College Football Title-Game Format to Change

Roy Kramer has spent the last six months concocting a formula that will lead to an undisputed national champion. About six months from now, he’ll find out just how well it worked.

Today, the chairman of the Bowl Championship Series--the new name for the old Bowl Alliance--will detail the system he designed to determine which two teams play in college football’s so-called title game.

As was the case with the previous system, the formula will involve a blend of the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today-ESPN coaches’ poll. But the new twist will include input from a supposedly objective power system that measures strength of schedule and strength of opponents’ schedule, along with wins and losses.

“It’s been time-consuming and difficult at times,” Kramer’s spokesman, Charles Bloom, said of the process. “But the mind-set has been to come up with the best formula possible.”

But even with the new system, there are weak points.

They include:

* What to do if three or more teams finish undefeated.

* What to do if nobody finishes undefeated, but several teams finish with one loss.

* The status of Notre Dame, the lone remaining major independent. The Bowl Championship Series was negotiating with the Irish, who were reportedly fielding inquiries about joining the Big Ten.

Next season, the eight slots in the Bowl Championship Series will go to champions of the Big Ten, Pacific 10, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East and Big 12. Two at-large berths will be awarded to fill it out. The rating formula will decide who gets the at-large spots.

Tennis

Top-seeded Petr Korda, still bothered by flu, won his opening-round match at the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany, struggling to a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Germany’s Kevin Goellner.

Second-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov and third-seeded Richard Krajicek both started slowly but recovered to claim three-set victories. Krajicek beat Vincent Spadea, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, and Kafelnikov defeated Andrei Medvedev, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Boxing

Talks to extend the contract between World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and the HBO cable TV company have broken off, jeopardizing a unification bout with Evander Holyfield this year, a source close to HBO said in New York.

The source said HBO was furious to discover that Lewis’ handlers had been negotiating with promoter Don King while Lewis was under contract with HBO. King is aligned with Showtime, an archrival of HBO.

Santos Cardona of Puerto Rico was credited with a knockout over Javier Soberanes of Mexico before 3,338 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim after referee Vince Delgado stopped the scheduled 10-round fight after the fifth round at the request of Soberanes’ corner. Cardona raised record to 36-7 with 25 knockeouts, while Soberanes fell to 44-19-2.

In other 10-round events, Israel Vazquez (17-1, 15 KOs) of Mexico scored a third-round knockout over countryman Oscar Garcia (12-3-1); and Acelino Freitas of Brazil remained unbeaten at 15-0, all by knockout, with a third-round triumph over Rafael Olvera (13-5) of El Paso.

Names in the News

Dallas Star defenseman Sergei Zubov was arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife at Dallas.

Zubov, whose Stars lost to the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday night in the NHL’s Western Conference finals, was arrested early Sunday morning at his home by Coppell County police and charged with aggravated assault-family violence, which is a second degree felony.

Zubov, 27, was released later Sunday after posting $5,000 bond.

Irina Zubov did not require medical treatment.

San Francisco 49er offensive lineman Jeremy Newberry tore a ligament in his knee during a team practice andis scheduled to undergo surgery for the torn anterior cruciate ligament today.

Mike Bobinski, director of athletics at the University of Akron since 1994, was hired to head the athletic department at Xavier of Ohio. Bobinski succeeds Jeff Fogelson, who resigned in April to become director of athletics and recreational services at Seton Hall.

John Kowalski, coach of the Tampa Bay Mutiny of the MLS, resigned after posting a 3-12 record this season. He was replaced by Tim Hankinson, former MLS director of player development.