Wayward Rodman Skips Spurs’ Practice

Dennis Rodman of the San Antonio Spurs missed practice Thursday, the day after his three-game suspension by the club was to have ended.

A Spur spokesman said Rodman had been expected at the workout. He remains on the team’s suspended list, although no decision on further disciplinary action has been made.

“It’s my hope that Dennis will grow up and understand that the team really is more important than his constant irritation,” General Manager Gregg Popovich said.

*

The Phoenix Suns put Charles Barkley on the injured list and signed free agent and former Laker Trevor Ruffin to a one-year contract. The injury listing takes Barkley off the 12-man roster and requires him to sit out at least five more games.

Tennis

Meilen Tu, a 16-year-old wild-card entry from Northridge, defeated Katerina Maleeva, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the $750,000 Virginia Slims of Philadelphia.

In the same tournament, Jennifer Capriati pulled out of the doubles competition, complaining of a sore right shoulder, a day after losing to Anke Huber in first-round singles.

Pete Sampras beat Richey Reneberg, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the $1.1-million European Community Championship in Antwerp, Belgium.

Olympics

Tickets for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta are tentatively set to go on sale May 1, according to Billy Payne, president of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG).

Nearly 12 million tickets will be offered. Prices, which include transportation between venues, will range from $25 to as high as $250 for athletic events. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies have been set at $200, $400 and $600.

Payne said that tickets for some of the 560 sporting events scheduled during 17 days in July 1996 will be subjected to a lottery system similar to the one used for the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Boxing

Heavyweight champion George Foreman might climb back into the ring only if former champion Mike Tyson is his opponent.

“Tyson would be the only guy that would make me feel the spice to fight again,” Foreman said. “I’d fight him instantly.”

Tyson is in prison in Indiana serving a sentence for rape. He is eligible to be released in May.

A federal grand jury in Miami returned a drug indictment against featherweight boxer Ruben Palacio of Colombia.

Palacio, 32, was arrested Sunday at Miami International Airport with 5.33 pounds of heroin concealed in his clothing.

If convicted, Palacio faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison.

Names in the News

Former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bank fraud for stealing and writing $175,000 in bad checks. Schlichter, 34, entered the plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas and immediately was taken into custody. The maximum sentence for federal bank fraud is 30 years in prison and/or a $1-million fine. . . . The San Diego Padres assigned former major leaguer Marty Barrett to manage the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League.