Sports briefs for July 7, 2005

Thursday, July 7, 2005 | 9:57 a.m.

Top seed falls again at Hall of Fame

At Newport, R.I., Wesley Moodie took advantage of Taylor Dent's erratic serve to extend the failures of top-seeded players in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships and advance Wednesday to the quarterfinals.

The No. 1 seed has never won in the 29-year history of the North America's only grass-court event.

"I lived up to expectations," Dent said after Moodie won 6-4, 6-1.

Seppi will next face second-seeded Gaston Gaudio, who defeated Davide Sanguinetti 6-2, 6-2.

Podsednik, Oswalt win 'Net voting

Speedy outfielder Scott Podsednik of the Chicago White Sox and Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt earned the final spots on the All-Star teams in Internet fan voting completed Wednesday.

In a surprise finish, the unheralded Podsednik edged popular Yankees captain Derek Jeter for the 32nd roster spot on the American League squad. With Podsednik's teammates campaigning for him, the major league leader in stolen bases also beat out Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter, New York outfielder Hideki Matsui and Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford.

Oswalt is 11-7 with a 2.44 ERA after beating the Padres 4-1 Monday. He topped four other NL pitchers in the voting: San Diego's Trevor Hoffman, Arizona's Brandon Webb, and Philadelphia's Billy Wagner and Brett Myers -- the first time fans had a chance to elect a pitcher to the All-Star game since 1934.

Coach accused of spanking players

A high school basketball coach on Staten Island who is also an administrator at a community center has been charged with sexually abusing at least two basketball players by pulling down their shorts and spanking them, sometimes with a wooden paddle and often with a bare hand, the authorities said on Wednesday.

The abuse began more than a year ago and the latest incident occurred on Monday, according to the Staten Island district attorney's office.

The coach, Drew Sanders, 49, was arrested at 9 p.m. on Tuesday and was arraigned on Wednesday afternoon on charges of forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, sexual abuse, and other charges.

Bail was set at $15,000, which Sanders paid with the help of a bail bondsman.

Sanders' lawyer, Mark J. Fonte, called the accusations "absurd." On basketball teams, he said, teenagers can fend for themselves.

"That a 15-year-old would allow a man to spank him?" Fonte said. "The height of absurdity!"

-- Sun wire services