Kuerten Works Quickly in Eliminating Ivanisevic

In a match between Grand Slam tournament champions that lasted only 41 minutes Thursday night, top-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil defeated No. 14 Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-1, in the third round of the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati at Mason, Ohio.

Kuerten, the French Open champion, broke Ivanisevic in the third game of the match and then continued his dominance. Ivanisevic, the Wimbledon champion, had won nine consecutive matches but was again unable to handle Kuerten, who has won four of their five meetings.

Earlier, eighth-seeded Patrick Rafter and No. 7 Tim Henman advanced to the quarterfinals with straight-set victories, Rafter over James Blake, 7-6 (7), 6-2, and Henman over Nicolas Kiefer, 7-5, 6-3.

Fifth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt needed a tiebreaker to defeat Max Mirnyi, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Basketball

The Lakers announced an eight-game exhibition schedule highlighted by games against the Golden State Warriors in Hawaii and Japan. The Lakers and Warriors meet Oct. 7 in Honolulu and Oct. 13-14 in Tokyo.

The Lakers then return to the United States for games against the Phoenix Suns in San Diego on Oct. 19 and the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas the next night.

The Lakers next face the Memphis Grizzlies at the Arrowhead Pond on Oct. 23 before hosting doubleheaders Oct. 25-26 at Staples Center. Other teams participating are the Warriors, Suns and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers also signed Joe Crispin, a 6-foot former Penn State guard who was not drafted.

The bankrupt Continental Basketball Assn. will be revived in time to start its 56th consecutive season Nov. 16.

Carolyn Peck, coach of the Orlando Miracle, has been fined $250 for returning to the floor after being ejected in Tuesday’s 74-67 victory over the Cleveland Rockers.

Teams competing in three college basketball tournaments this season in Las Vegas won’t play at a casino hotel, but they will stay there.

The NCAA gave approval Wednesday to move the three tournaments from the Paris Las Vegas casino hotel ballroom to Valley High School, which is four miles from the strip.

On Thursday, the NCAA said it will ask its staff to develop a measure to be considered in November to deny certification of any event conducted in a venue where there is sports wagering on intercollegiate athletics.

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Cal State Northridge hired Ken Turner as an assistant to women’s basketball Coach Frozena Jerro.

Hockey

Defenseman Jere Karalahti of the Kings was invited to the Finnish men’s Olympic hockey team orientation camp .... Ray Bourque’s uniform No. 77 will be retired by the Boston Bruins in a pregame ceremony at their season opener Oct. 4 against the Mighty Ducks.

Zoltan Batovsky, a 22-year-old prospect in the San Jose Sharks’ organization, was killed in an automobile accident in Austria on Wednesday night.

Soccer

The Italian government imposed tougher penalties against violent soccer fans, two weeks before the top league begins its season.

The government adopted the measures in response to last season’s increased stadium violence across the country.

U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller has agreed to join Turkish club Besiktas, the state-run news agency Anatolian said.

Keller became a free agent at the end of last season, when he played for Spanish club Rayo Vallecano.

The Kansas City Wizards and Major League Soccer protested the result of Wednesday’s Copa Merconorte match against Mexican club champion Santos Laguna because a Mexican crew refereed the match. The Wizards lost, 4-2, at Torreon, Mexico, the second defeat in as many games for the MLS champions in the invitation-only club tournament. The Mexican referee red-carded Wizard defender Nick Garcia and called two penalties against the American team.

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Kelly Smith scored in the 75th minute, rallying the Philadelphia Charge to a 1-1 tie with the San Diego Spirit in a WUSA game at Villanova, Pa .... Charmaine Hooper had the third three-goal game in the WUSA this season as the Atlanta Beat clinched a home playoff game with a 4-0 victory over the Bay Area CyberRays at Atlanta.

Miscellany

Alex Cole, a former major leaguer now playing with an independent minor league team, was arrested in Bridgeport, Conn., on a federal narcotics charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life.

The 35-year-old outfielder, who played for five major league teams, is with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League. He was arrested at Harbor Yard Stadium as he prepared for Thursday night’s game against Atlantic City.

Cole, of St. Petersburg, Fla., was arrested along with four other men and charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin.

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South Carolina running back Derek Watson, suspended twice since December, returned to practice. Watson rushed for 1,066 yards last season but was suspended and sat out South Carolina’s 24-7 Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State on New Year’s Day.

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Tasha Schwikert held off a challenge from 15-year-old Tabitha Yim in the all-around preliminaries at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Philadelphia. UCLA All-American Mohini Bhardwaj, who won the vault title, was third .... British motorcycle rider John Deacon died after injuring his head in a fall during a Syrian stage of the Masters Rally. He was 38