Ex-Yankees Accept Pretrial Probation

Two former New York Yankees who allegedly assaulted a Fenway Park groundskeeper during the 2003 American League championship series agreed Tuesday to a deal that calls for the charges against them to be dropped in six months.

Pitcher Jeff Nelson and outfielder Karim Garcia agreed to pretrial probation at a hearing in Roxbury District Court in Boston. The players will perform 50 hours of community service and be evaluated to determine whether they need to attend an anger-management program.

The case was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday.

Nelson, 37, now plays for the Texas Rangers. Garcia, 28, was released in August by the Baltimore Orioles.

Charges were dropped last week against Paul Williams, 25, of Derry, N.H., a part-time groundskeeper who got into the brawl with the two players.

Tennis

Roger Federer pulled out of the Swiss Indoors after injuring his left thigh in a practice session in Basel, Switzerland.

The top-ranked Federer could sit out the Paris Masters and season-ending Tennis Masters Cup, which starts Nov. 17 in Houston.

Meanwhile, Taylor Dent was beaten by wild-card Ivo Heuberger, 6-2, 6-3, and Paradorn Srichaphan was eliminated by Stefan Koubek, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-3.

Fourth-seeded Tommy Haas beat Davide Sanguinetti, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to reach the second round of the Stockholm Open.... Meghann Shaughnessy upset eighth-seeded Karolina Sprem, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, in the first round of the Generali Ladies Open in Linz, Austria.... Ivo Karlovic beat second-seeded Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-4, in the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

Pro Football

Deanna Favre, the wife of Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre, was diagnosed with breast cancer, Brett Favre’s mother, Bonita, said....The Carolina Panthers signed running back Brandon Bennett to replace DeShaun Foster, placed on injured reserve because of a broken collarbone.... The NFL players union is expected to propose that money from luxury suites, stadium naming rights and local endorsements be added to the revenue pool used to determine player salaries, probably making negotiations to extend the labor contract beyond 2007 more difficult than in the past.

Pro Basketball

Forward Vince Carter will sit out the Toronto Raptors’ next two exhibition games while fighting a lawsuit by former agent William “Tank� Black for alleged breach of contract in Columbia, S.C.... Indiana Pacer center Jeff Foster will have hip surgery today and is expected to sit out four to six weeks.... Memphis Grizzly center Lorenzen Wright was suspended for the regular-season opener by the NBA for shoving Milwaukee Buck center Zaza Pachulia during an exhibition game on Thursday.... Forward Glenn Robinson and center Samuel Dalembert were demoted from the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting lineup by new Coach Jim O’Brien. Andre Iguodala will replace Robinson and Marc Jackson will start ahead of Dalembert.

Auto Racing

Robby Gordon is leaving Richard Childress Racing after the season to drive for what he hopes will be his own Nextel Cup team in 2005.... Four top carmakers plan to split from Formula One and launch a rival open-wheel Grand Prix racing series by 2008.The group includes BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari and Renault.

Miscellany

Former Michigan State star and NFL wide receiver Mark Ingram, a key to the New York Giants’ 1991 Super Bowl victory, was sentenced to one year in jail for stealing a credit card at a golf course in Davison Township, Mich.... USC’s second week of basketball practice has been a battle of attrition as injuries have reduced the Trojans to nine scholarship players. Freshmen Gabe Pruitt, a point guard from Westchester High, and forward Emanuel Willis were expected to return to practice Thursday, after missing time because of an Achilles’ tendon strain and a respiratory illness, respectively....The soccer match at the Coliseum between club team Cienciano of Peru and the Guatemalan national team, originally scheduled for tonight, has been rescheduled for 7:30 Thursday night.

Passings

Bobby Avila, a three-time All-Star second baseman who won the American League batting title in 1954, died of complications from diabetes in Veracruz, Mexico. He was 78.

Avila batted.341 to edge out Ted Williams and Minnie Minoso for the AL batting title and help Cleveland win the pennant in 1954.