Zambia Death Count From Stampede at Nine

Police and hospital authorities revised their figures Monday, saying that nine people had died and 78 were injured Sunday when fans stampeded out of an overcrowded soccer stadium at Lusaka, Zambia.

Hospital officials said an earlier death count of 15 was incorrect, that several unconscious fans had been presumed dead on arrival at emergency facilities after the game.

A crowd of about 40,000 in the 30,000-seat stadium watched Zambia defeated Sudan, 3-0, in a preliminary qualifying round for the 1998 World Cup.

Police Inspector General Francis Ndlovu said one survivor caught in the crush indicated that a bomb scare contributed to the panic. In recent weeks, government facilities have been targeted for three sabotage bombings.

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A bomb exploded at a soccer stadium outside Algiers, wounding 18 people, at least six of them police officers watching a game.

The bomb exploded at the stadium in Boufarik, about 18 miles south of the Algerian capital. Details were sketchy, but witnesses said the injury toll could rise.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the afternoon attack, the latest in spiraling violence in Algeria.

Hockey

The Calgary Flames’ Gary Roberts, a former 50-goal scorer, confirmed that recurring neck problems have forced him to retire after 10 NHL seasons and a stirring but short comeback this year.

“The risks are just too high for me to continue,” he said. “I have no bitter feelings at all. I wanted to play the game hard. It shortened my career a little bit, but I’ll always feel good about the way I played.”

Glen Sather was named coach of Canada’s entry in the World Cup and said he will have a bench full of NHL stars when the tournament begins August 29.

Sather denied reports that Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux and Boston goaltender Bill Ranford were withdrawing from the team. He said only Boston defenseman Ray Bourque has said he will not play.

Jurisprudence

Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin’s court date on charges of felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession is scheduled for June 25. . . . Sekou Sanyika, 18, a highly regarded redshirt freshman linebacker at California, surrendered and later pleaded not guilty to robbery charges at Berkeley. Edward T. Lambert, who has accepted a scholarship to play for San Jose State, was charged with strong-arm robbery in the same incident and also pleaded not guilty.

Basketball

A group of former sports executives and agents led by Paul Martha, a former pro football player and more recently San Francisco 49er counsel, are forming a new pro basketball league.

The International Basketball League plans to begin playing in November of 1997 in 10 North American cities. Teams will be located in non-NBA cities and all arenas must hold at least 12,000.

Tennis

Top-seeded Cedric Pioline and No. 3 MaliVai Washington were eliminated in the first round of the Nottingham Open grass-court tournament at Nottingham, England. Russia’s Alexander Volkov defeated Pioline, 6-2, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3, and Britain’s Tim Henman downed Washington, 6-3, 7-5.

Fifth-seeded Judith Wiesner of Austria defeated Sandrine Testud of France, 6-3, 6-1, in the Wilkinson Lady Championships at Rosmalen, Netherlands. . . . Sweden’s Magnus Larsson posted the first upset at the Gerry Weber Open, defeating seventh-seeded Arnaud Boetsch of France at Halle, Germany, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Sweden’s Magnus Gustafsson defeated Bernd Karbacher, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, and Byron Black of Zimbabwe downed Germany’s David Prinosil, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.