BRIEFLY : HALL OF FAMER ASHBURN, 70, DIES.

Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn, whose 47 years with the Phillies made him one of Philadelphia's treasured sports heroes, died of a heart attack Tuesday in the New York hotel where the team was staying. He was 70.

His longtime friend and broadcast partner, Harry Kalas, said Ashburn looked fine after working Monday night's 13-4 victory over the Mets but called a team official from his room and said he was in pain.

Kalas said trainer Jeff Cooper and paramedics rushed to the room, only to find Ashburn dead.

``He must have gone quickly,'' said Kalas, his trademark baritone choked with emotion. ``He was as good a friend as a man could have.''

Ashburn, a two-time NL batting champion and the center fielder on the 1950 Whiz Kids, spent 12 years on the field and 35 years in the broadcast booth for the Phils.

``We have lost a cherished friend,'' said Mike Schmidt, the Phillies third baseman who was inducted into the Hall of Fame with Ashburn in 1995. ``You didn't have to know him personally to consider him a friend.''

MOTOR SPORTS: Racing champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who fractured his lower back when his small plane crashed in a swamp in Brazil, will have surgery in Miami. The 50-year-old driver was to travel Tuesday night on a commercial flight and head to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, his agent, Kika Concheso, said.

BASKETBALL: A misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse filed last year against Sacramento Kings center Olden Polynice involving his then-fiancee was dismissed by the Sacramento County district attorney's office after prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to try the case.

The Orlando Magic is ``very disappointed'' with Dennis Scott concerning a shooting at his birthday bash that left two people wounded, general manager John Gabriel said.

``Dennis needs to use better sense, better judgment about what he does,'' Gabriel said. ``This organization expects more. We don't try to control the personal lives of our players, but we're very disappointed about this.''

Former Virginia basketball player Courtney Alexander, who was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and sentenced to four days in jail last month, said he is transferring to Fresno State.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Jammi German's troubled collegiate career as a Miami Hurricane officially came to a close when the NCAA refused his appeal to play his senior season.

German, one of the Hurricanes' most potent offensive threats, was declared ineligible last week because he initially lied about a limousine ride he took in Nov. 30, 1995, that was paid for by a sports agent.

ALSO: Derek Dueck, 23, of Calgary, Alberta, who finished sixth at the Canada Summer Games last month, was banned from competition for four years for testing positive for steroids, Athletics Canada said. . . . Mark O'Meara, Nick Price and Payne Stewart have been added to the U.S. PGA Tour's Hall of Fame ballot, joining 61 others from last year's voting.