Trade to Tampa Bay Will Make Johnson Highest-Paid Receiver

Keyshawn Johnson is headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after reaching a contract agreement with the team Tuesday night.

A trade sending the two-time Pro Bowl receiver from the New York Jets to Tampa Bay was worked out earlier in the day. It was put on hold until this morning, when a source said it will be made official.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the deal is worth $7 million a year and likely will be for eight years, making Johnson the highest-paid receiver in the league. Jerome Stanley, Johnson’s agent, and the Buccaneers had trouble settling on the size of a signing bonus, which is expected to be between $12 million and $13 million.

“I’m excited,” said Johnson, a former USC standout. “I’m excited about the opportunity to start over again, to go in and prove myself all over again.”

The Jets will get the 13th and 27th picks in the draft, giving them four first-rounders--they previously owned the 16th and 18th spots. The four first-round selections would be the most ever for one team.

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Larry Webster, a key player in the Baltimore Ravens’ second-ranking defense last season, has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league’s alcohol and substance abuse policy.

Webster started all 16 games at defensive tackle and recorded a career-high 44 tackles and two sacks. He has been suspended twice before and could be suspended for more than a year if he loses an appeal.

Jurisprudence

The careers of young boxers were stifled because Robert W. Lee, founder of the International Boxing Federation, corrupted one of the sport’s major sanctioning organizations, a prosecutor told a federal jury in Newark, N.J.

No fewer than 32 bribes paid to Lee will be shown during the trial, each corroborated by more than one witness or piece of evidence, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jose P. Sierra said in his opening statement.

Lee and others in the IBF are accused of taking $338,000 in bribes to rig its rankings, which play a big role in determining whom a boxer fights and how much he earns.

Donna deVarona, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who set 18 world swimming records before setting out on a 30-year broadcasting career, has sued ABC Sports, saying she was discriminated against because of her age.

DeVarona, 52, has filed the $50-million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, saying ABC terminated her most recent employment with ABC Sports because of her age and gender.

Meldrick Taylor, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist and former junior-welterweight boxing champion, was in custody in Philadelphia after reportedly being accused of attempted rape.

The 33-year-old boxer who went on to become a minister is accused of attacking a woman Sunday, police told WCAU-TV. Police would not tell the station where in Philadelphia or what time the attack is said to have occurred.

The FBI executed search warrants at Sunjet Aviation Inc. in Sanford, Fla., as part of its investigation into the Learjet crash in October in which golfer Payne Stewart and five others were killed.

Miscellany

Second-seeded Serena Williams, following the same path as her sister Venus a year ago, was eliminated in her opening match of the Bausch & Lomb women’s tennis tournament in Amelia Island, Fla., when she retired because of an injured left knee against Argentina’s Paola Suarez. . . . Top-seeded Andre Agassi, struggling to adjust after an emotional Davis Cup victory, still managed to defeat Belgian qualifier Xavier Malisse, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round of the Galleryfurniture.com Tennis Challenge at Duluth, Ga.

The U.S. men’s soccer team is grouped with Canada and Honduras in the final round of Olympic qualifying from the North and Central American and Caribbean region.

In the final round of qualifying tournament, to be played at Hershey, Pa., the Americans will face Honduras on April 21 and Canada on April 23. The other group includes Guatemala, Mexico and Panama.

The top two teams in each group advance, and the winners of the semifinals on April 28 qualify for the Sydney Games in September.

Dale Layer, an assistant basketball coach the last two seasons at Colorado State, was named head coach of the Rams. . . . Sophomore forward Sam Haginas, who quit the Alabama basketball team last month, has returned, saying he has recovered his passion for the game. . . . Oklahoma State point guard Doug Gottlieb was selected first overall in the United States Basketball League draft by the Oklahoma Storm. . . . Florida forward Tonya Washington, who averaged 18.6 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, announced that she will forgo her final year of eligibility to make herself eligible for the WNBA draft.

Khalid Khannouchi of Morocco, world-record holder in the marathon, is poised to gain U.S. citizenship by May 3, his wife Sandra said.

Khannouchi, who shattered the world mark by an astonishing 23 seconds in Chicago in October in only his third marathon, is hoping to compete for the United States in the Sydney Olympics.

The U.S. men’s volleyball team will play South Korea at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Long Beach State on Friday and Pepperdine on Saturday. Thursday’s and Saturday’s matches are at 7:30 p.m., Friday’s is at 7.