Lewis, Now a Witness, Gives Details of Deadly Brawl
Ray Lewis, defendant turned witness, put a laser pointer in his fist and showed jurors in Atlanta how defendant Joseph Sweeting held a knife and how he described striking a man during a street brawl that left two men dead.
Lewis testified Tuesday, one day after murder charges against him were dropped.
The Baltimore Raven linebacker said he asked Sweeting what happened in the hours after the Jan. 31 fight. Lewis quoted Sweeting as saying, “Every time they hit me, I hit them.” Lewis showed how Sweeting brandished a knife in a closed fist and moved it back and forth in a punching motion.
Lewis said the fight outside an Atlanta club was over so quickly he couldn’t tell if Sweeting or defendant Reginald Oakley had stabbed the two men.
Lewis said the knife was not bloody and Sweeting had no blood on him when they returned to their hotel. Lewis testified that Oakley told him he didn’t stab anyone.
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Former Los Angeles Ram lineman Doug France, who killed a motorist in an alcohol-related crash nine years ago, pleaded guilty in Newport Beach to felony drunken driving in a case stemming from a non-injury accident on the San Diego Freeway in San Juan Capistrano on Sept. 26.
France is expected to be sentenced to two years in prison on June 30, Deputy District Attorney Beth Costello said.
The sentencing agreement was reached between the defense and Superior Court Judge Christopher Strople, Costello said, adding that France will have to serve at least one year before being eligible for parole.
Soccer
FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, announced a new ticketing system for the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.
FIFA decided to take centralized control of all tickets after distribution problems at earlier World Cups.
FIFA also extended the tournament by one day to reduce first-round match congestion. The tournament will now start May 31, instead of June 1 as originally planned. It ends June 30.
In another matter, FIFA suspended Chilean midfielder Clarence Acuna for four months. Acuna tested positive for isoprotenerol, a drug that enhances breathing, after a World Cup qualifying game April 28 in Peru.
World champion France beat Morocco, 5-1, in the final of the King Hassan II Cup at Casablanca.
Miscellany
Federal authorities are investigating whether contractors building new sports stadiums in Pittsburgh for the Pirates and Steelers used sham companies to meet goals aimed at giving some construction work to minority-owned firms, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
The investigation apparently was spurred by lawsuits against the Pittsburgh Sports & Exhibition Authority and two steel companies with whom the authority had made deals.
Long Beach State men’s basketball Coach Wayne Morgan signed a three-year contract extension through the 2003-04 season. . . . McNeese State football Coach Kirby Bruchhaus resigned because of an investigation into whether he gambled on pro football games.
Matt Gogel qualified for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next week. Other PGA Tour players surviving a playoff in Rockville, Md., included Scott Verplank, Brad Faxon, John Cook and Andy Bean.
The Los Angeles Avengers sent lineman Joe Burgos to New Jersey for wide receiver/linebacker Bruce LaSane, and traded lineman Patterson Owens to Houston for future considerations. The Avengers also signed six-year Arena Football League veteran lineman Kevin Carroll, activated lineman Pete Ohnegian and put receiver/linebacker Larry Thompson on recallable waivers.
