Downhill Course Finally Approved for the Olympics

This may well have been the hardest-fought 279 feet in Olympic history.

After a five-year dispute over where to start the men’s downhill, organizers of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan finally agreed to back down--or, in this case, up.

Under a new plan announced Monday in Tokyo and criticized by environmental groups, the starting point of the downhill course on Mount Karamatsu, a rugged peak in the central Japan Alps, will be raised to an altitude of 5,791 feet.

Organizers had originally set the start at 5,512 feet, making for the shortest downhill in Olympic history. That did not sit well with the International Ski Federation, which wanted the start at 5,906 feet.

FIS Secretary General Gian Franco Kasper, speaking from his group’s headquarters in Oberhofen, Switzerland, described the new downhill as a “compromise” but a “good solution” for one of the glamour events of the Olympics, which begin Feb. 7.

“It’s a good improvement in the quality of the downhill,” he said. “It may not be as long as we wanted, but it should add 15 or 16 seconds and adds a new jump where the old starting line was . . . It’s still a short one, but sufficiently long.”

Environmental groups accused Nagano organizers of reneging on their commitment to making these Games the most environmentally friendly.

Nagano organizers initially said they could not change the course because they did not want to infringe on land protected under national park zoning laws.

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U.S. figure skating star Michelle Kwan returned to practice in Lake Arrowhead after a three-week layoff because of a stress fracture of a toe on her left foot.

Kwan, the 1996 U.S. and world champion and a favorite for the Winter Olympics, will wear a removable cast for the next two weeks.

Kwan is eligible for the Champions Series Final at Munich, Germany, Dec. 19-21, but is uncertain if she will compete there.

Soccer

The United States will find out today in Marseille, France if it is seeded No. 3 for the World Cup draw, and England will learn if it’s one of the eight top-seeded teams.

Defending champion Brazil and host France are guaranteed two of the eight No. 1 seedings, and Germany, Italy and Argentina appear assured of joining them under any system the World Cup organizing committee adopts.

FIFA will split the 32 World Cup qualifiers into eight four-team groups during Thursday’s draw. To prepare for the draw, the organizing committee will assign each nation to one of four “pools”--for teams seeded Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Soccer fans set fires and clashed at Olympic Stadium in Athens, the second time in a little more than a week violence disrupted a first-division game.

Fans from the country’s two biggest rivals, Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus, began hurling fireworks and seats at each other at the start of the second half. Olympiakos led, 1-0, at halftime.

Police reported six arrests and two officers injured.

Jurisprudence

Former NHL Players Association chief Alan Eagleson was ordered to stand trial by a judge on fraud and theft charges in Toronto after waiving a preliminary hearing on allegations he stole more than $200,000 from Hockey Canada, the NHL and the union.

The charges stem from allegations Eagleson defrauded the hockey organizations of more than $100,000 during the 1984 Canada Cup tournament. He’s also charged with stealing $100,000 from Hockey Canada between 1982 and 1985.

Former Chicago Bear linebacker Dick Butkus sued a Northridge sports memorabilia company and Champion Products Inc. for allegedly using his name and likeness to sell replica NFL jerseys. Butkus wants a federal judge to order The Sports Section and Champion to destroy any catalogs advertising the jerseys and pay him damages.

The Covina Police Department announced the possibility of more arrests stemming from Saturday night’s melee after the Rancho Alamitos-Covina Northview Division VIII high school quarterfinal football game at Covina District Field once more videotapes of the incident are reviewed by detectives.

Two people were arrested as a result of the postgame brawl, which started while the teams were shaking hands after Northview’s 14-7 victory.

Sgt. Pat Buchanan said he expects to make more arrests on “both sides” in the next week or two.

Miscellany

Former boxing champion Edwin “Chapo” Rosario fell into a coma and died in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, only months after staging a comeback he said marked the end of his fight against cocaine addiction.

A local television station suggested Rosario, 34, died of a drug overdose, but a close friend, Wilfredo Vazquez, denied that.

Rosario was one of the world’s top boxers in the 1980s, winning the WBC and WBA lightweight titles.

Undefeated heavyweight Ed Mahone won his 15th consecutive bout by knockout, stopping Eric Curry at 2:52 of the fifth round at the Pond. Mahone is 15-1-1 and Curry is 22-4.

The AAF Rose Bowl Aquatics Center will host U.S. Diving’s “Looking for Future Champions” program Thursday and Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. Participants ages seven through 14 will receive free skill evaluation.