract surpasses the $98 million deal Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning signed in March. Manning was guaranteed $34.5 million in bonuses.

According to a league official who requested anonymity, Vick reached incentives in his original contract, a six-year, $62 million deal, that would have allowed him to void the 2005 and 2006 seasons next month. Had he done so, the 24-year-old Vick would have become an unrestricted free agent on March 2. Vick, the no. 1 overall draft pick of 2001, has a 24-12-1 career record. He is 14-4 since returning from a broken ankle last year, and this season led the Falcons to just the third division title in franchise history.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

PITTSBURGH SURVIVES SCARE AGAINST RICHMOND Carl Krauser’s careerhigh 31 points helped 10th-ranked Pittsburgh hold off Richmond 69-60 last night, the first game between the schools in 66 years.

Chris Taft added 11 points and freshman Ronald Ramon had 10 to help the Panthers start 9-0 for the third consecutive season and the second in as many seasons under coach Jamie Dixon.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

CINCINNATI TOPS MARSHALL IN FORT WORTH BOWL Gino Guidugli returned from a broken throwing hand and passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 32-14 win over Marshall in the Fort Worth Bowl last night.

Wearing a padded glove on his swollen right hand, which he injured on November 20, Guidugli completed 24-of-36 passes. After his only interception, which Marshall returned for a score, Guidugli completed 10 straight passes and 14 of 16 in the second quarter. He threw both TD passes in that stretch to put Cincinnati (7-5) ahead to stay.

WANNSTEDT TO COACH PITTSBURGH Former Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt accepted the coaching job at alma mater Pittsburgh yesterday, a week after he turned the Panthers down and said he wasn’t ready to coach again.

Wannstedt, who stepped aside as the Dolphins’ coach by mutual agreement following a 1-8 start this season, flew to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night and completed the deal yesterday morning.

A native of the Pittsburgh area,Wannstedt has never been a college head coach, but is a former Pitt assistant. He succeeds Walt Harris, who is leaving for Stanford after coaching Pitt to a 25-12 record the last three seasons.

LEINART WINS AP PLAYER OF THE YEAR Southen California quarterback Matt Leinart was named the Associated Press player of the year yesterday.The Heisman Trophy winner has completed 66% of his passes for 2,990 yards and 28 touchdowns this season,guiding the top-ranked Trojans to an Orange Bowl matchup with no. 2 Oklahoma.

The AP player of the year voting was closer than this season’s Heisman balloting, but the final order was similar. Leinart received 17 votes from a nationwide panel of 64 media members.White and his freshman teammate, Adrian Peterson, finished tied for second with 12 votes each. USC tailback Reggie Bush was fourth with 11 votes and Utah quarterback Alex Smith had nine votes. Texas tailback Cedric Benson received two votes and Louisville quarterback Stefan Lefors got one.

– Associated Press