Ex-Dodger Daal Agrees to Contract With Orioles

Omar Daal, who went 11-9 with a 3.90 earned-run average for the Dodgers in 2002, agreed to a two-year, $7.5-million contract with the Baltimore Orioles contingent on Daal passing a physical today. He earned $5 million last season.

Daal, 30, was on the Orioles’ original list as they began to target free agents, but negotiations didn’t heat up until Tuesday night.

Daal represents the Orioles’ first full-time left-handed starter since Jimmy Key in 1998.

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Dave Martinez, who played for nine teams in 16 seasons as an outfielder and first baseman, has retired.... Reliever Rod Beck agreed to a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs, who also gave an $800,000, one-year deal to infielder Ramon Martinez.... Relief pitcher Al Levine, who spent the last four seasons with the Angels, agreed to a $950,000, one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.... Baseball’s Hall of Fame game and the induction ceremonies will take place on different weekends for the first time. The exhibition game between Philadelphia and Tampa Bay will be played June 16 and the induction will be July 27. The change was needed because of a conflict with the major league schedule.

Tennis

Lleyton Hewitt, the world No. 1, lost to Jiri Novak, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, at the Hopman Cup, a mixed team event in Perth, Australia. The Australians qualified for Saturday’s final because Alicia Molik won her singles match, then teamed with Hewitt to rally from three match points down to take the mixed doubles.

In the day’s other match, Belgium defeated Uzbekistan, 3-0.

Jan-Michael Gambill used a strong baseline game to beat top-seeded Roger Federer, 6-4, 7-5, and reach the semifinals of the $1-million Qatar Open.

Defending champion Younes El Aynaoui defeated Fabrice Santoro, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, to also reach the semifinals.

Miscellany

Brian McBride of the Columbus Crew was loaned for three months to Everton of England’s Premier League. The forward will rejoin the Crew in time for Major League Soccer’s regular-season opener April 5.

Bobby Goepfert made 22 saves as the U.S. advanced to the semifinals of the World Junior Hockey Championships with a 4-3 victory over the Czech Republic at Halifax, Canada.

Passings

Al Bart, a member of Fordham’s famed Seven Blocks of Granite defensive line, died Dec. 28 in Kettering, Ohio, at age 87.

Bart played at Fordham from 1935 to 1937.

His teammates on the line included Vince Lombardi and Alex Wojciechowicz, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.