IRS Has Tax Lien on 61-Room Tyson Mansion

As if Mike Tyson didn’t have enough problems, he now faces a $6.3-million tax lien on his 61-room mansion in Farmington, Conn.

The Internal Revenue Service placed the lien on the estate last month, a week before Tyson signed a $33-million agreement with Showtime. The contract requires him to pay off the lien.

But Tyson’s payments from Showtime may depend on the outcome of a Sept. 19 hearing before boxing regulators in Nevada, where he is trying to get his license back. He lost it last year and was fined $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears in a title fight.

Under the Showtime contract, Tyson, 32, must pay off several debts, including taxes on his 1996 income as soon as possible, the Hartford Courant reported. Tyson also owes the town of Farmington nearly $25,000 in property taxes.

IRS public affairs officer Barbara Shuckra told the newspaper the taxes had not been paid.

The mansion has been for sale for more than a year with a $22-million price tag. Tyson’s former agent Rory Holloway bought the estate for the former heavyweight champion for $2.7 million in 1996.

The town estimates the house--which has 24 full bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, a racquetball court, a basketball court and a shooting range--is worth only about $4.3 million.

In addition to trying to get his boxing license back, Tyson faces an Oct. 2 hearing in Maryland on charges he attacked two men after a fender-bender involving a car driven by his wife.

Soccer

As expected, Manchester United of England has announced the $1-billion agreement to sell the storied franchise to Rupert Murdoch’s British Sky Broadcasting. The controversial deal still must be approved by shareholders and government regulators.

Former English star Justin Fashanu hanged himself, fearful that because he was gay he wouldn’t get a fair trial in the United States on sexual assault charges, an inquest in London found. Fashanu, 37, had written a note saying he didn’t believe he would be treated fairly because of his sexual orientation. Authorities had suspected that he committed suicide earlier this year in an abandoned London building, and the cause of death became official at the inquest.

Playing for the first time since a disappointing World Cup final, Brazilian star Ronaldo was rusty as Inter Milan beat Cesena, 1-0, in an Italian Cup match at Milan. Ronaldo, back from what he has called the longest layoff of his career, stayed in the game for the full 90 minutes and showed only glimpses of the form that earned him two consecutive awards as FIFA world player of the year.

Jeff Cunningham scored the lone goal and Juergen Sommer made six saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Columbus Crew defeated the Miami Fusion, 1-0, in a Major League Soccer game before 9,305 in Columbus, Ohio.

Hockey

The Boston Bruins and defenseman Ray Bourque, 38, who will be entering his 20th season, have agreed to a two-year contract. Bourque holds team records with 1,036 assists and 1,411 points and, according to the team, is the longest-tenured active player in pro sports. . . . The Tampa Bay Lightning’s John Cullen, a two-time all-star center who sat out last season because of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, signed a one-year contract with the team. . . . The Montreal Canadiens signed former Ottawa Senator center Sergei Zholtok to a one-year contract. . . . The Senators have re-signed Coach Jacques Martin to a multiyear deal. . . . The Dallas Stars have signed former Michigan goaltender Marty Turco to a two-year contract. . . . The New York Islanders want to break their lease at the Nassau Coliseum, claiming that the arena managers have a “disregard for public safety.”

Pro Basketball

Representatives for the NBA and its players gave closing arguments, ending an arbitration hearing in New York that probably will affect talks to settle the lockout. Arbitrator John Feerick will rule no later than Oct. 9 on the union’s grievance that players with guaranteed contracts should be paid during the lockout, now in its third month.

There is still a chance Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson will return to the Chicago Bulls, David Falk, Jordan’s agent, told the Chicago Sun-Times. He said Jordan wants to come back, “but only in a situation where he feels he has a chance to win another championship.”

Miscellany

A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld prison sentences of 95 and nearly 50 years for Larry D. Harris and Michael E. Steward, two former Fresno State football players convicted of a series of armed robberies.

Alpine and freestyle skiing national championships will be held simultaneously for the first time at 2002 Olympic venues in Utah next March, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Assn. (USSA) announced at Park City, Utah.

Sam Henson, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion from Clemson, defeated Russian Tchechenool Mongoosh, 4-3, in a 120-pound semifinal at the World Wrestling Championships at Tehran.

Names in the News

Funeral services for former Colorado and Los Angeles Ram linebacker Rick Kay, 48, of San Bernardino, who died in a single-car auto accident in San Bernardino on Sept. 3, will be held Friday at 11:30 a.m. at St. Francis Episcopal Church in San Bernardino. Kay played for the Rams in 1973 and 1975-77. . . . Kevin Daley, a 6-foot-6 reserve basketball forward at UCLA last season, is transferring to Azusa Pacific and will compete for the Cougars this season. Azusa Pacific is an NAIA member, so Daley won’t have to sit out the upcoming season. . . . Bill McGillis, former general manager of the ABL’s defunct Long Beach StingRays, has taken the same position with the Columbus Quest.