Goose Gossage watched Mark McGwire's televised confession to steroids use and was happy his former teammate came clean. That's where the praise ended, with the Hall of Fame reliever saying there should be no place in Cooperstown for McGwire or any other player who used performance-enhancing drugs.

"I definitely think that they cheated," Gossage said yesterday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "And what does the Hall of Fame consist of? Integrity. Cheating is not part of integrity."

For Gossage, Hank Aaron still holds the career record of 755 home runs and Roger Maris owns the season record of 61. The Goose tosses out the fantastic figures posted by Barry Bonds, McGwire and Sammy Sosa as part of a "cheating era."

"The integrity of the Hall of Fame and the numbers and the history are all in jeopardy," said Gossage, inducted two years ago. "I don't think they should be recognized. Here's a guy Aaron, we're talking about the greatest record of all records. And he did it on a level playing field. He did it with God-given talent. And the same with Maris, absolutely. These are sacred records and they've been shattered by cheaters."

Hall of Famer Willie McCovey wouldn't factor drugs into the equation and said he likely would vote for McGwire if he had the opportunity.

"Whether he took steroids or not, he did so much for baseball," McCovey said. "He almost helped save baseball for a few years there."

BASKETBALL

WHALEN TRADED

Fiery and charismatic with a little streetball flare to her game, Lindsay Whalen was the biggest reason for the revival of women's basketball at the University of Minnesota.

Now the Minnesota Lynx are hoping she can do the same for the professional team in her home state.

The Lynx sent point guard Renee Montgomery and the No. 1 overall draft pick to the Connecticut Sun yesterday for Whalen and the No. 2 overall selection in a deal that has both players returning to the states where they starred in college.

Both teams said the deal was strictly a basketball decision and did not hinge on generating more interest for a summer league that has struggled mightily to sustain consistent fan support.

SOCCER

U.S. SITES FOR CUP

Chicago's World Cup bid met the same fate as its try for the Olympics when the Windy City was dropped yesterday from U.S. plans for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

American organizers selected 21 stadiums in 18 metropolitan areas to submit in their bid book to FIFA in May.

Also left off was San Francisco, but organizers said the Bay Area could return to contention if the 49ers get a new stadium in Santa Clara. Others not making the cut included Cleveland; Detroit; Jacksonville, Fla.; and St. Louis.

The 18 metropolitan areas have stadiums in Atlanta; Baltimore; Dallas-Arlington, Texas; Denver; East Rutherford, N.J.; Foxboro, Mass.; Glendale, Ariz.; Houston; Indianapolis, Mo.; Kansas City, Mo.; Landover, Md.; Los Angeles-Pasadena, Calif.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; Philadelphia; San Diego; Seattle; and Tampa, Fla.

SKIING

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Curtis Joseph, the winningest goalie (454 victories) to have never won the Stanley Cup, has retired, ending a 19-year career in the NHL in which he was No. 4 on the career victory list. ... Jermain Taylor (28-4-1), who was scheduled to face WBA 168-pound champion Andre Ward (21-0) on April 17 in the Super Six World Boxing Classic, withdrew yesterday. ... American Lindsey Vonn kept her overall lead despite falling during the first run of a World Cup slalom yesterday at Flachau, Austria that was won by hometown favorite Marlies Schild. ... Top-ranked Serena Williams advanced to the semifinals at the Sydney International at Sydney, Australia with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Vera Dushevina.