BRIEFLY : BELFOUR GOES TO SHARKS.

Ed Belfour, twice a winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie, was dealt to San Jose early Saturday in what Chicago Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford called ``one of the most difficult trades I've had to make.''

Belfour ripped his backup, complained about sharing a job that had been his for most of the 1990s, and told the Blackhawks that it would take a lot of cash to keep him past this season.

So one of the best goaltenders in Chicago history is now with the Sharks. And Jeff Hackett, his backup the past four seasons, has received a three-year contract extension.

San Jose gave up three players with undistinguished records - goalie Chris Terreri, wing Ulf Dahlen and defenseman Michal Sykora - as well as a conditional 1998 second-round draft pick.

BASEBALL: Jose Canseco, who asked to be traded after the Red Sox fired friend and manager Kevin Kennedy, apparently will be sent back to his old team, the Oakland Athletics. Canseco told The Boston Globe that the deal was contingent on passing a physical. The slugging Canseco was on the disabled list several times during his two seasons in Boston, but he told the Globe that the physical would be a formality.

MOTOR SPORTS: A blown engine, a broken oil line and a downpour helped Eddie Cheever to a victory in the Indy 200 at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., his first race as an owner-driver. It was also the first victory for the 39-year-old Cheever in 19 years of top-level, open-wheel racing - including Formula One, CART and the IRL.

TENNIS: Prosecutors in Munich are checking evidence revealed at the trial of Steffi Graf's father, Peter, to determine if a criminal investigation should be opened against her sponsors, a published report says. The weekly Focus magazine reported said the sponsors included Adidas, Dunlop and the German milk products company Suedmilch.

TRACK AND FIELD: Randall Evans finished the men's 60-meter dash in 6.65 seconds, withstanding a final surge by Dennis Mitchell to upset the Olympian by .01 seconds in the Commonwealth Invitational in Cambridge, Mass.

The men's Commonwealth mile featured the meet's deepest field. Marcus O'Sullivan, the favorite, trailed most of the race before dashing past Andy Keith to win. With his finish of 3:57, O'Sullivan set an indoor record with his 47th subfour minute mile. He and Steve Scott had been tied at 46.