Shotputter Banned Over Drugs

Three-time NCAA shot put champion Brent Noon has been suspended for four years by USA Track & Field after testing positive for an illegal drug. The out-of-competition test, performed March 18, 1996, turned up traces of the steroid methandieone in Noon’s sample, USATF said Monday.

Noon, 25, won national collegiate titles for Georgia from 1992-94. He won the U.S. championship in 1995 and placed fifth at the World Outdoor Championships. Noon’s suspension runs through March 17, 2000.

Noon won a $983,000 suit against USATF in 1994 after he claimed track and field’s national governing body illegally banned him from competition for a month in 1992 when he did not appear for a random drug test.

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While gaining in their long race for equality in college sports, women are still at least 10 years away from pulling even with men, said Cedric Dempsey, the NCAA’s executive director and an outspoken advocate of increased funding for women.

According to a new NCAA study, women’s programs made gains in several areas between 1992 and 1996, including expenditures, coaches’ salaries and scholarship money. But not as much as NCAA officials expected.

Tennis

Thomas Enqvist of Sweden defeated Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia in the first round of the BMW Open at Munich, Germany. . . Richard Fromberg of Australia upset clay-court specialist Javier Sanchez to advance to the second round of the $365,000 Czech Open at Prague. . . Christina Brandi of Bradenton, Fla., beat Noelle Van Lottum of France in the rain-shortened first round of the Croatian Bol Ladies Open. . . After a three-month layoff because of a knee injury, Steffi Graf plans to return to the WTA Tour on May 12 at the German Open.

Soccer

Major League Soccer’s Dallas Burn signed forward Damian Alvarez, 24, from Veracruz, Mexico, to a long-term contract. . . Midfielder David Patino, 29, of Mexico City, was signed by MLS’s Colorado Rapids.

Jurisprudence

Boxer Michael Carbajal was charged with aggravated assault after he and his cousin allegedly attacked an off-duty police officer outside a gas station early Monday morning in Chandler, Ariz.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Robinson has asked a judge to impose harsh penalties on former Detroit Tiger pitcher Denny McLain and business partner Roger Smigiel, who were convicted last year of stealing from a union pension plan.

Trustees managing Robert Irsay’s estate improperly sold a majority interest in the Indianapolis Colts to his son and to his first wife, according to his widow, Nancy Irsay.

U.S. District Judge William Bassler ruled that his court has jurisdiction to apportion boxer Oliver McCall’s $3 million purse from his heavyweight title fight with Lennox Lewis. The bout ended when McCall refused to fight but Main Events of Totowa, filed a lawsuit in Newark, N.J. last month, contending it deserves some of McCall’s purse because McCall breached his obligation to “give an honest exhibition of his skills.”

Miscellany

A first-period goal by Ted Donato and an empty-net goal by Michael Sullivan gave the United States a 3-1 victory over Norway at hockey’s world championships at Turku, Finland.

Titleist showed poor timing when it pulled more than $1 million in advertising from Sports Illustrated over its coverage of the lesbian party scene at the Dinah Shore tournament, said Alan Klein, a spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in New York.

John Daly, who signed a $10 million endorsement deal with Wilson after winning the PGA title in 1991, was dropped by the equipment company. . . Five-time PGA tour winner Ken Green reportedly is facing a 90-day suspension and $5,000 in fines because of alleged misconduct this season, including a verbal attack on a fellow golfer, the Palm Beach Post reported.

In a vote that surprised Wayne Huizenga’s lobbying team, the Florida House killed a $60 million tax break for the Dolphins’ Pro Player Stadium.

Names in the News

Susan Walvius was hired as South Carolina women’s basketball coach. . . Miami Dolphin rookie linebacker John Fiala, drafted in the sixth round from Washington, had knee surgery to remove torn cartilage. . . Rod Graves, who played an instrumental part in the Chicago Bears’ recent drafts, resigned as the team’s personnel director. . . Guard Sean Wink of Brea High signed a letter of intent to attend Northwestern.