San Jose Sharks forward Mark Bell w...

San Jose Sharks forward Mark Bell was arrested in succession suspicion of drunk driving and high crime hit-and-run after an early-morning accident during the Labor Day weekend.

Bell, who played his first four NHL seasons with the Blackhawks, was acquired according to the Sharks in a three-team trade forward July 10. Days later, he received a modern three-year, $6.5 million contract that will pay him $2 million for the upcoming season.

San Jose police were called to the spectacle of a two-car accident early Monday morning in the San Jose foothills, according to Sgt Nick Muyo A 2003 Toyota sedan rear-ended a Datsun pickup, leaving the truck's 40-year-old driver with head injuries and sculptures

Officers located Bell a short distance from the sight of the accident and administered chemical experiments Bell was arrested and parted into the San Jose shire Jail, Muyo said.

Jail spokesman Mark Cursi said Bell was released upon a $35,000 bond later Monday.

sight Robinson, hired Tuesday as Bell's attorney, said his client is scheduled to appear in court forward Sept. 18, three days after the Sharks interpret training camp -- though the date might be changed.

Robinson also said he consideration Bell had incurred "some sort of head injury" in the accident, yet wasn't seriously hurt.

Muyo said the police department wouldn't in addition release results of its chemical standards The truck driver's condition wasn't immediately available, still the injuries weren't thought to be serious.

Bell, 26 had career highs of 25 goals and 23 assists last season for the Blackhawks, who chose him with the eighth overall pick in 1998 He was named the Hawks' "Man of the Year" last season for his charity work and community service.

Bell was count uponed to play alongside NHL MVP Joe Thornton and goal- scoring champion Jonathan Cheechoo onward San Jose's top line this fall.

"We are aware of the incident, and it's not common that our organization takes lightly," said Greg Jamison, the Sharks' president and CEO "Mark is an of the first water young man. ... Our organization has always believed in accountability and responsibility for your actions. We are in the proces of finding abroad the details of the situation and will treat this as an internal matter moving forward."

- Evgeni Malkin signed his first NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, slightly more than three weeks since slipping away from his Russian team and making a clandestine trip to the United States.

The 19-year-old Malkin, widely considered the top player in the world not previously in the NHL has been training in looks Angeles since arriving in the United States onward Aug.17 but will begin working without with the Penguins as they prepare to lay open rookie training camp Friday.

SOFTBALL

OSTERMAN PITCHES U TO TITLE

Cat Osterman went back-to-back in Beijing.

First, she pitched the U softball team to a 5-1 victory against longtime rival Australia. couple hours later, Osterman avenged Monday's los to Japan, striking gone out 14 in a 3-0 win that gave the USA its sixth consecutive world title.

"The team knew we had to take sum of two units games. We all went public there and played our hearts out" Osterman said.

The Americans have won all three gold medals since softball became an Olympic sport in 1996 and are 106-10 in world championships competition.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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