Tyson Could Fight Again in August

A day after Mike Tyson’s early release from a Maryland jail, Nevada boxing officials indicated Tuesday they won’t do anything to stand in the way of his return to the ring.

That could come as early as Aug. 21, with a possible heavyweight fight in Las Vegas against Axel Schulz or Brian Nielsen.

“Aug. 21 is certainly a date we’re looking at,” said Jay Larkin, who runs boxing for the Showtime network. “Hopefully in the next couple of days we’ll have something concrete.”

Tyson’s advisors and handlers, caught off-guard by his sudden release from jail Monday, were scrambling to make arrangements to get the fighter back in the ring as quickly as possible.

Those plans may have been made easier by indications that Nevada boxing officials won’t use Tyson’s no-contest plea that landed him in a Maryland jail against him or hold another hearing on his suitability to box in the state.

Tyson won a license in October after extensive hearings to replace the one taken from him for biting Evander Holyfield’s ears in their June 1997 title fight. It does not expire until the end of the year.

“My feeling is that he has a license,” said Dr. James Nave, vice chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission. “I don’t see the need for a hearing.”

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A bill that ensures confidentiality of medical information provided by boxers to the Nevada Athletic Commission has been signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn. The law was sought by the commission after Tyson’s medical records were posted on the Internet.

Pro Football

The price was $800 million, the highest for a franchise in sports history. A heavy tab for a 34-year-old lifelong Washington Redskin fan.

But Daniel Snyder, a communications mogul and college dropout, finally got what he wanted--ownership of one of the league’s premier teams.

“Wow!” exulted Snyder after receiving unanimous approval from NFL owners at Atlanta. “It’s been an unbelievable journey.”

In a league long ruled by old money, he becomes the youngest among the league’s current owners.

The 31 owners accepted his record bid in the only action taken at the start of two days of meetings.

Twenty-four votes were needed to approve the sale, which includes the new Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Approval was widely expected after last week’s endorsement by the NFL’s finance committee.

Snyder had been a junior partner to Howard Milstein in a previous bid to buy the team from the trustees of the late Jack Kent Cooke.

When Milstein pulled out after it became clear he couldn’t win support from other owners, Snyder went his own way. He brought in Fred Drasner and Mort Zuckerman, co-owners of the Daily News in New York.

Snyder’s bid was the same as Milstein’s. But he backed it with a $300-million down payment that sold the rest of the owners.

The previous high price for a franchise was the $550 million Al Lerner paid for the new Cleveland Browns, who will begin playing in September as the NFL’s 31st team.

A liver transplant for San Francisco 49er line coach Bobb McKittrick was canceled after doctors discovered his cancer has spread from his bile duct.

McKittrick, 63, went to Stanford Medical Center on Monday to receive a partial liver from a donor in Las Vegas, but exploratory surgery Monday night revealed that the cancer, initially contained in the bile duct, had spread.

McKittrick’s future with the 49ers, whom he joined in 1979, is uncertain. His illness made the team shift tight end coach Pat Morris to the offensive line.

The return of the Browns and instant replay will mark the opening weekend of the NFL 64-game exhibition season, beginning Aug. 7.

The Browns will make their return against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, Aug. 9, in the nationally televised Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio.

The exhibition season begins with the two-time Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, meeting the San Diego Chargers in the American Bowl at Sydney, Australia, plus Indianapolis at Chicago and Oakland at St. Louis.

Instant replay will be used in 63 of the exhibition games, the exception being the one in Australia.

Miscellany

Major League Soccer’s season-ticket sales are up 12% this year, but that has only slightly helped its attendance numbers so far.

MLS Commissioner Doug Logan said the number of season tickets for the 12 teams in the league increased from 38,860 to 43,423. The Columbus Crew was responsible for the majority--a record 9,083 tickets, or a 60% jump, for its new stadium.

However, through 56 games, average attendance has climbed only half a percent to 14,456, which also is ahead of last season’s final average of 14,312.

One of the biggest reasons for the league average not increasing more has been the drop of the Galaxy. Last year’s league leader has had an average of 7,500 fewer fans through its first six games, and is drawing only 14,144 to the Rose Bowl.

Vanessa Castellano of Georgia handed Vanessa Webb of Duke her first NCAA singles loss in more than two years, beating the defending women’s champion, 7-5, 6-2, in the second round of the NCAA women’s tennis championships at Gainesville, Fla. Ditta Huber of USC and Marissa Irvin of Stanford also reached the quarterfinals.

Todd Blackledge has left ABC to become CBS’ top college football analyst. Blackledge has spent the past five years as a studio analyst with ABC and has also been a game analyst for ESPN’s Thursday night college football contests. He will be paired with Sean McDonough, the network’s top play-by-play man since 1997.

John Force scored his sixth funny car victory of the season, beating Cruz Pedregon in the rain-delayed Mopar Parts Nationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park at Englishtown, N.J.

Muju, a resort village in South Korea, will officially open a campaign to serve as the host for the 2010 Winter Olympics by launching a bid committee Thursday.

Ivan Quaranta outdueled sprint specialist Mario Cipollini in the stretch for his second stage victory in the Tour of Italy at Cesenatico. Frenchman Laurent Jalabert increased his lead in the overall standings over defending champion Marco Pantani as the 22-stage race hit its halfway point.