Sports briefs for January 7, 2005

Friday, Jan. 7, 2005 | 10:49 a.m.

Hall of Fame class tribute to small guys

The little guys made it big Thursday in the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2005.

Headlining this year's group of 15 inductees were two-time featherweight champion Bobby Chacon; two-time junior welterweight champion Duilio Loi of Italy; Ireland's popular featherweight champion Barry McGuigan; and junior middleweight champion "Terrible" Terry Norris.

Non-boxers to be enshrined included matchmaker Don Fraser and writer Bert Sugar, said Boxing Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy.

This year's induction ceremony is June 12 in Canastota, N.Y.

The four boxers -- all who fought in classes below 154 pounds -- were chosen by a panel of boxing writers and historians as representatives of the modern era, which begins in 1943. Five other fighters were selected from the Old-Timer and Pioneer categories, while six people were chosen in the Non-Participant and Observer classes, including Fraser and Sugar.

"This makes all the hard hours of training, all the work and commitment that one puts into boxing worthwhile ... I'm over the moon," said McGuigan, who has had a second successful career as a television commentator and columnist.

U.S. in Hopman final

Meghann Shaughnessy and James Blake teamed for a 6-7 (6), 7-5, 10-7 victory against Australia's Alicia Molik and Paul Baccanello in the deciding mixed doubles match today in Perth, Australia, to vault the United States into the Hopman Cup final against Aregentina. Argentina advanced to the final when Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew from his singles match against Guillermo Coria because of a strained groin.

Developer eyes A's

Los Angeles developer Lewis Wolff, said he will decide in the next three months whether to exercise an option to buy the Oakland Athletics. Wolff, who became the team's managing partner when Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann bought in in 1995, said he wanted Schott to remain a part of the ownership.

FA Cup at auction

The FA Cup trophy for which Enlight clubs competed between 1896 and 1910 will go on sale May 19, two days before the 124th final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. London auction house Christie's, which will conduct the sale, estimates the trophy will eclipse the record for soccer memorabilia set in 1997 when the Jules Rimet trophy, the original World Cup, was sold for $477,215.

No meetings

The National Hockey League canceled next week's meeting with its board of governors because the league has nothing new to report in the stagnant collective bargaining process. The board hasn't met since September.