Piazza sets homer record

New York — Mike Piazza broke Carlton Fisk’s major-league record for home runs as a catcher Wednesday night, hitting No. 352 in the first inning against San Francisco.

Piazza, who has started playing some games at first base recently, has 363 homers overall, 58th on the career list.

He tied Fisk’s mark of 351 on April 27 at Dodger Stadium with a solo shot off Hideo Nomo.

Piazza, 35, hit his first 177 homers with Los Angeles. He broke in with the Dodgers in 1992 and was chosen NL Rookie of the Year the following season.

College football

Iowa wants Missouri to honor contract

Iowa City, Iowa — Iowa athletic director Bob Bowlsby said it would be “highly unethical” for Missouri to cancel half of a four-game football series scheduled to start in 2005.

Missouri officials want to drop Iowa from the 2005 and 2006 football schedules and play Arkansas State instead. The two schools also are to meet in the 2007 and ’08 seasons, and Missouri intends to play those games, associate athletic director Ed Stewart said.

Bowlsby said Missouri should honor all four years of the contract. The games — two at each school — were scheduled in 1994.

“I haven’t broken a contract like this in 25 years in the business, and I don’t think others should start doing it,” Bowlsby said. “I think it’s highly unethical, and I’m very surprised by it.”

Missouri and Iowa have not played each other in football since 1910.

College basketball

High-scoring guard signs with Cowboys

Stillwater, Okla. — JamesOn Curry, the leading scorer in North Carolina high school basketball history who pleaded guilty to six felony drug counts last month, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play for Oklahoma State.

The 6-foot-3 guard scored 3,307 points in his four-year career at Eastern Alamance High. Originally he signed a letter of intent to play at North Carolina, but his scholarship offer was rescinded two days after he pleaded guilty to the drug charges.

Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, who overcame alcoholism to build a successful program with the Cowboys, looked past Curry’s criminal activity after meeting with him face-to-face.

“I have looked in his eyes and seen a very remorseful young man who is looking for a second chance,” Sutton said.

Olympics

Magic Johnson, Aniston among torch bearers

Athens, Greece — American sports stars Magic Johnson, Carl Lewis and Gail Devers, along with “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston, will be Olympic torch bearers when the flame makes its around-the-world journey.

Australia’s 400-meter Olympic champion Cathy Freeman will carry the torch at the start of the relay June 4 in Sydney.

The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia on March 25 and brought to Athens’ marble stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. It will burn at the stadium until June 4, when it starts a 46,800-mile global journey across six continents, 27 countries and 33 cities with some 11,000 runners.