Agassi Is Latest German Open Upset Victim

Andre Agassi and Russia’s Marat Safin, the top two remaining seeded players in the German Open, were upset in the second round Wednesday at Hamburg.

Agassi, seeded third, lost to Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, and the second-seeded Safin was defeated by Gaston Gaudio of Argentina, 6-0, 7-6 (0).

That left only four seeded players still in the draw, with No. 7 Lleyton Hewitt defeating Fernando Vicente of Spain, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the third round. Hewitt is the highest-seeded player left.

“A bit disappointing,” Agassi said. “Today was one of those days you wish it was three-out-of-five.”

Jennifer Capriati, in one of her worst outings of the year, lost to Rita Kuti Kis of Hungary, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), in her opening match in the Italian Open at Rome.

The second-seeded Capriati won the Australian Open in January, captured another tournament in Charleston, S.C., and also has two runner-up finishes in 2001, including last week at Berlin.

Mark Philippoussis of Australia withdrew from the May 28-June 10 French Open because of a knee injury, organizers said.

Jurisprudence

Receiver Terry Glenn of the New England Patriots pleaded not guilty in Wrentham, Mass., to a charge that he assaulted the mother of his 5-year-old son during an argument.

Two men were convicted in Flint, Mich., of fatally shooting the older brother of Detroit Piston guard Mateen Cleaves.

Separate juries found Dontrell Smith and Jaroy Davis guilty of second-degree murder and other charges in the Feb. 18 slaying of 27-year-old Herbert Cleaves.

Both men face up to life in prison on the murder charge when they are sentenced in June.

Cleveland Gary, a former Los Angeles Ram and Miami Dolphin running back, was charged in Miami with insurance fraud and grand theft for filing false medical insurance claims and receiving a $40,000 injury settlement.

Pro Football

More than 61% of former NFL players had concussions during their playing days, and most of them said they were not sidelined after their injuries, a study found. The report was based on a survey of 1,094 former players, ages 27 to 86, conducted in 1995-96 by the NFL Players Assn. Responses were analyzed by Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, research director of the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes.

Wade Phillips, former coach of the Buffalo Bills, appealed to the NFL to force the Bills to resume paying the final year of his contract. Phillips, 29-19 in his three seasons with the Bills, was under contract through the 2001 season when he was fired in January.

Miscellany

Former USC football coach John McKay was in fair condition in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Tampa, Fla., for treatment of complications from diabetes.

McKay, 77, who led the Trojans to four national titles before becoming the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1975, was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital last week.

Buccaneer and hospital officials declined to provide details of McKay’s condition at the request of the family.

McKay led USC to a 127-40-8 record and nine Pacific 8 championships in 16 years. He won national titles in 1962, 1967, 1972 and 1974, and two of his tailbacks--Mike Garrett and O.J. Simpson--won the Heisman Trophy.

The Anschutz Entertainment Group’s plans to build a soccer, tennis and track and field complex on 85 acres of Cal State Dominguez Hills land in Carson suffered a minor setback when the California State University Board of Trustees delayed making a decision on the project.

Meeting in Long Beach a day after the Carson City Council had endorsed the project on a 3-2 vote, the trustees listened to two hours of public comment on the multimillion-dollar proposal, then asked for more input from staff and continued the hearing for 10 days to three weeks.

The project includes a 20,000-seat soccer stadium expected to become the home of Major League Soccer’s Galaxy as well as a Women’s United Soccer Assn. team and an 8,000-seat tennis stadium.

A penalty kick by Alex Comas carried the New York-New Jersey MetroStars to their fifth consecutive MLS victory, 1-0 over the Colorado Rapids at East Rutherford, N.J. . . . Marco Antonio Cate scored two goals, including a game-winning penalty kick in the 83rd minute, as the New England Revolution defeated the Columbus Crew, 2-1, at Foxboro, Mass. . . . Forward Mamadou Diallo of the Tampa Bay Mutiny was suspended for three games by MLS for confronting a fan after a May 12 game at Denver. . . . Sherice Bartling and Angela Hucles scored in the game’s first nine minutes at San Jose, leading the Boston Breakers to a 4-2 victory over the Bay Area CyberRays in the WUSA’s first midweek match.

World and European champion France has overtaken Brazil in the FIFA world rankings, ending Brazil’s seven-year domination of world soccer. France has 796 points in the latest rankings, two more than Brazil. The United States is the highest climber in the top 20, moving from 18th to 15th. . . . Defender Delfi Geli headed the ball into his own net late in overtime to give Liverpool a 5-4 victory over Alaves in the UEFA Cup final at Dortmund, Germany.

World Boxing Union featherweight champion Cassius Baloyi underwent surgery after being shot in the leg during a carjacking in Johannesburg, South Africa. Baloyi was in stable condition, police Sgt. Amanda Roestoff said, but will be unable to fight Justo Martinez of Argentina on June 2 near Johannesburg. . . . Davis Love III withdrew from the Colonial golf tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, because of a problem with a disk in his neck that causes numbness in his left arm and fingers.

ESPN Regional Television, a subsidiary of ESPN Inc., bought the Las Vegas Bowl from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the network said. It’s believed to be the first bowl game owned by a broadcaster.

The president of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., unveiled a front safety bumper that he believes NASCAR drivers will approve.

Humpy Wheeler said the bumper is designed to address concerns about the rigidity of the front of stock cars.

Passings

Ralph Miller, who coached Oregon State to four Pacific 10 Conference basketball championships, died Tuesday at his home in Black Butte Ranch, Ore. He was 82. (See story, B11.)