BRIEFLY : HAWLEY ENDS CAREER WITH 3RD-PLACE FINISH.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Sandy Hawley finished his career as a thoroughbred jockey where he's been so many times before - in the money.

Hawley rode his final race on Wednesday - the 31,455th of his career - in the $138,375 Dominion Day Stakes at Woodbine (Toronto) and placed third aboard Terremoto in the field of nine.

``I would have loved to have won the race, but that's racing and you lose more than you win,'' said Hawley, the first jockey to win 500 races in a season. He finished with 6,449 victories and more than $88 million in purse earnings in a 30-year career.

``I have mixed emotions about retiring today, but one of the things I am most happy about is that horses are still going to be a big part of my life,'' said Hawley, who rode for many years on the Southern California circuit.

``The whole day has been kind of a fog,'' he said. ``It's not going to hit me until later.''

Hawley, 49, who is a Hall of Famer in both Canada and the United States, will be a public relations ambassador for the Ontario Jockey Club.

NHL: Tough guy Gary Suter reached a $10 million, three-year contract agreement with the San Jose Sharks on the opening day of the NHL free-agent market.

The 34-year-old defenseman, a 13-year NHL veteran who played the last 4-1/2 years in Chicago, nearly doubled the $1.6 million he took home last season.

The New York Rangers, seeking more size on defense, have obtained 6-foot-6, 240-pound Peter Popovic from Montreal despite the Swedish defenseman's nickname of the ``Gentle Giant.''

In return, the Rangers sent Sylvain Blouin and a sixth-round draft pick to Montreal.

The head of the NHL players union said he'll take an informal poll of players this fall before committing them to play in the 2002 Winter Olympics.

NHL Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow said some players told him that they don't want to play in the Olympics after the disastrous experience in February at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

NBA: Toronto Raptors forward Charles Oakley was cited for misdemeanor simple battery after a woman claimed he punched her in the face outside a restaurant in Atlanta, police said.

Saronda M. Smith of Stone Mountain told police that Oakley was angry with her because she refused to have sex with him and his girlfriend, Atlanta police detective Rick Chambers said.

record. Eagle, of Lewisville, Texas, has toppled 6,090 pins with a 228 average.

BOXING: Closing arguments continued for a third day in the insurance fraud trial of boxing promoter Don King, with each side accusing the other of misinterpreting the evidence.

The slow pace of the arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan increased likelihood that the jury would not receive the case until Monday.