Paralyzed Football Player Gets Settlement From Pitt

The University of Pittsburgh settled a lawsuit by a paralyzed football player, but the amount the player will be paid was in dispute Tuesday.

Lawyers for Demale Stanley, 23, said he will get $31 million, but the university put the sum at about $5 million.

Stanley contended the university and football coaches, including Johnny Majors, were negligent during an indoor practice four years ago when the player hit a padded concrete wall head first.

“Nothing can replace what I lost, but it does bring some closure,” Stanley said. “I can focus on getting better and recovering.”

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The autopsy report on the girlfriend of former NFL player Rae Carruth was released after defense lawyers complained Monday that they needed more evidence in the case. The report, finished almost six months after Cherica Adams was killed, showed that she was shot four times in the back. . . . The lawyer for Reggie Lewis’ family concluded the second malpractice case against his doctor by asking jurors to think of the children who grew up without a father--and not of the former Boston Celtic star’s controversial widow.

Auburn University police said an investigation has determined that the April 25 shooting of Tiger tight end Lorenzo Diamond was accidental. Diamond, 20, had told officers that he was accidentally shot in the abdomen by his wife, Delphine, as they drove in a car on campus. He was taken to a hospital after the shooting and is expected to recover fully. . . . Bill Stewart, a minor league hockey coach who twice smuggled a player into the United States from Canada, might be kept out of the country for his team’s postseason game. Stewart was penalized by the Ontario Hockey League for twice smuggling Vladimir Chernenko, a Ukraine-born defenseman, into the U.S. for regular-season games. . . . Former Indy car driver David “Salt” Walther was found guilty on a charge of child endangering in Lebanon, Ohio. Sentencing was set for May 18.

Manfred Ewald, longtime head of East Germany’s powerhouse Olympic program, went on trial in Berlin on charges that he injured the super-athletes he helped create by feeding them steroids without their knowledge, ignoring health risks in the pursuit of gold medals.

Miscellany

Anthony Dupuis of France ousted top-seeded Andrew Ilie of Australia, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) in a controversy-filled first-round match in the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Between games in the second set, Ilie claimed Dupuis threatened him. “He told me he was going to kill me after the match. He threatened me three or four times. The umpire was right there and didn’t give him a warning,” Ilie said.

Judy Rankin, a 26-time winner and the first woman to break the $100,000 barrier, was voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. Rankin was the first player elected from the tour’s new Veteran’s Category, which was established last year when the LPGA revamped its rigid Hall of Fame criteria.

Gov. John G. Rowland signed legislation to build the University of Connecticut a 40,000-seat football stadium, securing the football program’s entry into the Big East Conference by 2003. . . . Wide receiver Bert Emanuel, released last month by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins. . . . Bill Kuharich, former general manager of the New Orleans Saints, was hired as director of personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs.

A small plane carrying Formula One driver David Coulthard crashed at the airport in Lyon, France, killing the pilot and co-pilot but leaving Coulthard with only minor injuries. . . . Race driver Lou “Monks” Lazzaro died at Albany Medical Center on Monday, two days after collapsing in the pit area at Fonda Speedway in Utica, N.Y. He was 65. Relatives said he suffered a massive stroke that left him in a coma and he died of an inoperable blood clot on the brain.

Miguel Angel Angulo scored two goals and set up another before halftime as Valencia stunned FC Barcelona, 4-1, at Valencia, Spain, in the first leg of their European Champions League soccer semifinal. . . . Khalid Khannouchi of Morocco, the marathon world-record holder, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen, but it was uncertain whether he will be able to compete for the United States at the Olympics. . . . Dick Schultz, executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee since 1995, has joined a Kansas City sports-marketing and consulting firm as its chairman.

DeShawn Stevenson of Washington Union High in Fresno will make himself available for the NBA draft despite his parent’s wishes for him to honor his commitment to Kansas, ESPN.com reported. . . . DePaul swingman Quentin Richardson will forgo his final two years of eligibility and make himself eligible for the NBA draft, a source close to the school said.

An 18-year-old woman died after being hit in the head by a hammer thrown by top Czech athlete Vladimir Maska at a track and field meet in Turnov, Czech Republic. Zuzana Krejcova was sitting on the infield of a stadium when Maska’s hammer flew astray.

Anita DeFrantz, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, will be the guest speaker at the 23rd annual Marina del Rey Sports Night on May 16 at 7:30 at Burton Chace Park Community Hall, 13650 Mindanao Way.