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From The Associated Press

Whither the weather: Wacky World Series on hold

PHILADELPHIA—Sooner or later, someone will win this World Series.

Just not Tuesday night. Too wet. Besides, the baseball commissioner went home to Milwaukee.

Maybe the Phillies and Rays can play ball Wednesday night. But snow showers are in the forecast.

So just sit tight, folks, we’ll get back to you when we can. Right now, bad weather is turning the Fall Classic into a Rainfall Classic.

Players and fans remained in limbo Tuesday, with Game 5 still suspended from the previous night. It was tied at 2 in the sixth inning when a steady downpour turned Citizens Bank Park into a quagmire, washing away the foul lines and turning home plate into a puddle.

The Phillies lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven matchup, meaning Philadelphia could be close to winning a championship the city desperately craves.

Or perhaps not.

“It’s kind of like overtime in a sense, I guess,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Or sudden victory.”

New details of Thomas’ overdose episode

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Officers who responded to Isiah Thomas’ home after a 911 call reporting an overdose on sleeping pills found a man passed out on the floor and gave him oxygen until an ambulance arrived.

Authorities have not publicly identified Thomas as the victim, but a person familiar with the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official police report has not been released, has confirmed it was the former NBA star and Knicks coach.

On Tuesday, Harrison Police Chief David Hall provided new details about last week’s emergency in which officers were handed a bottle of prescription pills at Thomas’ Westchester County home.

Hall said the bottle had a name on it, but he would not disclose the precise medication. He said police called the overdose accidental because there was no suicide note and no indication the victim suffered from depression.

Thomas has denied being the victim, and Hall again criticized the ex-coach for saying it was his 17-year-old daughter, Lauren, who required treatment.

Smith, Woodson, Sharpe up for HOF

CANTON, Ohio—Defensive end Bruce Smith, defensive back Rod Woodson and tight end Shannon Sharpe are among first-year candidates for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The list includes 110 players, seven coaches and 16 contributors, including former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and longtime team owners Bud Adams, Jerry Jones, Art Modell and Ralph Wilson.

Hall of Fame selectors will choose 25 candidates who will be announced later this month as semifinalists. The field will then be narrowed to 15 by a mail ballot. The inductees will be selected from among those 15 and the two senior nominees previously announced, Bob Hayes and Claude Humphrey. They were selected in August by a senior selection committee.

The class of inductees will be chosen at the selection committee’s annual meeting on Jan. 31, 2009, in Tampa, Fla., the day before the 2009 Super Bowl. As few as four and as many as seven can be selected.

Cottrell out as Chargers’ defensive coordinator

SAN DIEGO—Without a sack or interception in the last nine quarters, the San Diego Chargers on Tuesday fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and replaced him with inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera.

Cottrell had become a popular target of fan ire as the Chargers (3-5) lost three of their last four games, including a 37-32 loss to former teammate Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in London on Sunday.

That game was indicative of the Chargers’ defensive shortcomings, with no pressure on the quarterback and a lot of passing yards.

Coach Norv Turner decided after the game that Cottrell had to go, and informed him on Monday morning.

Indiana picks lawyer Glass as new AD

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Fred Glass has been called The Closer. Now he gets to be The Cleaner.

Glass, who orchestrated bringing the Super Bowl to Indianapolis, took on a greater challenge Tuesday by accepting the athletic director’s job at Indiana amid an NCAA phone-call scandal and allegations the school failed to properly monitor the men’s basketball team.

School officials are awaiting a ruling from the infractions committee.

“We’re almost over the long, national nightmare, I hope, because our place is one that has always followed the rules,” said Glass. “I think we can have that again.”

It’s been a tough time for Indiana athletics.

The football team just ended a four-game losing streak. The men’s basketball program has the pending NCAA decision and is bracing for its worst season in decades under new coach Tom Crean.

To Glass, however, it’s a dream job.

15 UNT players fail drug tests

DENTON, Texas—Fifteen North Texas football players failed drug tests conducted this fall at the request of coach Todd Dodge.

Eighty-six players were tested from Sept. 24-Oct. 15. They were chosen by the coaching staff and were considered regular contributors to the team. The results of the testing were first reported by the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The school normally tests athletes at random, and the NCAA tested 20 players separately late last month. North Texas hasn’t received results of the NCAA tests.

Dodge said at his weekly news conference that he couldn’t specify the types of drugs, but later referred to them generally as “street drugs.”