League

New Orleans Saints players and at least one assistant coach maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 over the last three seasons to reward game-ending injuries inflicted on opposing players, including Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, the NFL said Friday. "Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs. Cart-offs are defined by the NFL as a player being carried off the field; knockouts as when a player cannot return to the game.

The 1999-2000 ice hockey campaign came to a close last weekend, when Pennsbury fell to Serra Catholic, 4-1, in the the state Class A title game at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. That said, it is time to hand out the awards and recap the highlights and lowlights from a season that started way back in September. Coach of the year. Holy Ghost Prep's Brian Tibbels is The Inquirer's ice hockey coach of the year for Bucks and Montgomery Counties. Turning a perennial doormat into a league contender, Tibbels guided the Firebirds to a 16-7-1 mark and third place in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League.

The co-owner of two New Jersey minor league baseball teams and his wife have made the largest donation ever to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, giving $2 million to help build a new state headquarters for the group, which grants the wishes of seriously or terminally ill children. The foundation said Joseph and Nancy Plumeri's gift is the largest the group has ever received nationwide. Plumeri is the co-owner of the Trenton Thunder, the New York Yankees' Double A Eastern League affiliate, and the Lakewood BlueClaws, the Phillies' Class A South Atlantic league affiliate.

The nonconference grind that several local women's basketball teams endured early in the season is starting to pay off in league competition. Drexel (4-9), for example, is only a game under .500 in the America East with a 3-4 mark and a three-game win streak. "We're 4-3, after the 0-6 start, so we're starting to find some consistency," said second-year coach Kevin Murphy. "It's also been pretty tough going without Jen MacNeil, who will now sit out the season. " MacNeil, an all-league senior, suffered a stress fracture of the right fibula before the season.

Gene Benson, the charismatic center fielder of the Philadelphia Stars of the old Negro National League, died Tuesday. He was 85 and lived in West Oak Lane. Benson made his debut with the Stars in 1937, was traded to the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1938 and then returned to Philadelphia a year later. He played into the late 1940s. From 1944 through 1946, the stylish outfielder batted .327, .370 and .345. For about 20 years he worked in the transportation department of the Philadelphia Board of Education, retiring in 1979.

With the formality known to the rest of the Lower Bucks league as the "regular season" out of the way, Western is ready to begin the defense of its state title. The team finished in first place with a 19-1 record and will automatically advance to the eight-team regional playoffs, which begin July 30. The state tournament, which will also have an eight-team field, is scheduled to begin Aug. 8. Western breezed to the top spot thanks to the best pitching staff in the league. Anchored by Neshaminy's Steve Tenaglia and Charlie Orbann, the starting rotation was the league's most consistent as Western won its first 18 league games before losing, 10-9, to Newtown on Friday.

The Greater Bustleton Civic League agreed last week to play a more active role on major municipal issues, utilizing phone and organized-mail campaigns. Meeting at the Bavarian Charity Hall on Haldeman Avenue, league members accepted as first objectives defeat of the Special Services District and revival of item-pricing legislation. Discussing the projects at the Tuesday meeting, members agreed to write and call Mayor Goode on the measure to create the district, where special services and increased policing will be given in return for voluntary payment of higher-than-normal taxes.

Triton High head coach Wendy Frantz believes her team has the ability to win the Olympic Conference American Division. However, Frantz believes Paul VI, Pennsauken and Camden also will contend for the league championship. "It's going to be a great race," Frantz said. "We've got a lot of good teams in this league. Paul VI is always a powerhouse. They're going to be very tough to beat. "I'm expecting Pennsauken and Camden to have good teams, too. They both have some great individual players.

Matt Levan and his Coatesville teammates are starting to get a good feeling about the baseball season. "In 10th grade, we all played together on the junior varsity," said Levan, a senior pitcher on the Red Raiders' senior-dominated team. "No one stood out. We were a real team, with everyone chipping in. We wound up doing real well and went 7-2 in Ches-Mont games. " Now, the former junior-varsity squad has moved up to the varsity level, and is winning again. And Levan is making a pitch for stardom.

Lee Smith, baseball's career saves leader, still hopes to catch on with another team. "Right now, I know it's tough with teams cutting back guys, not picking up guys," said Smith, who refused Kansas City's request that he go to the minors. "I thought I'd see if I could get with another ballclub before I made my decision on the Triple A thing. I'm not weighing too close toward it, I know. " Smith, who saved 478 games for eight teams, was asked by Royals manager Tony Muser to accept an assignment to Triple A Omaha.