Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? One week from the day her husband collapsed on a Baltimore Orioles practice field, Kiley Bechler flew home Sunday to Oregon after taking a few moments to thank people who supported her through a trying week.

Steve Bechler, a 23-year-old Orioles pitching prospect, died Monday from heatstroke, with his wife at his bedside. Kiley Bechler, 22, who is expecting the couple’s first child in April, declined another interview request Sunday, saying she wasn’t ready to answer questions about her husband’s death.

But she made a brief speech Sunday morning at a breakfast the Orioles held behind Fort Lauderdale Stadium for their spring season-ticket holders.

Today or Tuesday, the Orioles are expected to announce the establishment of a Steve Bechler Memorial Fund, with proceeds to support Kiley Bechler, who might not qualify for Major League Baseball’s life insurance premium because her husband didn’t have enough major-league service.

Team owner Peter Angelos already has pledged a significant contribution, and Orioles vice president of baseball operations Mike Flanagan said several other teams had offered to donate money.

“One of the things she said at his deathbed was, ‘I’m not ready to be a single mom, and I wanted you to see this baby born,'” Flanagan said.

According to Bechler’s agent Sam Levinson, Kiley Bechler has hired a lawyer to look after her legal interests and to consider possible litigation. Friends say the family’s main goal is to get ephedra off the shelves.

If the family does proceed with legal action, attorneys familiar with litigation against ephedra manufacturers say it may consider action against the following:

• Cytodyne Technologies: The Manasquan, N.J., company manufactures Xenadrine RFA-1, the weight-loss aid Broward County (Fla.) medical examiner Joshua Perper linked to Bechler’s death.
• Major League Baseball: The NFL, NCAA and International Olympic Committee all have banned ephedra, but baseball has not.
• Baltimore Orioles: Bechler’s family could follow the lead set by the family of Northwestern University football player Rashidi Wheeler, who died in 2001 during a grueling preseason drill. In a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the school, Wheeler’s family is arguing that inadequate medical care, not the ephedra an autopsy revealed was in Wheeler’s system, was the cause of death.

Meanwhile, baseball’s player union will await results of toxicology tests before deciding whether ephedra should be banned.

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Arizona signs Spivey: The Arizona Diamondbacks signed All-Star infielder Junior Spivey to a two-year contract Sunday. Spivey finished last season with a club-leading .301 batting average, 103 runs scored, 162 hits and 34 doubles.

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Umpires meet: Baseball’s umpires took the first step in reconciling the differences that emerged following a failed mass resignation more than three years ago. Umpires loyal to the old union and the new one met together for the first time this weekend in Clearwater, Fla., beginning the process to bring 25 holdout members into the World Umpires Assn.

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Lieber on mend: New York Yankees pitcher Jon Lieber, coming off elbow surgery, is expected to start throwing off a bullpen mound this week. Lieber, who turns 33 in April, had a ligament in his right elbow replaced in August. He went 20-6 in 2001 for the Chicago Cubs, then was 6-8 with a 3.70 ERA last season before a ligament in his right elbow was replaced Aug. 7.

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Cards ailing: St. Louis heads into its final workouts this week knowing that five players won’t be ready when exhibition games begin Thursday. Outfielder J.D. Drew and pitchers Jason Isringhausen, Chris Carpenter, Gene Stechschulte and Scotty Layfield are all sidelined.

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Rose waiting for call: If the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame opens its doors to him, Pete Rose will walk in. Baseball’s career hit leader — who spent part of the 1984 season with Montreal and got career hit No. 4,000 with the Expos — will learn today if he has been admitted to the Canadian shrine in St. Marys, Ontario.

Rose is ineligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. He agreed to a ban from the sport in 1989 following a gambling investigation.