Orioles Fire Scout Linked To Gambling Probe

The Baltimore Orioles fired a high-ranking scout after Major League Baseball's newly formed investigative unit linked him to a gambling probe.

MLB was asked for assistance in the gambling inquiry about six months ago by the New York Police Department, a person with knowledge of the investigation said Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not have authority to speak publicly.

The fired scout, Alan Marr, was national cross-checker for the Orioles and the top person listed in the team's scouting directory. The gambling investigation that led to his firing first was reported Friday by SI.com.

MLB's investigative unit is still actively investigating scouts as part of the gambling probe. There has been no indication games were fixed, the person with knowledge of the probe said.

There was no indication whether the gambling investigation implicating Marr involved bets on baseball.

Final Resting Place For Cubs Fans Being Built

CHICAGO - Finally, the perfect answer for a team that has been killing its fans for 100 years: A place to put their remains.

A Chicago man and Bohemian National Cemetery on the city's North Side are joining forces to build for Cubs fans a final resting place that looks a lot like the spot where they saw their dreams of a pennant die year after year.

Called "Beyond the Vines," the 24-foot long ivy-covered wall is designed to look like the one in dead center at Wrigley Field.

It's all on the drawing board now, but the wall is expected to be up and ready to accept fans in October - just about the time Cubs fans are starting their annual mantra of "Wait 'til next year."

And when it does go up, Dennis Mascari the president of Fans Forever, Inc., says it will transform the cemetery experience, if not for the dead, at least for the living.

YANKEES: The team signed left-hander Eric Milton to a minor-league contract, returning Milton to the organization that originally drafted him.

New York took Milton with its first-round pick, 20th overall, in the June 1996 draft. Milton was traded to Minnesota two years later in the deal for Chuck Knoblauch.

Milton, who had elbow surgery last June, will be assigned to Triple-A and immediately placed on the DL, allowing him to continue rehabbing.