Tom Gugliotta

Magic Johnson's choices for the NBA's top 10 rookies of the 1992-93 NBA season form an insert set for NBA Hoops Series II. Each card features gold-foil stamping on the front and Johnson's photo and comments on the player on the back. The Washington Bullets' Tom Gugliotta (shown) and former Maryland star Walt Williams of the Sacramento Kings are in the set.

Baseball GIANTS: Named Lenn Sakata manager and Bert Bradley pitching coach of Triple-A Fresno. PIRATES: Agreed to terms with LHP Brian O'Connor, RHP Brian Smith, 1B Chris Pritchett, OF Ryan Radmanovich, RHP Jason Rakers, RHP Salomon Torres, C/INF Reed Secrist and LHP Kevin Tolar on minor-league contracts. RANGERS: Agreed to terms with OF Juan Gonzalez on two-year contract. REDS: Agreed to terms with 1B Sean Casey on one-year contract and IF/OF Pete Rose Jr. on minor-league contract. TIGERS: Named Scott Bream assistant general manager and John Westhoff vice president and legal counsel.

NBA games lost yesterday: 9.Total games missed: 350.Earliest estimated date season can start: Jan. 22.Projected player salary losses (through Jan. 22): $480 million.Negotiations: Nothing scheduled.Today's best canceled game: Utah at Minnesota. A matchup of the veteran Western Conference champions led by Karl Malone and John Stockton against one of the league's up-and-coming teams, stocked with talented young players like Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury and Tom Gugliotta.Pub Date: 12/23/98

NBA games lost yesterday: 9.Total games missed: 350.Earliest estimated date season can start: Jan. 22.Projected player salary losses (through Jan. 22): $480 million.Negotiations: Nothing scheduled.Today's best canceled game: Utah at Minnesota. A matchup of the veteran Western Conference champions led by Karl Malone and John Stockton against one of the league's up-and-coming teams, stocked with talented young players like Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury and Tom Gugliotta.Pub Date: 12/23/98

Opponent: Minnesota TimberwolvesPlace: USAir ArenaTime: 7: 30Radio: WWRC (980 AM)Outlook: This game will match teams led by talented forward tandems. Former Bullets F Tom Gugliotta (21.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and second-year F Kevin Garnett (15.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg) lead the Timberwolves. The Bullets have won two straight, including Saturday's win over Milwaukee. Washington is led by F Juwan Howard (23 points, eight rebounds against the Bucks) and F Chris Webber (20 points, 15 rebounds). The Bullets won both meetings last season.

BOWIE -- In a final attempt to sign No. 1 draft choice Tom Gugliotta, Washington Bullets general manager John Nash yesterday compared the team's five-year $10.725 million offer made to the North Carolina State forward to the five-year, $7.3 million dollar deal Stanford forward Adam Keefe signed with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.Keefe, the 10th player chosen in the 1992 NBA draft and the first lottery pick to sign, was once thought to be the Bullets' first choice among the blue-chip players available with their sixth pick.

ATLANTA -- The Washington Bullets won just their third roa game of the season with a 107-100 victory over the Atlanta Hawks last night.Washington had beaten previously beaten only Minnesota and Sacramento away from the Capital Centre.Michael Adams led Bullets with 21 points. Harvey Grant chipped in 18 points.Washington, who broke a nine-game losing streak Dec. 28 with a win over the Hawks, have now won two straight and three of four. The last time these teams met, Pervis Ellison hit a free throw with :05.7 seconds to give Washington a 97-96 victory.

Heat: Kevin Willis had a season-high 25 points and 15 rebounds, but Miami lost to Seattle, 84-81, on Thursday.Kings: Mitch Richmond scored 41 points as Sacramento reached a season high in points and margin of victory in a 126-96 victory over Denver on Thursday.Knicks: New York broke a three-game losing streak and won for the first time since Patrick Ewing was injured, beating New Jersey, 105-93, on Thursday.Nets: P.J. Brown had 23 points and 11 rebounds in New Jersey's 105-93 loss to New York on Thursday.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was a day the Washington Bullets got the services of two top-quality players. Yet there were some mixed feelings as the team gathered before last night's game.The proven ability of Chris Webber and the potential of Juwan Howard were welcome additions. Yet the loss of Tom Gugliotta made it difficult to celebrate."It's devastating," forward Calbert Cheaney said in a somber Washington locker room. "Tom's a great friend of mine and a great player and an excellent guy. The fact that we're losing him is a great blow to us."

Walt Williams, starting point guard and leading scorer for the University of Maryland this past season, has been named one of 17 finalists for the 12-member U.S. National team that will compete in the 1991 Pan American Games, Aug. 3-17 in Havana, Cuba.Williams survived tryouts involving 38 players this past weekend at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, and the finalists will move to a mini-camp at Purdue University on June 15. The team will be reduced to 12 members then.The 6-foot-8 Williams, who will be a senior next season, averaged 18.7 points, five rebounds and five assists in 17 games.

