The 49ers are believed to be one of five teams the NFL fined last week for having illegal contact with players before the league’s calendar year ended this month, according to the Sacramento Bee.

While players under contract were permitted to use the team’s practice facility last month, league rules prohibited teams from conducting any formal meetings, practices or workouts. The rule is designed to give players guaranteed downtime before the start of teams’ offseason workout program, which in a normal year would begin in mid-March.

During the downtime period this year, coach Jim Harbaugh reportedly had on-field throwing sessions with quarterback Alex Smith, who was still under contract at the time.

Asked by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area in February whether the sessions were used to work on Smith’s fundamentals and mechanics or whether it was just a way to break the ice, Harbaugh answered: “Both.”

Miscellany

The Cal baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score, then scored in the 11th inning to defeat Washington State 4-3.

The host Stanford baseball team took advantage of two errors by Long Beach State third baseman Mike Hill for a 6-5 victory.

Ashley Chinn threw a perfect game to lead the Stanford softball team to a 10-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in the Stanford Invitational.

Mardy Fish beat No. 17 seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. In women’s play, second-seeded Kim Clijsters earned her 500th career victory by beating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

Sheryl Swoopes, 40, will return to the WNBA to play with the Tulsa Shock, a source told The Associated Press.