Sports briefs for April 9, 2004

Friday, April 9, 2004 | 10:46 a.m.

Yankees still No. 1 for franchise value

The New York Yankees remain baseball's most valuable franchise with an estimated worth of $832 million, even though the value dropped $17 million from 2003 because of revenue sharing and luxury taxes, Forbes magazine said in a study released today.

The Boston Red Sox are second at $533 million, followed by the New York Mets at $442 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers at $399 million and Seattle Mariners at $396 million, according to the magazine's annual survey.

The Yankees' value fell from $849 million last year because the franchise had to share some revenue with small-market teams and pay $11.8 million in luxury taxes, Forbes said.

Forbes said the Yankees generated $238 million in revenue in 2003, the most in baseball. The Red Sox were second at $190 million.

Baseball's least valuable franchise is the Montreal Expos at $145 million, according to the survey. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are next at $152 million, followed by the Minnesota Twins at $168 million.

Painter to Purdue

Matt Painter resigned at Southern Illinois to become associate head coach at Purdue for 2004-05 and then succeed Gene Keady as head coach the following year.

Frozen Four final set

Denver and Maine advanced to the championship game Saturday in the Frozen Four, the NCAA championship tournament at Boston. Denver rallied to beat Minnesota-Duluth 5-3 and Maine beat Boston College 2-1.

Arsenal keeps winning

Thierry Henry's hat trick todayhelped Arsenal defeat Liverpool 4-2 to extend its lead in England's Premier League to seven points and stretch its unbeaten record to 31 matches since the start of the season.

UNLV wins on road

The UNLV women's team won its first road match in four tries 5-2 at San Diego State. Gyorgyi Zsiros won at No. 1 singles for the Rebels (12-5, 2-1). San Diego State is 5-12, 1-2.

New boss in Baltimore

Steve Bisciotti officially became the majority owner of the Baltimore Ravens, ending Art Modell's 43-year control of the franchise.