For The Record

Applied
To buy the Cubs, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Potential buyers must submit an application to Major League Baseball before they can examine the team's finances; Cuban said he put his in last week. The Cubs—who are being sold at the end of the season as part of Chicago real estate developer Sam Zell's $8.2 billion deal to buy the Tribune Company, which owns the team—are expected to go for at least $600 million. "I think [Cuban] would bring whatever it takes to win the World Series," said Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano, whose negotiations for a long-term contract extension stalled when the franchise was put on the block. "Plus, I can be signed by him. I know he has the money for me. Hopefully he can buy the Cubs."

Erased
By the NCAA, the Oklahoma football team's eight victories from the 2005 season, one of the penalties handed down for violations of NCAA rules. Last August quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were kicked off the team for holding no-show jobs at a Norman car dealership. Last week the NCAA said the Sooners were guilty of a "failure to monitor" players' employment; in addition to the vacated wins, Oklahoma will lose two scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009--10 academic years. Coach Bob Stoops's career record was adjusted from 86--19 to 78--19, and all of Bomar's stats from that season were also erased. Oklahoma said it will appeal.

Retired
After a loss to former Contender star Alfonso Gomez last Saturday, former welterweight, junior welterweight and super featherweight champion Arturo Gatti. The 35-year-old Gatti (40--9) became a boxing cult hero after his brutal trilogy with Micky Ward, who served as Gatti's trainer for his final fight. ( Gatti won two of the three epic fights, which took place in 2002 and '03.) But Gatti (above) was knocked out in three of his last four fights, including a seventh-round dropping at the hands of the lightly regarded Gomez. "Hasta la vista, baby," said Gatti. "I can't be taking this abuse anymore."

Suspended
By the NBA for the first seven games of next season, Kings forward Ron Artest and Warriors forward Stephen Jackson, for their recent off-the-court legal problems. In May, Artest (below) pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge stemming from an argument with his wife, Kimsha; he was sentenced to community service and fined $600. Last month Jackson pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside an Indiana strip club last fall and was sentenced to community service and a $5,000 fine. Said NBA spokesman Tim Frank, "Both were serious offenses and each are repeat violators of NBA rules."

Hired
As the Mets' first base coach, Rickey Henderson, the major league alltime leader in steals (1,406). Earlier this season the 48-year-old Henderson, who last played in the majors in 2003, said he could still play and was considering a comeback, but last week he said his new gig with the Mets—one of the nine teams he played for in his 25-year career—means he's "officially retired." (He replaces Howard Johnson, who was promoted to hitting coach when Rick Down was fired last week.) "I wanted to be a coach," said Henderson, who has worked as a Mets spring training base-running instructor for the last two years. "It's my dream—outside of playing baseball."

Fractured
The neck of a fan at Yankee Stadium, in a collision with another patron who fell in the stands on July 8. Paul Robinson, 53, of Kirkland, Wash., was sitting in the upper deck with his wife and 13-year-old son when an unidentified fan tumbled down several rows of seats and crashed into Robinson's head, breaking several vertebrae below his skull. Robinson, who underwent surgery in New York last week, is not paralyzed. "This is a miracle," a spokesman for Montefiore Medical Center said. "That vertebra, if you go a fraction of an inch, you're paralyzed." As of Monday the Yankees were still searching for the unidentified fan, who is believed to have been drunk when he fell.

Died
Of prostate cancer at age 68, former NHL tough guy, coach and G.M. John Ferguson. A five-time Stanley Cup winner as a Canadiens forward from 1963 through '71, the gritty Ferguson (below) served as bodyguard for Jean Beliveau and Montreal's other flashy stars: He finished his career with 1,214 penalty minutes in 500 games and was the most feared fighter in the league. Despite his pugilistic reputation—he got into a brawl 12 seconds into his first NHL game and considered fighting Canadian heavyweight champ George Chuvalo—Ferguson was also a talented scorer. He averaged 18 goals in eight seasons and added 20 more in 85 postseason games. After retiring, Ferguson, the father of current Maple Leafs G.M. John Ferguson Jr., was coach and G.M. of the Rangers and Winnipeg Jets and was a scout for the Sharks from '95 until his death.