HOTBOX

Sporting News, The, Feb 15, 1999

When Sammy Sosa's not thinking about the upcoming baseball season, he's reaching out to abused and neglected children. This time, he was holding a million Beanie Babies. Thanks to a donation from the Sammy Sosa Charitable Foundation, Quacks the Duck, Rover the Dog, Hippity the Bunny, Stripes the tiger and Daisy the Cow found homes at 1,200 children's charities last week in the Dominican Republic and the United States. Sosa personally handed out the Beanies to children in his home country, and the rest have been distributed to charities throughout the United States. "I am just so excited to be able to provide these to children who have so little," Sosa says. The Child Welfare League of America, the nation's oldest and largest association of agencies working to protect children, was the largest recipient of Sosa's donation.

BIG MAC LAND:

That other home run king has been busy this offseason, too. In addition to his contributions to children's charities, Mark McGwire will make a guest appearance on NBC's Mad About You. In the episode, which airs February 22, Helen Hunt's character, Jamie, experiences a virtual fantasy that puts her in bed with McGwire, who stars as himself. With Big Mac as the object of her affection, Jamie gets back at husband Paul, whose virtual fantasy came true with supermodel guest star Christie Brinkley in an episode that aired during the 1994 season.

RE-MASTERED: Among last week's transactions was the Hornets' placing Percy Miller on waivers as another NBA dream died. But don't shed any tears. Miller, also known as Master P, has another career--that of millionaire rapper--to fall back on. Miller apparently felt that if Shaquille O'Neal could play basketball and rap, he could rap and play basketball. But he averaged one point and one assist in two exhibition games against Atlanta. And he presented another problem for his coach, Dave Cowens: "A coach can't call a player `Master,'" Cowens says.

FALCON CREST: Falcons rookie returner Tim Dwight set a Super Bowl record for highest kickoff-return average with at least four attempts. He returned five kicks for 210 yards, an average of 42 yards. But his team lost, and he's not going to Disney World. He does have definite plans, though: He's going back to Iowa to complete his degree.