Mark McGwire's youngest brother says in a book proposal that he injected the former baseball star with steroids, according to Deadspin.com.

Jay McGwire is circulating a manuscript titled "The McGwire Family Secret: The Truth about Steroids, a slugger and Ultimate Redemption," the Web site reported yesterday. Jay McGwire, a body builder, said his brother started using steroids in 1994 and that he injected Mark with Deca-Durabolin.

"Mark is a man I think most would like to forgive because his reason wasn't nefarious — it was for survival," the proposal says, according to the Web site. "My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom — which is the only way to live."

Jay McGwire, who says he has a strained relationship with his brother, could not be reached for comment yesterday. Telephone numbers for his home and fitness center in California were disconnected.

Mark McGwire repeatedly has denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. When he testified under oath before Congress in 2005, however, he wouldn't discuss whether he did.

$18M DEAL FOR FIELDER

First baseman Prince Fielder and the Milwaukee Brewers reached a preliminary agreement yesterday on an $18 million, two-year contract.

The agreement is subject to a physical, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said.

Melvin declined to discuss the contract's value.

Milwaukee renewed Fielder's contract last year for $670,000, and Fielder was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He asked for $8 million and the Brewers offered $6 million when figures were exchanged Tuesday.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

NO. 2 UNC WOMEN FALL

Alex Montgomery had 17 points and 10 rebounds, leading Georgia Tech to a 66-62 upset of No. 2 North Carolina in Atlanta, giving the Tar Heels consecutive losses for the first time since their final two games of the 2003-04 season.

Coming off an embarrassing 88-58 home loss Monday to No. 1 Connecticut, North Carolina blew a 15-point lead with 17:18 remaining.

Iasia Hemingway's layup with 56 seconds put the Yellow Jackets (14-4, 2-2 ACC) ahead for good, 64-62. North Carolina (17-2, 3-1) entered with a 147-14 record since the end of 2003-04, when it closed with a loss to Duke in the ACC tournament and another to Middle Tennessee in the NCAAs.

GOLF

JAPAN TEEN IN MASTERS

Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa received a special invitation yesterday from Augusta National, putting the 17-year-old from Japan in line to become the second-youngest player to compete in the Masters.

One day after Ishikawa received exemptions from three PGA Tour events, the Japanese star received the biggest one of all.

He will be the youngest player at the Masters since Tommy Jacobs competed as an amateur in 1952 at 17 years, one month and 21 days. Ishikawa, a senior in high school who already has won twice in Japan, turned 17 four months ago.

PREP BASKETBALL

NO HONOR IN 100-0 WIN

A Dallas high school girls basketball team that beat an opponent 100-0 has a case of blowout remorse.

The winning school now says it wants to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

"It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened," the head of the school said yesterday on The Covenant School's Web site. He added that Covenant has made "a formal request to forfeit the game recognizing that a victory without honor is a great loss."

Covenant, a private Christian school in Dallas, defeated Dallas Academy, 100-0, last week. It was 59-0 at halftime.

A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers — even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.

"I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the 3-point shots," said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. "At some point, they should have backed off."

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

The billionaire Ricketts family has been selected by Tribune Co. as the winning bidder for the hard-luck Chicago Cubs. The bid is worth about $900 million and would include Wrigley Field and a 25 percent interest in a regional sports network. ... Alissa Czisny showed the youngsters how it should be done, winning the short program yesterday and will take a five-point lead over junior champion Rachael Flatt into tomorrow's free skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland. ... Brian Joubert of France won the European figure skating championship for the third time with an 11-point victory over Italy's Samuel Contesti yesterday at Helsinki, Finland. ... Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss Sunday's NHL All-Star game in Montreal because of a left knee injury.