It’s All Downhill From Here: Moe and Kitt Hang Up Skis

Tommy Moe, the 1994 Olympic downhill champion and silver medalist in super-G, and AJ Kitt, downhill bronze medalist in the 1993 World Championships, retired Wednesday from World Cup skiing.

Moe, 28, and Kitt, 29, spent more than a decade racing around the globe and said the travel and 12-month training had become too much.

“I’m going to miss standing at the top of the course in Kitzbuehel [Austria] and Val d’Isere [France], and then racing those big hills in Europe, and standing in the finish area with my colleagues,” said Kitt, the only American Alpine skier to compete in four Olympics. “But the reality is I’m not as motivated anymore to achieve everything necessary to do that.”

Their departure leaves the men’s downhill squad thin as the Alpine World Championships return to the United States next winter, Jan. 31-Feb. 14 at Vail and Beaver Creek, Colo.

College Football

USC Coach Paul Hackett said he will take a “wait and see” approach and look into the facts of the case before making any decision regarding the future of recruit Windrell Hayes, who was arrested in Lodi on burglary charges last month. Hayes, a transfer from San Joaquin Delta community college who led San Jose State in receiving for two seasons, is one of several men accused of writing bad checks for purchases, then returning the items for cash.

Notre Dame is being courted to join the Big Ten, which would give the conference 12 members, the Ann Arbor News reported. Notre Dame, an independent in football, turned down an invitation to join the Big Ten in 1993. A Big Ten athletic director told the newspaper that the two sides are talking specifics. Notre Dame has a TV contract with NBC that runs through 2005 and pays more than $8 million a year.

At a meeting in Albuquerque of the eight schools who defected from the Western Athletic Conference, it was decided that the presidents of Colorado State, Brigham Young and Nevada Las Vegas will provide the leadership as they work on forming a new conference.

Al Yates, president of Colorado State, will be chairman of the executive committee, with BYU President Merrill Bateman and UNLV President Carol Harter also on the committee.

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the WAC affirmed their solidarity at a presidents’ meeting in Denver.

Pro Football

The Oakland Raiders have had enough of cornerback Larry Brown after two terribly disappointing seasons and waived the former Super Bowl most valuable player.

Brown was to enter the third year of a five-year contract worth $12.5 million.

LeShon Johnson, a backup running back for the New York Giants, was found to have lymphoma after a routine X-ray found a tumor in his chest.

More tests are being conducted to determine whether Johnson has Hodgkin’s or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and what type of treatment he should get. Radiation and chemotherapy are the most common treatments for the cancer of the lymph nodes.

Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, was given the go-ahead to place an Arena Football League team in New Orleans for the 1999 or 2000 season.

Miscellany

Cuba has called off a weekend baseball game against Nicaragua, complaining of “disrespectful and ungentlemanly treatment” by Nicaragua’s government.

The cancellation of the game was the latest move in a diplomatic dispute between Cuba’s Communist government and Nicaragua’s strongly anti-communist President Arnoldo Aleman.

Security and public safety planning for the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City will receive a $2-million infusion from a federal grant, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced.

A reunion of all former UCLA basketball players, managers and coaches, from 1945 to 1998, will be held Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Culver City. Information: 562 921-5209.

Soccer

Plans for the creation of an international Los Angeles soccer event, the Coliseum Cup, will be announced at a news conference at the Coliseum today. The tournament, sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation, will feature first-division teams from Mexico, Central and South America.

Croatia star Alen Boksic will miss the World Cup because of impending knee surgery. Boksic twisted his knee in a club game April 26 and hasn’t played since.

Croatia defeated Iran, 2-0, in a World Cup tuneup at Rijeka, Croatia . . . Belgium defeated Colombia, 2-0, at Brussels. The loss for Colombia follows a 3-1 loss to Germany and disappointing ties against Scotland and Chile. . . . At Bucharest, Romania’s Gheorghe Hagi scored in the 83rd minute on a penalty kick after Paraguay’s Gheorghe Craioveanu fell in the penalty area, giving Romania a 3-2 victory. . . . At St. Ouen, France, Brazil routed Andorra, 3-0. . . . At Creteil, France, Mexico and Saudi Arabia played to a scoreless tie. . . . At Lausanne, Switzerland, defender Sinisa Mihajlovic’s second-half goal gave Yugoslavia a 1-0 victory over Japan.

Beach Volleyball

Jose Loiola, the No. 1-ranked player on the AVP tour, has split with Olympic gold medalist Kent Steffes, his partner the past two years, to team with fellow Brazilian Emanuel Rego, the top rookie on the tour. Loiola said he made the move in preparation for the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he and Rego will represent their country.

Names in the News

Arizona State golfer Kellee Booth, who helped her team win its second consecutive NCAA title, has been named winner of the Honda Award as the nation’s top women’s golfer.

Long Beach State women’s basketball Coach Dallas Boychuk announced that assistant Rosa Stokes has been promoted to associate head coach. . . . John Shafer, an athletic administrator Georgia and two other Southeastern Conference schools since 1976, was hired as athletic director at Mississippi. . . . Pavel Tonkov of Russia edged overall leader Marco Pantani by one second to win the 18th stage of cycling’s Tour of Italy.