Johnson’s Eight-Year Win Streak Ends in 400

The once-unbeatable Michael Johnson is on a losing streak.

For the second time in as many races, Johnson was beaten to the finish line Wednesday, this time at 400 meters--a distance at which he had not lost in eight years.

Running in competition for the first time since a match-race loss at 150 meters to Donovan Bailey almost four weeks ago, Johnson finished fifth at the Gaz de France meet in Paris, passed in the final 40 meters and finishing in 45.76 seconds.

Antonio Pettigrew, who took the U.S. 400 title last month as Johnson skipped the meet because of an injured thigh, won in 44.86.

Johnson quickly left the stadium without talking to reporters, but his coach, Clyde Hart, said the runner was simply out of shape.

Bailey won the 100 in 10.07.

Soccer

In a game marred by the ejections of both coaches and two Mexican players, Bolivia defeated Mexico, 3-1, at La Paz and qualified for the championship game of Copa America.

Play was suspended for nine minutes after the Mexicans questioned the referee’s ruling on one of Bolivia’s goals. The referee, Epifanio Gonzalez of Paraguay, then expelled Bolivia’s Antonio Lopez and Mexico’s Bora Milutinovic of Mexico.

Bolivia will play in La Paz on Sunday against the winner of today’s Brazil-Peru semifinal.

Twelve stadiums made the final list of potential sites for the 1999 Women’s World Cup, including the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum.

Brian Quinn, 37, a former U.S. national team midfielder, became the youngest head coach in Major League Soccer, taking over the San Jose Clash.

Uruguay eliminated the United States, 3-0, from the Under-20 World Cup in Sha Alam, Malaysia.

Jurisprudence

Birmingham, Mich., police said they had ordered more toxicology tests on Richard Gnida, the driver of a limousine that crashed, injuring members of the Detroit Red Wings on June 13, and that means it will be early July before prosecutors decide whether to bring charges.

Red Wing defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov suffered severe head injuries when the limo veered off a busy road and crashed into a tree. Both are still in comas and are in critical condition.

Based on witness reports and comments from Gnida, police believe he fell asleep. Hospital officials say alcohol was not a factor.

Denny McLain, baseball’s last 30-game winner, is in a federal prison for the second time in 10 years.

McLain, 53, was convicted in May on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, theft from a pension plan and money laundering and was sentenced to 97 months. He was admitted to the McKean County Federal Correctional Institution in Bradford, Pa., an unfenced prison housing nonviolent offenders.

Nearly a year after Johnnie Hernandez was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill Michael Irvin, the Dallas Cowboys’ receiver spent more than hour meeting with the former policeman in prison.

What was said remained between them. With no glass to separate them, they shook hands at the beginning and end of their visit, officials said.

NCAA

The Louisville basketball program, already on probation for allowing athletes improper access to vehicles, has violated NCAA regulations again, university President John Shumaker said. The newest violation stems from assistant Scooter McCray’s authorizing charges on his credit card to keep player Nate Johnson’s father from being evicted from a Louisville hotel in December.

Arizona State’s track and field program was put on two years’ probation by the NCAA for violations involving extra benefits, recruiting and ethical conduct.

Miscellany

Ila Borders from Whittier, the first woman to pitch in a regular-season minor league baseball game, was traded by the St. Paul Saints to the Duluth-Superior Dukes for infielder Keith English. In seven Northern League games, Borders had a 7.50 earned-run average in six innings, giving up 11 hits, walking four and striking out five. In her last six games, Borders gave up only two earned runs.

The largest expansion plan since the NHL doubled in size three decades ago was approved by the Board of Governors, bringing big league hockey to Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville and Columbus, Ohio.

The new franchises will cost $80 million each.

Heart surgery has been delayed for former U.S. Olympic hockey coach Dave Peterson, 66, to give him time to recover from a Sunday heart attack and allow doctors to perform more tests.

Martin Mayhew, a nine-year veteran defensive back, retired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.