Braves’ Player Is Shot, Killed

Dave Shotkoski, a 30-year old pitcher for the Atlanta Braves’ replacement team, was shot and killed Friday night outside a hotel in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Shotkoski was originally selected in the fourth round of the 1985 January draft by the Braves from the University of Illinois. He eventually moved to the Angels’ organization before being released in 1992.

A team spokesman said the murder took place during an apparent robbery.

Jurisprudence

A judge halted deliberations in the cocaine trafficking trial of Ram cornerback Darryl Henley after a juror expressed concerns that Henley faced a possible life sentence if convicted.

U.S. District Judge Gary Taylor questioned the juror after learning that the man had read a newspaper article that mentioned the maximum prison term.

Defense and prosecution attorneys raised questions about the juror’s ability to judge the case fairly, though the juror told Taylor he believed he could be fair.

Prosecutors allege that Henley was the financier of a nationwide cocaine trafficking ring during the summer of 1993.

Auto Racing

Jeff Gordon led the Hendrick Chevrolets in a 1-2-3 sweep of the top qualifying positions for Sunday’s TranSouth 400 in Darlington, S.C. Gordon, 23, ran a record-breaking 170.833 m.p.h. on a resurfaced track to win the pole, with teammate Terry Labonte alongside him and Ken Schrader third.

Britain’s Damon Hill drove his Williams-Renault on a fast lap of 1 minute 20.081 seconds on the 2.637-mile Interlagos circuit to earn the provisional pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Formula I season-opening race in Sao Paulo.

Basketball

While allegations swirl about drug involvement that might have contributed to the death of Boston Celtic player Reggie Lewis in 1993, a two-day fund-raising effort for his foundation will bring in more than $200,000, the Celtics said.

Kim Chandler has resigned as women’s coach at Cal State Northridge.

Miscellany

The International Olympic Committee has called for an “exemplary sanction” against Canada’s team doctor for allowing a rower to fail a drug test at the Pan American Games.

In a rare public statement on a non-Olympic drug case, Prince Alexandre de Merode, the chief of the IOC Medical Commission, even hinted that the punishment could be a life ban from sport, saying Friday it was “beyond question” that the doctor, Jeff Robinson, was to blame for the incident.

Organizers of the Games announced that they were stripping Canada of its gold medal in the women’s quadruple sculls because Silken Laumann tested positive for the banned drug pseudo-ephedrine, found in cold medications.

Tom Dolan of Michigan lowered an American and NCAA record for the second consecutive night as he won the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA swimming and diving championships at Indianapolis. Dolan, the 1994 world champion in the event, set a short-course record of 3 minutes 38.18 seconds, more than two seconds faster than the 3:40.64 records set by Greg Burgess last year.

Male gymnasts from Armenia, Germany, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to compete against top U.S. teams at the Peter Vidmar International Invitational at John Wooden Center at UCLA today and Sunday. Competition hours for both days are from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Admission is $5 per day. For details call (310) 825-2101. . . . The Los Angeles Starlights and Orange County Seals of the National Women’s Volleyball League will play a benefit game tonight at 7:30 at the Pyramid at Long Beach State. . . . There will be a polo skins game at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Pacific Coast Polo Center in La Quinta. For details call (619) 342-2223.

Names in the News

Bobby Czyz, the former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight champion making his heavyweight debut, scored a fifth-round TKO over Tim Tomashek at West Orange, N.J. . . . Safety Kenneth Gant, who won two Super Bowl rings with the Dallas Cowboys, signed a three-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.