Sports briefs for July 12, 2005

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 | 10:55 a.m.

Mets sign teenager for $1.4 million

When the Mets signed Jose Reyes out of the Dominican Republic in 1999, he was 16 years old, and they paid him $15,000.

When the Mets announced Monday that they had signed another 16-year-old Dominican, outfielder Jesus Martinez, they gave him about $1.4 million. The price of Dominican prospects has risen exponentially.

"I didn't expect something of this size," Martinez said.

Martinez, a 6-foot, 185-pound left-handed hitter with celebrated arm strength, cannot play in the United States until he turns 18. The same goes for the 16-year-old Venezuelan pitcher Deolis Guerra, a 6-foot-5-inch, 200-pound right-hander the Mets also signed. Guerra is an imposing presence on the mound, but he is not as touted as Martinez is.

Labor talks stretch into 10th week

After another 14 hours of talking, there still is no deal in place to end the NHL lockout.

Negotiators from the league and the players' association met for the eighth consecutive day Monday, marking the 10th consecutive week that talks have been held. The latest round of discussions wrapped up around 9:30 p.m. and more talks were scheduled for today.

A new collective bargaining agreement still appears to be close at hand -- perhaps just days away.

Pistons, Brown to meet Wednesday

Larry Brown and Detroit Pistons president for basketball operations Joe Dumars plan to have a face-to-face meeting Wednesday about the coach's future, a source said Monday.

Coach backs out of Oklahoma job

Gene Stephenson decided late Monday to remain at Wichita State just hours after he was introduced as the new baseball coach at Oklahoma.

In a statement posted on the Wichita State Web site, Stephenson cited "unresolvable" scholarship issues as the reason for his about-face.

Crew fires coach

The Columbus Crew, with the worst record in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference, today fired coach Greg Andrulis and named assistant coach Robert Warzycha as his interim replacement. The Crew is 4-10-2 this season, Andrulis' fifth as the coach. -- Sun wire services