Sports briefs for March 11, 2004

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

Vin Baker won his arbitration case today against the NBA, freeing him to sign with the team of his choice for the remainder of the regular season.

In a case that was argued Monday, arbitrator Roger Kaplan invalidated an NBA memo barring the other 28 teams from signing Baker until his other grievance -- against the Boston Celtics -- is settled.

No date has been set yet for Baker's case against the Celtics, who terminated the remaining 2 1/2 years of Baker's contract -- worth $35 million -- after he missed 10 games while on suspension for violating terms of his alcohol treatment program.

Aaron Goodwin, Baker's agent, has said the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors have shown interest in signing his client.

The NBA had argued that if Baker were to win his case against Boston, he'd have to return to the Celtics because his contract would be reinstated. The players' union argued that Baker should have a right to seek employment elsewhere while his case against the Celtics is pending.

Venturi backpedals

Ken Venturi apologized for misunderstanding caused by his book "Getting Up and Down: My 60 Years of Golf," in which he accuses Arnold Palmer of playing a provisional ball wrongly on his way to winning the 1958 Masters. "This does not make Arnold Palmer a cheat," Venturi said. Controversy had arisen over Venturi's account in the book of a lift-and-drop ruling in which Palmer chose to play a second ball. "I firmly believe that he did wrong and that he knows he did wrong," Venturi wrote in the book. Palmer won by one stroke and finished two ahead of Venturi.

Chinese player killed

Jiang Tao, 18, a player on China's SinChi Football club, died after being struck by lightning at a training session in Singapore.

Huskies DE arrested

Washington Huskies defensive end Manase Hopoi, a starter for the most of the past two seasons, has been arrested for investigation of assault in a brawl outside a Seattle nightclub.

Spike gets Champs

Spike TV will broadcast all 16 Champ Car World Series races beginning April 18 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Two charged in killing

Two teenagers were charged in the November 2001 murder of Kent Heitholt, the former sports editor at the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune.