Stark Hands Chang First-Round Loss

Top-seeded Michael Chang was beaten for the second straight year by Jonathan Stark in the the $550,000 Heineken Open at Singapore. Only this narrow loss, by a 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (8-6) score, was in the first round. Last year it was in the final.

Chang, who has earned 11 titles in Asia, has lost only 12 times in 95 matches on the continent.

This was Chang’s fourth first-round loss this season.

Stark, 26, ranked 94th in the world, won for only the third time in nine meetings with Chang.

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Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia saw his chances in qualifying for the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships diminish as he lost in straight sets in the first round of the $675,000 CA Tennis Trophy event at Vienna, Austria. Kafelnikov, ranked sixth in the world, was beaten by Karol Kucera of Slovakia, 6-4, 7-5. . . . Mary Joe Fernandez defeated two-time champion Anke Huber of Germany, 6-4, 6-4, in first round action of the $450,000 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany.

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The Corel Corporation, the Canadian computer company that has sponsored the women’s tennis tour the past two years, will end its affiliation after 1998 when its contract expires.

“It wasn’t a total shock,” WTA spokesman Joe Favorito said. “They’ve changed their whole marketing focus and sports doesn’t fit into it.”

The three-year contract was worth between $10 million and $12 million to the WTA. The tour has begun looking for a new sponsor.

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Boris Becker is taking over as manager of Germany’s Davis Cup team with the task of restoring it to the level it enjoyed when he led the team as a player. Becker replaces Niki Pilic, a Yugoslav who managed the team for 10 years.

Former Davis Cup player Carl-Uwe Steeb, who helped Germany win its first trophy in 1988, was appointed team captain, also replacing Pilic.

Jurisprudence

Boxing promoter Don King, denying he had cheated anyone, testified that Mitch Green agreed to a relatively light purse for a 1986 bout with Mike Tyson because it was a career opportunity.

Green is suing Tyson for $25 million for beating him up during a street fight in Harlem, but he says King cheated him, caused him emotional upset, and contributed to his losing a 10-round decision to Tyson.

King testified at Green’s assault suit trial in New York that Green approached him about setting up a fight with Tyson.

“Mitch Green came to me and asked me to do the fight,” King said. “He was merely an opponent. Mike Tyson was the new kid on the block. He was knocking everybody out.”

The estate of Jack Kent Cooke has charged in court papers that Cooke’s widow, Marlene Ramallo Cooke, looted the couple’s Washington home in Warrenton, Va., of hundreds of family heirlooms.

Lawyers for the estate said when they met with Mrs. Cooke’s lawyers seeking return of about 400 items, the only thing turned over was a coffee cup. The estate has asked the court to order Mrs. Cooke to return the items.

Mrs. Cooke told the Washington Post she did not take any Cooke family heirlooms and that she removed only items belonging to her.

Former University of Minnesota forward Courtney James did not show up for sentencing on a misdemeanor domestic assault conviction and will be sentenced in November.

James helped lead the Gophers to the NCAA Final Four last March, but he was suspended from the team after being convicted of intending to cause fear for hitting his former girlfriend in the face with an address book. He was acquitted of intending to cause harm.

James flew to Greece a few weeks ago to begin playing pro basketball.

Women’s Basketball

The WNBA will expand its regular season and playoffs next year and add an All-Star game in 1999.

League president Val Ackerman said that each team will play 30 regular-season games in 1998--an increase of two over this year.

She also said the playoffs would feature the champions of the Eastern and Western conferences, along with the two teams with the next best regular-season records. The four teams will compete in two, best-of-three semifinal series.

The semifinal winners will then play in a best-of-three series to determine the WNBA champion. This year, the semifinals and final were single elimination formats.

The regular season will begin June 11, with the last possible date of the championship game Sept. 1.

The first All-Star game will be held during the middle of the 1999 season as part of a three-day break.

College Basketball

Sunday Adebayo is returning to Arkansas after the NCAA relented and gave him another year of eligibility. Adebayo switched to Memphis last year amid a flap over his eligibility.

Horse Racing

Pulpit, a top 3-year-old who won multiple graded stakes races and finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, was retired from racing by his owners at Clairborne Farms. Pulpit recently returned to training after suffering a chip in his left knee in the Kentucky Derby and was working impressively toward the Ack Ack Stakes at Churchill Downs when he suffered a bruised left foot.

Motor Racing

NASCAR announced that Craftsman Truck Series driver Boris Said III was been fined $5,000 and suspended until he pays the fine for intentionally hitting another competitor during a race at Sears Point in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday.