Millen Misses Mark in Pikes Peak Climb

Rod Millen of Newport Beach drove a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Toyota Celica to victory in the unlimited class in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado on Thursday but failed to crack the 10-minute barrier.

Millen’s car completed the 12.42-mile trip on a gravel road to the 14,100-foot summit in 10 minutes 13.6 seconds. He set the record of 10:04.06 in winning the unlimited class in 1994.

The day’s most unusual victory ride was by defending open wheel champion Gary Lee Kanawyer of Pismo Beach. The right rear tire on his Chevrolet-powered Wells Coyote went flat about three miles from the finish, but Kanawyer kept going and skated across the finish line on three tires and a bare rim in 11:25.95.

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Jeff Gordon outran the rain at Daytona International Speedway.

A winner five times already this year, Gordon was the fastest of the few to finish before showers postponed qualifying for Saturday’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona Beach, Fla.

The defending champion’s speed of 188.869 mph could well earn the pole, even though 34 drivers will get a chance to bump him today.

Darrell Waltrip had the second-fastest lap at 186.776.

Basketball

Dominique Wilkins, accused of faking injuries and leaving at times without notice, is now unwanted and being sued by the Greek team he led to the European championship last season.

In a civil suit filed last week in Massachusetts, Panathinaikos asks that Wilkins and his agent, Steve Kauffman, be barred from access to $4 million in letters of credit granted as part of the three-year, $11-million deal Wilkins signed last summer.

The court issued a temporary restraining order last week and the case was continued until Tuesday. The suit was filed June 27, three days before the team had to pay a $1.75-million advance on his 1996-97 salary of $3.5 million.

Running

Joseph Kimani of Kenya set a world best for a 10-kilometer road race, winning Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race in 27 minutes 4 seconds.

Kimani, a late entry, broke the mark of 27:20 he set May 5 at Cleveland. The previous record for the Peachtree race was 27:56 by John Doherty of Ireland in 1986.

Helen Kimaiyo-Kipkoskei of Kenya won the women’s event in a course-record 30:52. The previous record was 31:49 by Francie Larrieu-Smith in 1992.

Jurisprudence

An officer accused of making a down payment to have Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin killed reportedly turned first to a man trusted by several officers who were under investigation for police corruption.

The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that the man was an informant who tipped off police about the incident and put officer Johnnie Hernandez in touch with the “hit man,” an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Sources told the newspaper the corruption investigation was being made into allegations that several police officers were suspected of providing protection for cocaine dealers.

Raymond Priester, who set a single-season rushing record at Clemson last year, has been arrested for allegedly charging long-distance phone calls to someone else.

Priester, 21, is the eighth Clemson player to be arrested in the past 4 1/2 months. He was released Wednesday on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

Campus police say Priester allegedly billed eight calls totaling less than $50 to the telephone of Edith Craps, a retiree in Hampton.

If convicted, Priester would face a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $1,000 fine on the misdemeanor charges.

Miscellany

Baltimore Raven receiver Andre Rison has rejected the team’s request to lower his salary by $1 million and add incentive clauses, according to his agent.

The Ravens need to free up money under the league’s salary cap. The Ravens are only $79,000 under the cap and need at least $3 million to sign their seven rookies, including No. 1 draft picks Jonathan Ogden of UCLA and Ray Lewis of Miami.

A team of 12-year-old soccer players in Easton, Mass., learned a lesson in tolerance when they decided to forfeit a championship game after one of their teammates was told he couldn’t play and wear his bandanna.

Tristan Coffin said he wouldn’t remove the bandanna for religious reasons. He practices Sikhism, an Indian-based religion that requires its followers to keep their heads covered in public.

In an Easton Classic championship game Monday, referee Ron Quintiliani cited tournament rules and said the boy could not wear the bandanna for safety reasons.

Coffin walked off the field, and after pleading with the referee to let Coffin play, his Franklin teammates walked off the field in support.

Hobo Boothe ended Earl Anthony’s comeback bid, beating the left-hander, 225-200, in the championship match of the $70,000 Seattle Senior PBA Open.