Questions Raised About Olympic Village Site

Pollution at the site of the Olympic athletes’ village was overlooked during the campaign to gain the 2000 Games for Sydney, Australia, according to the woman responsible for drafting environmental guidelines for the bid.

Kate Short, co-convenor of the National Toxics Network, said the master plan to transform the site from a contaminated military and industrial zone into an environmental showpiece was “fantasy.”

She told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the public had never been given a full account of the contamination and said, “It’s going to be a major cause of the Olympic blowout on the budget.”

The network on Monday night also quoted from an internal New South Wales government briefing paper, from the disbanded Property Services Group, which suggested the problems were covered up.

Pro Hockey

Encouraged by progress in lease negotiations, the New Jersey Devils and their landlord delayed court action and gave themselves another week to find a way to keep the Stanley Cup champions from moving to Nashville, Tenn.

In a five-minute hearing before Superior Court Judge Peter Ciolino, attorneys for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority agreed to postpone until July 11 a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent a move.

The Mighty Ducks have offered a termination contract to defenseman Tom Kurvers. The Ducks traded for Kurvers last summer in an attempt to bolster their dismal power play, but the deal that sent captain Troy Loney to the New York Islanders backfired. Kurvers, 32, proved to be a defensive liability, the power play remained the worst in the league and Kurvers was banished from the lineup for the final 17 games. He finished with four goals and three assists in 22 games.

In another contract decision, the team is attempting to re-sign forward Garry Valk but allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent by not offering him a contract with at least a 10% raise over his recent $430,000 arbitration award.

Scotty Bowman, who guided the Detroit Red Wings to their first Stanley Cup finals in 29 years, signed a three-year contract with the team to return as coach and director of player personnel.

Motor Sports

Paul Tracy, seventh in this year’s Indy Car PPG Cup point standings, has received medical clearance to drive in Sunday’s 200-mile race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., after undergoing foot surgery.