National sports briefs

The family of a limousine driver shot to death inside Jayson Williams' mansion filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former basketball star.

Woodson fined

Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson was fined $75,000 by the NFL for a hit on Seattle's Darrell Jackson, who had a seizure after the game Sunday and spent a night in the hospital.

Latest hall nominees

Running back Marcus Allen and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue were among 74 people nominated for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Ramirez chalks up perfect score

Boston's Manny Ramirez became the first player in seven years, and only the fifth ever, to get a perfect score in the Elias Sports Bureau's annual statistical rankings created by players and owners in the settlement of the 1981 strike.

Ramirez was ranked among designated hitters because he appeared in more games at DH during the 2001 and 2002 seasons than in the outfield. He finished first in the five categories used to evaluate DHs: plate appearances, batting average, on-base percentage, homers and RBIs.

Astros holding the line

The Houston Astros are holding all ticket prices steady for the second time in three years.

Prime club seats remain at $39 per ticket, with choices ranging downward to 3,000 outfield deck seats that still sell for $5 to adults and $1 to children.

Massachusetts considers banning aluminum baseball bats

Massachusetts could become the first state to ban aluminum baseball bats from postseason high school games, citing injuries from line drives that can fly through the infield at close to 100 mph.

The state Interscholastic Athletic Association on Thursday will consider banning the bats from next year's state tournament. It will also decide whether to recommend a ban for all high school games.

No other state bans aluminum bats, according to the National High School Baseball Coaches Association in Arkansas.

The bats, which produce a distinctive "ping" when they strike the ball, were first used in amateur baseball in the mid-1970s and now are standard in college play. They're also in widespread use in scholastic leagues across the country.

But questions have been raised about the safety of young players. Some contend baseballs come hurtling off aluminum bats faster than they do off wood bats -- too fast for some youngsters to react.

Last year, a panel of the National Collegiate Athletic Association approved changes expected to make aluminum bats react more like those made of wood, in part to cut down on teams' offense. The National Federation of State High School Associations also adopted standards on the length and weight of non-wood bats to limit the "maximum exit speed" of a baseball to 97 mph.