U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Review Tyson’s Case

Mike Tyson lost his bid to have his rape conviction reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. Now, he will try to win early release from prison--through education.

He is serving a six-year sentence at the Indiana Youth Center in Plainfield, but his release in May of 1995 could be moved up by as much as six months if he passes his high school equivalency exam.

Tyson’s attorney, Alan Dershowitz, said the denial was expected because the Supreme Court accepts a small fraction of the petitions it receives.

Basketball

Coach Rick Barry has been fired by the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Fury of the Continental Basketball Assn. after a 12-game losing streak. He was replaced on an interim basis by Clifford Ray, who played with Barry for Golden State when the Warriors won the NBA title in 1975.

Arkansas strengthened its grip on the No. 1 ranking in the next-to-last Associated Press college basketball poll. The Razorbacks (24-2) were the top-ranked team for the fourth consecutive week and the ninth time this season.

UCLA was ranked No. 15.

New Mexico gave Dave Bliss a four-year contract extension. The Lobos (22-6, 14-4) go into this week’s Western Athletic Conference tournament as the top-seeded team. . . . Kentucky assistant Billy Donovan, 28, became Marshall’s new basketball coach, making him the youngest coach in NCAA Division I. . . . Bob Brown, whose team went 11-16 this season, was fired as coach at Boston University. . . . Kansas’ Nick Proud, a 6-foot-10 Australian, will be sidelined for the rest of the season because of a knee injury.

Football

Safety Ronnie Lott of the New York Jets has agreed to restructure his contract in order to give the team more room under the $33.8 million salary cap.

Lott made $2.2 million last season, his first after leaving the Raiders. The 13-year veteran safety was due to make $1.4 million this season; terms of the restructuring were not disclosed.

“In the short period of time that Ronnie Lott has been with the Jets, his contributions both on and off the field have had a tremendous impact on our organization,” General Manager Dick Steinberg said. “Today’s move is just another example of unselfishness and his desire to help the team win any way possible.”

Bill Thomas, Tennessee State athletic director, has been hired as Texas Southern’s football coach, KRIV-TV in Houston reported.

Miscellany

The Modesto Invitational track meet May 14 has been canceled because of a lack of a sponsor. The meet started in 1942 as the Northern California Relays and later was known as the California Relays.

East German sports authorities gave banned performance-enhancing drugs to athletes under age 14, said Manfred Kittlaus, the head of a special agency investigating crimes in the former Communist state.

Linwood Fiedler held a four-minute lead over Dee Dee Jonrowe as the leaders in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race reached a camp checkpoint at Finger Lake, Alaska.

Golf

A back injury might prevent defending champion Fred Couples from playing in this week’s Honda Classic at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.