Elway Teams Up in Effort to Buy Nuggets, Avalanche

John Elway, former Denver Bronco quarterback, has joined an effort to buy the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and their future arena from Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Businessmen Lars Erik Borgen and George Gillett, who already had offered to buy the basketball and hockey teams and the Pepsi Center, are teaming with the retired quarterback, the Denver Post reported, citing a source it did not name.

Two other bidders also have submitted formal bids to Ascent’s board of directors, the newspaper reported.

Neither Elway nor Ascent acting chairman Chuck Neinas would comment. Ascent officials did not return a telephone message seeking comment left by the Associated Press.

Elway also is considering a possible management role with a team in Los Angeles should the city land an expansion NFL franchise.

Pro Basketball

Brazil briefly flirted with the impossible, giving the United States its first scare of the Olympic men’s qualifying tournament before the Americans came away with an 90-73 victory at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. lead was cut to 48-45 with 16:41 left when Ciao DeMello made two free throws after a technical foul on Gary Payton.

Payton’s technical was the first for any player in the tournament. He did not return to the game. But Steve Smith, Tim Duncan and Allan Houston responded by scoring all but two points in a 30-11 run that gave the Americans a 78-56 lead with seven minutes left.

Duncan finished with 24, Smith 18 and Houston 13 as the United States, playing before a crowd of less than 2,000, won its sixth game of the tournament.

In other games, Argentina surprised Puerto Rico, 101-96, handing the host team its first loss of the tournament.

Puerto Rico needs to beat Canada by more than four points today in order to avoid facing the United States in the semifinals when two Olympic berths will be at stake.

James Posey, the Denver Nuggets’ top draft choice, agreed to a three-year contract. . . . The Utah Jazz signed forward Quincy Lewis, its top pick in the 1999 draft.

Jurisprudence

Former Indiana basketball player William Gladness faces two misdemeanor battery charges after his girlfriend and another woman accused him of beating them. Gladness, 25, was released on his own recognizance Monday after an initial court appearance in Marion Superior Court in Indiana. A pretrial conference was set for Aug. 16.

His girlfriend, Susie Bradshaw, accused Gladness of hitting her several times on her head at her Indianapolis apartment Saturday, and Andrea Niecikowski complained that he threw her against a car, court papers show. Both women suffered minor injuries.

A race car driver was arrested for allegedly ramming another competitor’s car after a race and then backing up into a crowd of spectators Monday night at Vinton, Iowa.

Three spectators were struck and one remained hospitalized in good condition Tuesday.

Police said David Duane Dains, 41, became upset with driver Benjamin Metcalf, 23, during their race at the Benton County Speedway.

Miscellany

Preliminary results of an autopsy failed to determine a cause of death for former USC defensive lineman Tody Smith, brother of NFL Hall of Famer Bubba Smith. Smith died in his sleep Sunday. He was 50. Smith complained of a severe headache and chest pains during dinner Saturday night and he went to bed after returning to his Venice area home, coroner’s office spokesman Scott Carrier said. His wife found him dead the next day. “No foul play is suspected. Chances are he may have had a heart attack,” Carrier said.

Tiger Woods eagled the 18th hole to give the American-British team a 6-6 tie against the Nordic All-Stars in the SAS Invitational Match Play Tournament at Rungsted, Denmark.

Second-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain struggled to a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic in the Mercedes Cup at Stuttgart, Germany, while French Open finalist Andrei Medvedev of Russia withdrew from his match against Christian Ruud of Norway because of an ankle injury. . . . Wimbledon semifinalist Alexandra Stevenson was selected to replace Brie Rippner on the U.S. women’s tennis team at the Pan Am Games, which starts Friday at Winnipeg, Canada.

Nine wheelchair racers have accused the New York Road Runners Club of making them second-class athletes at the New York City Marathon. Racers say that for the past several years they have been unfairly stopped and rerouted at various points along the 26.2-mile course.

* Randy Harvey is on assignment