NFL Smacks Lewis With $250,000 Fine

Ray Lewis was fined $250,000 by the NFL Thursday for obstructing an Atlanta police investigation of a double murder after the Super Bowl.

The fine is believed to be the largest levied by the NFL against a player other than in cases involving substance abuse.

In addition, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled that Lewis will be fined another $250,000 and be subject to suspension if he violates any of the terms of his 12-month probation for a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice.

Lewis, the Baltimore Ravens’ all-pro middle linebacker, was originally accused with two others of murder in the stabbing deaths of two men after a post-Super Bowl party last January. He interrupted the trial to plead guilty to the misdemeanor and agreed to testify against his co-defendants.

The two co-defendants were subsequently acquitted.

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Pro Bowl safety Carnell Lake of the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to undergo season-ending surgery on his ailing left foot. . . . The Indianapolis Colts put rookie cornerback Rodregis Brooks on injured reserve because of a bulging disk in his neck. . . . Center Chris Dalman of the San Francisco 49ers faces an uncertain future because of a neck injury, Coach Steve Mariucci said. . . . Running back Sean Bennett of the New York Giants has been told to have surgery on his right knee that could end his season. . . . The St. Louis Rams released running back Derek Loville. . . . New England Patriot linebacker Chad Cascadden has decided to retire after being plagued by knee problems that cut short his 1999 season with the New York Jets. . . . The Miami Dolphins signed quarterback Gus Ornstein.

Jurisprudence

New details surfaced about the fraudulent prescription drug case against Bill Romanowski, including a former nanny’s claim she didn’t realize her name was used to obtain diet pills.

In addition, a sheriff’s investigator’s report about the case makes no mention of any racial slur uttered by the Denver Bronco linebacker, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reported.

Romanowski was indicted last week on one count each of unlawful possession of a controlled substance and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and deceit and two counts of conspiracy.

Russell Erxleben, a former kicker for the New Orleans Saints and Texas Longhorns, faces up to six months in jail for contempt of court. A judge in Austin, Texas, found Erxleben guilty of impeding efforts to recover assets from his failed foreign-currency trading firm.

Former Dallas Cowboy Sherman Williams pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Mobile, Ala., to federal charges of marijuana trafficking and counterfeiting.

Jury selection for the U.S. District Court trial is set for the first week of September.

Federal prosecutors also plan to seize $1 million in assets that Williams allegedly collected through the marijuana operation, according to the indictment.

Former Kansas City Chief wide receiver Andre Rison was accused by police of giving them false information after a bar fight. Rison was waived Monday, a week after receiving the citation in River Falls, Wis., site of the team’s training camp. Chief Coach Gunther Cunningham said the club was aware of the citation, but that it was not a factor in Rison’s release.

Tennis

Top-seeded Martina Hingis took another step toward defending her du Maurier Open title with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kveta Hrdlickova of the Czech Republic at Montreal.

An hour later, her rival for the world No. 1 ranking, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, retired in the opening set of her third-round match against Bulgarian qualifier Magdalena Maleeva because of a sprained left foot.

Davenport, who suffered the injury in a match against Justine Henin Wednesday, probably would have overtaken Hingis in the world rankings had she gone one round further than the Swiss ace at the du Maurier.

That would probably have made Davenport the top-seeded player at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28 in New York. Now, Hingis is all but assured of the top seeding.

In other matches, Serena Williams defeated Anna Kournikova, 6-3, 6-2, and two-time du Maurier Open champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario beat Jennifer Capriati, 6-4, 7-5 to take another step toward reaching a fifth consecutive final in Montreal.

Top-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil advanced to the quarterfinals of the RCA Championships with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Taylor Dent at Indianapolis, and defending champion Nicholas Lapentti of Ecuador was eliminated by Sebastien Grosjean of France, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

The defending champion U.S. team will be joined by Spain, Belgium and the Czech Republic in the 2000 Fed Cup women’s tennis competition Nov. 21-25 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Venus and Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles are expected to play for the United States. Last year, the United States beat Russia in the final at Palo Alto.

Kristina Kraszewski, 20, of Torrance, a wild card in the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic, upset No. 3 Jelena Kostanic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-3, giving her a wild card into qualifying for the U.S. Open.

Andy Roddick, the world’s top-ranked junior, NCAA champion Alex Kim and USTA Girls’ 18s winner Kristen Schlukebir head the 16 wild-card entries for this year’s U.S. Open tennis championships.

Miscellany

The University of Connecticut is rewarding women’s basketball Coach Geno Auriemma with a new five-year, $2.95-million contract, four months after he led the Huskies to their second national championship. Auriemma, who has coached the team for 15 years, will be paid $590,000 annually, which is $307,000 more than under the old contract.

Point guard Brevin Knight of the Cleveland Cavaliers will undergo 12 to 16 weeks of rehabilitation after having surgery on his right knee and could be sidelined for the first month of the NBA season, the team said.

Portland Trail Blazer center Arvydas Sabonis won’t play for Lithuania in the Olympics because he is still recovering from major foot surgery, media in Vilnius, Lithuania, reported. The 7-foot-3 Sabonis helped his country to bronze medals in the last two Olympics.

Free-agent guard Jermaine Jackson, a rookie with the Detroit Pistons last season, signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Free-agent left wing Ted Donato, who had 11 goals and 19 assists in 81 games with the Mighty Ducks last season, signed a one-year contract with the Dallas Stars.

Ottawa Senator forward Radek Bonk got a big raise as NHL arbitration hearings wrapped up.

The center was awarded a two-year deal worth $3.25 million. He will make $1.5 million in 2000-2001, a hefty raise over his salary last season of $800,000, and $1.75 million the next year.

Bonk had 23 goals and 37 assists in 80 games last season.

In other decisions, Dallas Star right wing Blake Sloan was awarded a one-year contract worth $550,000, an increase over last year’s $375,000.

The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed defensemen Bryan Muir and Kaspars Astashenko to one-year contracts. . . . The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired right wing Kent McDonell from the Detroit Red Wings for a sixth-round pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft.

Former world champion cyclist Johan Museeuw of Belgium was well enough to leave an intensive care unit in Ghent, Belgium, four days after suffering head injuries in a traffic accident. Fully conscious and in a stable condition, Museeuw, 34, was moved to a neurological ward, a spokeswoman for the University of Ghent hospital said.

Alberto Juantorena, one of Cuba’s top sports officials, stood by his country’s decision to ban two Cuban-born athletes from competing in the Olympics for Spain.

Niurka Montalvo, the current world champion in the women’s long jump, and water polo player Ivan Perez were refused permission by Cuba to compete for Spain, where they are now citizens.

Mexico’s Israel Vazquez stopped countryman Javier Varguez in the third round of a scheduled 10-round super bantamweight fight at Anaheim.