Little League Tightens Process

Call it the Danny Almonte Rule.

Burned by the summer’s scandal at the Little League World Series, Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive of Little League Baseball Inc., Tuesday announced changes in the way the organization will verify player eligibility.

Players will have to provide a birth certificate issued by the government no more than 30 days after birth.

If a player can’t provide such documentation, other proof of age, such as hospital records, will be required.

The changes were prompted by the controversy surrounding Almonte, who pitched a no-hitter in the Series for the Rolando Paulino Little League team from the Bronx, N.Y.

A Sports Illustrated reporter discovered an official birth certificate in the Dominican Republic showing Almonte was 14, or two years too old to play in the Series.

The team was stripped of its third-place finish and Paulino and Almonte’s father, Felipe de Jesus, were banned for life.

The senior Almonte was charged in the Dominican Republic with forging Danny’s birth certificate.

Olympics

Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone said he would be an Olympic torchbearer if assigned a prime place to carry the torch.

“I don’t really have the desire of running it across the desert somewhere for a tenth of a mile,” Malone said.

Malone was on the U.S. basketball teams that won gold medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

Motor Racing

New safety regulations by NASCAR next season will require pit crew members who go over the wall during races or practice to wear helmets and fire-resistant clothing.

Drivers also must wear helmets and fire suits during practice, qualifying and competition.

NASCAR ordered that seat belts be installed in accordance with instructions by the supplier and manufacturer. Drivers must comply with those instructions at all times.

A 2.23-mile racing track capable of staging Formula One events should be completed at Moscow by early 2003.

Grigory Antyufeyev, chairman of the Moscow Committee for Tourism, told Interfax news agency the $100-million project was expected to draw an additional 100,000 tourists to the region.

Jurisprudence

The father of a high school sophomore in Union City, Calif., is seeking $1.5 million in damages and the dismissal of the school’s basketball coach after his son did not make the varsity.

Lynn Rubin sued the New Haven Unified School District on Nov. 27 because his son, Jawaan, was assigned to the Logan High junior varsity after being asked to try out for varsity.

Jawaan’s brother, Janou, is a sophomore guard at UCLA.

Coach Blake Chong has a policy limiting sophomores to junior varsity.

Chong refused to comment.

The father said he calculated the damages based on potential wages lost from his son’s possible professional basketball career.

Hurdler Anjanette Kirkland’s $1-million civil suit against her former coach, John Smith, has been continued in L.A. Superior Court until Jan. 8.

The delay in a hearing scheduled for Tuesday was granted because she has a new attorney.

Former USA Boxing president Jerry Dusenberry pleaded not guilty at Portland, Ore., to charges he sexually molested an 8-year-old boy.

Dusenberry, 61, is being held on $1-million bail. The trial is set to begin Jan. 23.

Miscellany

The Avengers will open their third Arena Football League season April 19 by hosting the New York Dragons at Staples Center.

Stephen Marks, chief executive of French Connection Group Plc, a British clothing retailer, is the mystery bidder paying $37,000 to play England’s top player, Tim Henman, on Wimbledon’s center court in July, sources told Bloomberg News.

Paul Caligiuri, who appeared in 110 games for the U.S. soccer team, was honored in a ceremony at Los Angeles by Futbol de Primera and American Honda for his contributions to soccer in this country.

Caligiuri, captain of UCLA’s national championship team in 1985, is men’s coach at Cal Poly Pomona.