*BASEBALL: Former Cubs manager Jim Riggleman and former players Marquis Grissom and Pat Listach joined the Nationals’ coaching staff. Riggleman, hired to be bench coach, is still in the running to be the Mariners’ manager next season. Grissom will be the first base coach, and 1992 AL Rookie of the Year Listach the third base coach. … The Blue Jays acquired two of the top four picks in the 2002 draft, converted pitcher Adam Loewen and right-hander Bryan Bullington. Loewen’s pitching career ended because of recurring stress fractures in his left elbow; he will attempt a comeback as a first baseman/outfielder. Bullington is 0-5 with a 5.45 ERA in parts of three big-league seasons. Toronto designated outfielder Kevin Mench for assignment.
*NHL: Rangers coach Tom Renney was hit on the head by a stick and briefly lost consciousness during the second period. He was taken to the dressing room and didn’t return. The Rangers won 3-1. “I wasn’t real sure where I was there for a while,” he said after the game. … Panthers defenseman Bryan Allen will have surgery on his left knee and be out indefinitely. … Flyers center Daniel Briere will be out up to a month with a torn abdominal muscle.
*AUTO RACING: Rain washed out Sprint Cup qualifying for the third consecutive week, forcing NASCAR to set the field on points at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It gave Jimmie Johnson the top starting spot. Greg Biffle, who trails Johnson by 149 points with four races to go, will start second. Jeff Burton, who is 152 points out, starts third in Sunday’s Pep Boys Auto 500.
*COLLEGES: Arizona selected Russ Pennell as the interim replacement for retired basketball coach Lute Olson. Pennell, 47, is a former assistant to Rob Evans at Arizona State and served last year as a Sun Devils radio analyst. The university turned to Pennell, who has never been a college head coach, after failing to reach an agreement with Olson’s top assistant, Mike Dunlap, who will remain on the staff. … Rich Rodriguez is finally under contract as Michigan’s football coach. The six-year deal that he signed Friday is worth at least $2.5 million per year, terms agreed upon when he left West Virginia.
*TENNIS: Roger Federer moved a step closer to a third consecutive Swiss Indoors title when he beat Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of his hometown tournament in Basel, Switzerland. He will next play Saturday against Feliciano Lopez, who beat fourth-seeded American James Blake 6-4, 7-6 (7). Second-seeded David Nalbandian beat Benjamin Becker 7-6 (4), 6-4 and next plays fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro. … Top-seeded Andy Roddick fell to Robin Soderling 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in the Lyon Grand Prix quarterfinals in France. The Swede had 20 aces and Roddick finished with 22 in a match that had no breaks. … Andy Murray advanced to his fifth straight ATP semifinal by beating Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (5), 7-5 at the St. Petersburg Open in Russia. … Elena Dementieva beat former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg. … Ana Ivanovic joined three other seeded players — Vera Zvonareva, Agnieszka Radwanska and Marion Bartoli — in the Generali Ladies semifinals at Linz, Austria. … Venus Williams and Zvonareva clinched the last two of eight berths in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships Nov. 4-9 in Doha, Qatar.
*FIGURE SKATING: American ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto finished with 37.63 points to trail defending world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder’s 38.49 at Skate America in Everett, Wash.
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EDITED BY ED CAVANAUGH FROM TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICES
