Air Traffic Won’t Stop New Stadium

Concerns about commercial airliners flying too close to a planned Arizona Cardinal stadium will not stop the $334-million project, Tempe officials said Friday.

“In the big picture of this construction starting and the stadium going up as planned and on time, it’s totally a done deal,” former Attorney General Grant Woods told reporters at Sky Harbor International Airport, less than two miles from the stadium site.

At issue is a flight path out of the airport that takes aircraft over the planned 198-foot-tall stadium at heights of 400 feet to 800 feet. Proposed new flight guidelines would bring flights even closer.

The state’s stadium authority president, Ted Ferris, ordered construction halted Thursday while federal and local authorities tried to work out alternatives.

Aaron Gibson, a 380-pound offensive tackle for the Detroit Lions, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault after a fight outside a nightclub in Pontiac, Mich. . . . The Chicago Bears have given up their draft rights to former Florida receiver John Capel. Capel, a former Olympic sprinter selected in the seventh round of the April draft, failed a drug test during the NFL combine, and was arrested in Florida in May on a marijuana possession charge.

Auto Racing

Gil De Ferran raced around the 11-turn street course along the north shore of Lake Ontario at 108.185 mph for his first pole of the CART season in the Molson Indy at Toronto. . . . The Fords of Haas-Carter Motorsports teammates Todd Bodine and Jimmy Spencer swept the top two spots for Sunday’s Tropicana 400 at the new Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Bodine led the way at 183.717 mph.

Rick Lewis, the radio “Voice of Daytona” to millions of NASCAR fans, was killed in what police believe was a botched murder-suicide with his wife, Wanda. The 52-year-old studio voice of the Motor Racing Network was found dead Wednesday night on a bed in his home in South Daytona, Fla., with a single gunshot wound to the head. Wanda Lewis, 51, was hospitalized in serious condition with a gunshot wound to her head.

Miscellany

Tim Montgomery sprinted to the year’s fastest time in the men’s 100 meters and Marion Jones extended her winning streak to 51 races in the women’s 100 in the Bislett Games at Oslo. Montgomery was timed in a personal best of 9.84 seconds for a Bislett Stadium track record. Jones overcame a false start and took control of her race early, clocking 10.94.

Paola Suarez of Argentina upset defending champion Barbara Schett of Austria, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the $170,000 Uniqa Grand Prix at Vienna. . . . The top three seeded players in the $110,000 WTA clay-court tournament at Palermo, Sicily, all lost their quarterfinals in straight sets, including No. 1 Magui Serna of Spain, who lost to countrywoman Cristina Torrens Valero, 6-4, 6-3. . . . Defending champion Alex Corretja rallied past Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, to gain a semifinal spot in the $600,000 Gstaad Open in Switzerland. . . . Defending champion Magnus Norman reached the Swedish Open semifinals at Bastad, rallying to defeat Christophe Rochus of Belgium, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. . . . James Blake, a New England native, advanced to the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Championships at Newport, R.I., with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Kristian Capalik.

The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired two unrestricted free agents, right wing Dave Andreychuk and defenseman Grant Ledyard. . . . The Washington Capitals re-signed right wing Ulf Dahlen to a one-year, $1.65-million contract. . . . The Colorado Avalanche signed Coach Bob Hartley to a two-year contract extension.

Javier Chevandon scored a second-half goal to give Uruguay a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Bolivia in the Copa America soccer tournament at Medellin, Colombia. Costa Rica defeated Honduras, 1-0, on a goal by Paulo Wanchope in the 63rd minute. . . . Doris Fitschen scored two goals as the Philadelphia Charge ended a four-game winless streak by defeating the San Diego Spirit, 3-0, in a WUSA game at Villanova, Pa.

A federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., said that a judge was too lenient when he gave former heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe a 30-day sentence for abducting his estranged wife and their children in 1998.