As he hears Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders call his name to enter the game, Stephon Marbury rips off his sweats and half trots to the scorers table. And, while coming off the bench is an odd experience, he seems fine as he walks onto the court. But, from the first time he touches the ball, it's clear that this is not the real Stephon Marbury.The real Stephon Marbury would have gotten by his man with a flashy stutter-step dribble, either creating a layup for a cutting teammate, or an open jump shot for himself.

LANDOVER -- Maybe the Washington Bullets have simply benefited from a break in the schedule that served up the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves in succession. Or, just maybe, the Bullets are becoming a good team.Whatever the reason, the Bullets won their third straight game last night and got above the .500 mark as they defeated the Timberwolves, 105-98, before 12,224 at USAir Arena.The Bullets started strongly, leading by as many as 23 points in the first half, and had just enough to hold off a rally that got the Timberwolves as close as five points in the final two minutes.

Opponent: Minnesota TimberwolvesPlace: USAir ArenaTime: 7: 30Radio: WWRC (980 AM)Outlook: This game will match teams led by talented forward tandems. Former Bullets F Tom Gugliotta (21.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg) and second-year F Kevin Garnett (15.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg) lead the Timberwolves. The Bullets have won two straight, including Saturday's win over Milwaukee. Washington is led by F Juwan Howard (23 points, eight rebounds against the Bucks) and F Chris Webber (20 points, 15 rebounds). The Bullets won both meetings last season.

MINNEAPOLIS -- As the Washington Bullets entered their locker room hours before yesterday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, guard Tim Legler sensed a change in mood of a team desperatelyneeding a win."It was like a playoff-type atmosphere for us," Legler said. "This was a team that we felt we should beat."And the Bullets did just that, ending a season-high six-game losing streak with a 108-96 win over the Timberwolves at the Target Center.Juwan Howard, coming off a career-high 32-point game on Friday against Indiana, scored 30 points, Legler had 21 points off the bench and Rasheed Wallace had 19 points and 12 rebounds to help the Bullets (23-27)

Heat: Kevin Willis had a season-high 25 points and 15 rebounds, but Miami lost to Seattle, 84-81, on Thursday.Kings: Mitch Richmond scored 41 points as Sacramento reached a season high in points and margin of victory in a 126-96 victory over Denver on Thursday.Knicks: New York broke a three-game losing streak and won for the first time since Patrick Ewing was injured, beating New Jersey, 105-93, on Thursday.Nets: P.J. Brown had 23 points and 11 rebounds in New Jersey's 105-93 loss to New York on Thursday.

That Washington Bullets general manager John Nash has been working the phones talking to other GMs is not unusual. But the calls this week bring a certain sense of urgency.The trading deadline is Thursday, with teams trying to make last-minute deals to better themselves for the rest of the season. The Bullets, despite their blockbuster trade earlier this season that brought in Chris Webber, are no exception."We've had discussions with several different parties," Nash said. "Whether we'll be able to make a deal in our best interests remains to be seen."

BOWIE -- The Washington Bullets medical staff yesterday gave Bernard King clearance to begin practicing with the team, but exactly when the 36-year-old forward will be activated was uncertain.King, a 13-year veteran who has not played an NBA game since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Sept. 6, 1991, passed his final Cybex examination yesterday afternoon. He likely will participate in his first Bullets practice at Bowie State Thursday morning.Neither coach Wes Unseld nor general manager John Nash would speculate as to when King might be back in uniform.

LANDOVER -- Rolando Blackman's three-pointer from well behind the arc with 1:01 left broke a tie last night to lead the New York Knicks to a tough 111-106 victory over the Washington Bullets.The Bullets, as they had done all night, continued to battle back, with Calbert Cheaney and Tom Gugliotta combining for six points in the final minute, but to no avail after Blackman's three-pointer.Patrick Ewing led New York with 33 points and 13 rebounds.New York, with the top defense in the NBA, had allowed more than 100 points in its past three games going into last night.

LANDOVER -- Washington Bullets guard Scott Skiles had just hit a three-pointer midway through the third quarter and the crowd at the USAir Arena was going wild. The Bullets were leading by 18 points and were on the verge of their third straight win, something that hasn't happened all season.And then the Bullets totally collapsed. By the end of the quarter, the lead over the Golden State Warriors was just six, and by the fourth quarter the Bullets were playing catch-up, only to suffer a 121-118 overtime loss before 15,911.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- It was a day the Washington Bullets got the services of two top-quality players. Yet there were some mixed feelings as the team gathered before last night's game.The proven ability of Chris Webber and the potential of Juwan Howard were welcome additions. Yet the loss of Tom Gugliotta made it difficult to celebrate."It's devastating," forward Calbert Cheaney said in a somber Washington locker room. "Tom's a great friend of mine and a great player and an excellent guy. The fact that we're losing him is a great blow to us."