BRIEFLY : 49ERS ASSISTANT LOSES CHANCE FOR TRANSPLANT.

Byline: - Daily News Wire Services

A liver transplant for San Francisco 49ers line coach Bobb McKittrick was canceled after doctors discovered his cancer has spread from his bile duct. McKittrick, 63, went to Stanford University Medical Center on Monday to receive a partial liver from a donor in Las Vegas.

Exploratory surgery Monday night revealed that the cancer, initially contained in the bile duct, had spread. Because he has already had radiation in addition to chemotherapy, McKittrick's treatment options are limited.

Ex-NFL quarterback Todd Blackledge has left ABC to become CBS' top college football analyst, paired with Sean McDonough. Blackledge has spent the past five years as a studio analyst with ABC and has also been a game analyst for ESPN's Thursday-night college contests.

BASEBALL: The schedule for the NCAA baseball playoff regional at USC on Friday has the host Trojans playing Virginia Commonwealth at 3 p.m. in the first game and Pepperdine vs. Harvard at 7 p.m. in game two. Ticket information: [phone].

MOTOR SPORTS: John Force scored his sixth Funny Car victory of the season, beating Cruz Pedregon in the rain-delayed Mopar Parts Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.

History is about to repeat itself 24 years after a young driver named Dale Earnhardt made his Winston Cup debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is scheduled to race for the first time in NASCAR's top series at the Coca-Cola 600. First-round qualifying for Sunday's event, the longest on the circuit, is set for tonight.

SOCCER: Major League Soccer's season-ticket sales are up 12 percent this year, but that has only slightly helped its attendance numbers so far. Through 56 games, average attendance has only climbed half a percent to 14,456, which also is ahead of last season's final average of 14,312.

HOCKEY: Mario Lemieux said he has a new plan to rescue the financially troubled Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL Hall of Famer and former star center for the Penguins said he will file a revised plan before Friday to reorganize the team and accept a bigger ownership stake and less cash for what he is owed.