Major league ballparks are being wired for instant replay, and commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday his "confidence is growing" that the technology to assist umpires will be ready soon.

"I want to make sure that if and when we do it, it's really good, it's perfect," Selig said at the conclusion of a two-day owners' meeting. "It'll be very limited. I want to make sure, and I'm not quite certain yet. But we should have answers very shortly."

Selig said he has visited the so-called "war room" in New York where officials would review video feeds of disputed home runs. The NHL has a similar setup in Toronto.

"We've spent a lot of time doing a lot of wiring of ballparks, doing a lot of checking," Selig said. "Let's just say my confidence is growing."

A replay report was given to owners by Jimmie Lee Solomon, an executive vice president in the commissioner's office, a person at the meeting said, speaking on condition of anonymity because Selig's remarks were the only ones that were authorized.

Owners were told that an agreement with the umpires' union was basically in place.

The "war room" will be at the offices of Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Phones and monitors for replay will be installed near the field at every ballpark, and decisions will be made by crew chiefs after consulting the New York office.

Selig was once a staunch opponent of replay, but a spate of missed home run calls this season has changed his stance.

Replays would be used to only determine whether a ball leaving the field is fair or foul, or whether it actually went over the fence. It would not be used on close plays on the bases or balls and strikes.

Replay was discussed at the meetings but doesn't require a vote among the owners because it is not a rule change.

Also Thursday, owners voted to approve Bill Neukom as controlling owner of the San Francisco Giants as of Oct. 1, when Peter Magowan retires.

In addition, Selig said All-Star rosters might be expanded by two pitchers to ensure that position players won't have to pitch if the game goes deep into extra innings.

GOLF

HEINTZ, LAIRD SHARE LEAD

Bob Heintz and rookie Martin Laird matched the course record yesterday with 7-under 63s at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., to share the lead in the Wyndham Championship, the PGA Tour's last event before the FedEx Cup playoffs.

They joined three other players who previously shot 63s at the Donald Ross-designed course — nobody had done it since Gary Player in 1970, although the pros haven't played Sedgefield since 1976 — and surpassed the venue's opening-round record by one stroke.

Garrett Willis birdied his final five holes to join Scott Sterling, Tim Clark and Carl Pettersson one stroke back at 64.

SEVEN IN LEAD AT OREGON

Defending champion Mark McNulty shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the JELD-WEN Tradition Sunriver, Ore., the fourth of the Champions Tour's five major tournaments.

Craig Stadler, Gene Jones, Mark Wiebe, Tim Simpson, Jay Haas and David Eger joined McNulty at top of the leaderboard. The seven-man logjam matched the 1989 GTE North Classic for the biggest tie after 18 holes in Champions Tour history.

Taking advantage of calm and clear conditions to attack the fairways and pins, 15 players finished within a shot of the lead and 46 of the 68 players were even par or better on the Crosswater Course — the tour's longest at 7,533 yards.

TENNIS

RODDICK RALLIES FOR WIN

Top-seeded Andy Roddick needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat Eduardo Schwank, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), and advance to the quarterfinals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic yesterday at Washington.

Schwank, who started the year ranked No. 171 and has risen to 56th, twice served for match point up 5-4 in the third set, double-faulting on the second chance to open the door for Roddick.

Viktor Troicki beat Bobby Reynolds, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, and also advanced to the quarterfinals, where he will meet Roddick, ranked No. 9 in the world.

HORSE RACING

STEROID BAN PROPOSED

Kentucky racing officials have pushed forward a steroid ban for racehorses they're calling the toughest in the country.

The Kentucky Equine Drug Research Council approved a measure yesterday that would hit trainers with severe penalties — up to a three-year suspension — if their horses test positive for an anabolic steroid. The state's racing commission could grant final approval later this month.

Three specific steroids would still be allowed if a veterinary deems them necessary for therapeutic reasons. However, a horse must be clean of the drug for 60 days before entering a race.