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After playing the final half of this past season on an injured foot, Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke did not want to risk his professional future on it.
Weinke pulled out of the Senior Bowl yesterday, citing a doctor’s report and his own intuition not to hinder his NFL draft status.
"Any time you lose a player of Chris’ magnitude, it’s obviously a disappointment," said Victor Knight, Senior Bowl media relations director. "I’m sure it’s disappointing to the fans. But it’s not in the game’s best interests to put a player on the field who is not 100 percent."
Weinke was to be the first Heisman Trophy winner in 15 years to play in Saturday’s all-star game at Mobile, Ala. But he has been fighting chronic pain since Sept. 28 when he twisted his left foot when stepping in a hole during a game at Maryland.
Weinke was examined Friday by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews told Weinke to avoid aggravating the injury, hoping it would not require surgery.
"I committed to the Senior Bowl over two months ago and was looking forward to playing in this game," Weinke said. "I wanted to be with my Florida State teammates (eight other players) one last time."
In Weinke’s place, the Senior Bowl has brought in Florida quarterback Jesse Palmer.
DIVORCE COURT
 Becker settles: Retired German tennis star Boris Becker and his wife have reached an out-of-court settlement of their divorce case.
"They reached a global settlement and they resolved all issues," Becker’s attorney Robert Kohlman said yesterday. "It was a very good settlement for Mr. Becker and for the children."
The settlement comes before Boris and Barbara Becker were to be officially divorced in a court in Munich, Germany, today, Kohlman said.
A German newspaper reported yesterday that Becker, 33, and his 34-year-old wife will share custody of their two sons, and she will receive a one-time payment of $14.4 million. Kohlman would neither confirm nor deny the figure.
Barbara Becker also will choose between a luxury condominium or a villa in Munich, Bild am Sonntag said, citing unidentified sources. The paper also reported that Becker will pay child support.
Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion, married Barbara, the daughter of an American soldier and a German mother, in December 1993. They separated in November.
SWIMMING
Record falls: Franck Esposito of France set a short-course world record yesterday in the 200-meter butterfly during a club event in Antibes, France.
Esposito was timed in 1 minute, 51.58 seconds, breaking the mark of 1:51.76 set by Britain’s James Hickman in March 1998.
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Bob Francis, Phoenix Coyotes coach, on job security in the NHL, where six coaches have already been fired this season:
"You’ll see nothing on my office walls. Even my name is up there in Velcro."
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