Akinwande Allowed to Keep Prize Money

Henry Akinwande will get to keep the $1 million he earned in his losing bid for the WBC heavyweight title against Lennox Lewis.

Nevada boxing officials voted 4-0 Monday not to take any further disciplinary action against Akinwande, who was disqualified because of repeated holding in the fifth round of the July 12 fight at Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Akinwande’s $1-million purse was withheld after the fight pending possible additional penalties against Akinwande for holding Lewis throughout much of the fight.

But Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner said commissioners felt Akinwande had been punished enough by being disqualified in the ring and losing his chance for the title.

Under a Nevada law passed in the wake of Mike Tyson’s biting of Evander Holyfield, Akinwande could have lost his entire purse.

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Lennox Lewis may make his next defense of the WBC heavyweight title against Andrew Golota in Las Vegas on Oct. 4. Golota was scheduled to fight Ray Mercer on Aug. 16, but the fight was called off because of a neck injury to Mercer.

Olympics

A lifetime suspension that prevents Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson from competing should be lifted because it also prevents him from earning a living, a court in Ontario was told.

Johnson was stripped of his 1988 Olympic gold medal for the fastest 100 meters in history--9.79 seconds--when he tested positive for steroid use. He later returned to running, but a positive drug test in 1993 resulted in a lifetime ban.

Thomas K. Welch, head of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee and the man who brought the 2002 Winter Games to Utah, was charged with battery on his wife. Welch, the SLOC’s president and chief executive officer, was accused of scuffling with his wife, Alma, in the garage of their home July 9 after he admitted to an extramarital affair.

Houston, New Orleans and Sacramento are vying for the opportunity to host the U.S. Olympic track and field trials ahead of the 2000 Sydney Games.

Jurisprudence

A former Brown University track coach imprisoned for raping one of his athletes, then freed when the conviction was overturned, has pleaded no contest to assaulting the woman with a knife.

William “Skip” Miller, 38, whose lawyers claimed the woman fabricated the story, pleaded no contest to assault with a dangerous weapon as part of an agreement with Atty. General Jeff Pine’s office. Under the plea agreement, the state will not pursue the rape charge and Miller will spend no additional prison time.

University of Virginia basketball standout Courtney Alexander has been suspended from the team after his arrest on a charge of assaulting his girlfriend, Coach Jeff Jones said. Alexander, 20, was arrested early Friday at the apartment he shares with his girlfriend after she called 911 claiming Alexander had hit her.

Pro Football

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, during a Minnesota Viking training camp visit at Mankato, Minn., urged Minneapolis-St. Paul civic leaders to consider a stadium that would replace the Metrodome and accommodate the Vikings and baseball Twins. Stadium discussions so far have focused only on a new ballpark for the Twins, with the Vikings remaining in a renovated Metrodome.

Tagliabue said the NFL has been prodding design firms for the past 18 months to develop dual-purpose stadium blueprints. Viking and Twin officials are scheduled to see such designs Wednesday in a meeting with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission.

Indianapolis Colt linebacker Trev Alberts failed to show up for scheduled shoulder surgery, the latest move in a confusing stalemate between the linebacker and the team. The No. 5 pick in the 1994 NFL draft was scheduled for reconstruction of his right shoulder. . . . Kansas City Chief left tackle John Alt retired to end a 13-year career that spanned more than one-third the games the Chiefs ever played. Alt was first-round draft choice out of Iowa in 1984. . . . Arizona Cardinal defensive end Simeon Rice, last year’s NFL defensive rookie of the year, missed two practices because of a headache of unknown origin. Rice was told to stay in bed after falling ill late Saturday. The Cardinals also lost right guard Eric Jonassen for the season. He tore the medial collateral ligament and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee during practice.

The New Orleans Saints’ No. 1 draft pick, offensive lineman Chris Naeole, will be sidelined four weeks after suffering a sprained knee in practice. . . . Defensive end Neil Smith, the Denver Broncos’ highest-profile acquisition of the off-season, injured his right knee in practice. The extent of the injury was not immediately determined and Smith is expected to undergo an MRI on the knee today. . . . Renaldo Wynn, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ No. 1 draft pick, agreed to a contract after missing the team’s first three camp sessions. The former Notre Dame defensive lineman was the 21st overall pick in the draft. . . . Jimmy Oliver, a 1995 second-round draft pick who never played a down in a regular-season game, was waived by San Diego after an MRI last week confirmed he had torn cartilage in his right knee. . . . The Miami Dolphins signed former UCLA wide receiver Scott Miller to a one-year contract.

Basketball

Jacque Vaughn, the 27th overall pick in the NBA draft, signed a three-year contract with the Utah Jazz. . . . Charles Smith, the first-round draft pick of the Miami Heat, agreed to a contract. . . . The Denver Nuggets signed Tony Battie of Texas Tech, the fifth overall pick in the draft. . . . Center Adonal Foyle, the first-round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors, will be examined by team doctors to determine the extent of a foot injury suffered last week while playing in a summer league game in New Jersey.

Miscellany

Lindy Ruff, 37, signed a multiyear contract to replace Ted Nolan as coach of the Buffalo Sabres. . . . Former New York Islander owner John Spano will be indicted Wednesday on federal wire and bank fraud charges in connection with his failed purchase of the NHL franchise, according to sources in New York. . . . Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, has been named Director of Educational Programming for Major League Baseball.