Flyers Retain Lindros With $8.5-Million Deal

The Philadelphia Flyers signed center Eric Lindros to a one-year, $8.5-million contract extension Thursday, preventing him from becoming a restricted free agent when the signing period begins.

Had no deal been signed by Wednesday, another team could have made an offer to Lindros.

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The NHL approved rules changes moving the goal line from 11 feet to 13 feet from the end boards and shaving off the “wings” on the goal crease that stretch out beyond the goal posts in order to cut down on goals disallowed because of crease infractions.

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Retired Pittsburgh Penguin star Mario Lemieux sued team co-owner Roger Marino, claiming he is owed more than $33 million as part of a contract Lemieux signed in 1992. . . . Columbus Blue Jacket General Manager Doug MacLean was appointed president of the NHL expansion team. . . . The NHL officially approved the sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning to Palm Beach insurance magnate Arthur Williams in Toronto. . . . Alan Eagleson, once one of hockey’s most powerful men, was granted parole after serving one-third of an 18-month jail term in Toronto for fraud.

Boxing

Lou Savarese, beaten in two of his previous three fights, scored a stunning first-round knockout of former world heavyweight champion Buster Douglas at Ledyard, Conn.

Savarese (37-2) floored Douglas (36-6-1) with a short right midway through the first round. Another right floored Douglas again seconds later. A flurry of punches sent Douglas to the canvas a third time and referee Steve Smoger stopped it at 2:34.

The loss may be the end of a career for Douglas, 38, who weighed 242 pounds.

“I screwed up big time,” he said.

Also on the card, Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico stopped Ken Sigurani of Youngstown, Ohio, at 2:09 of the third round.

The victory by Chavez (101-2-2) sets up a September rematch with World Boxing Council welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya.

Jurisprudence

Center Greg Anderson, who played for the Atlanta Hawks last season, was indicted by a federal grand jury on four drug and money laundering charges, federal prosecutors confirmed in Jackson, Miss. . . . Charlotte Hornet forward Anthony Mason pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment in New York, and was ordered to serve 200 hours of community service. . . . Retired hockey enforcer Dave “Tiger” Williams pleaded guilty at Burnaby, Canada, to assault. The incident occurred last year after an old-timers’ game in which Williams played. . . . Chris Nelloms, a former Ohio State track star, pleaded not guilty in Dayton to charges that he raped a girl under age 13 several times. If convicted of the most serious charges, Nelloms could face life in prison.

College Basketball

Louisville forward Nate Johnson was suspended because of a citation for marijuana possession, the university said. . . . The NCAA men’s basketball committee announced recommendations for Final Four sites for 2003-2007 at a meeting in San Diego. The recommendations were New Orleans in 2003; San Antonio in 2004; St. Louis in 2005; Indianapolis in 2006; and Atlanta in 2007.

Soccer

Cindy Parlow’s goal in the 76th minute gave the U.S. women’s team a 1-1 tie with Germany at St. Louis. . . . Ross Paule scored two minutes into the game to ignite a first-half flurry as the Colorado Rapids beat D.C. United, 3-1, in a Major League Soccer game at Denver.

Miscellany

Disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson has been invited by the South Korean government to participate in a race marking the 10th anniversary of his being stripped of an Olympic gold medal in Seoul after testing positive for steroids, his agent said in Toronto. . . . The U.S. national baseball team clinched a berth in next month’s world championships with an 8-6 victory in 14 innings over Nicaragua in Managua. . . . Twenty-two people were killed and 39 injured when a balcony supporting more than 100 people collapsed at the Russian national freestyle wrestling competition in Nalchik. . . . The Atlanta Falcons signed fourth-round draft choice Tim Dwight, an All-American punt returner and receiver from Iowa, to a three-year contract. . . . Brian Patch of Huntington Beach and Bucky Lasek of Baltimore finished second in the skateboarding vert doubles competition at the X Games in San Diego. Rick Thorne, also of Huntington Beach, and San Antonio’s Kevin Gutierrez finished fifth in the bicycle stunt vert doubles. Brian Foster of Huntington Beach finished fourth in the bicycle stunt dirt jumping.