With Greene Out, Chambers Wins

With injured Maurice Greene on the sidelines doing television commentary, Britain’s Dwain Chambers won the 100 meters at the Goodwill Games on Wednesday at Brisbane, Australia.

Chambers beat his rivals out of the blocks and held off American Tim Montgomery’s late kick, winning in 10.11 seconds.

Montgomery started slowly but rallied to finish second in 10.27. Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago was fifth, .30 behind the winner.

In events more true to form, three-time world champion Allen Johnson edged Cuba’s Anier Garcia by 0.04 in the 110-meter hurdles, and Stacy Dragila, the world and Olympic champion, won the women’s pole vault.

In the absence of 200-meter world champion Marion Jones, world silver medalist Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas won in 22.80, with Kelli White, the world bronze medalist, second at 23.05.

In basketball, the U.S. men put on a dunking exhibition led by Kenyon Martin and beat Cuba, 111-70, reaching the semifinals.

Hockey

Pittsburgh Penguin defenseman Janne Laukkanen is expected to be out until November because of a knee injury that occurred during a floor hockey game at a bachelor party for former teammate Sami Salo.

*

Montreal Canadien captain Saku Koivu was hospitalized for abdominal pain.

Koivu, the team’s leading scorer last season with 17 goals and 30 assists in only 54 games, has been sick since returning from Finland on Monday.

*

Bryan Berard, who retired from the NHL because of an eye injury, skated during a training session for the U.S. hockey team at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Berard, a defenseman on the 1998 Olympic team, was not among the 37 players listed on the training-camp roster, and his invitation appeared to be a goodwill gesture toward a former Olympian whose career was unexpectedly cut short.

Jurisprudence

A special prosecutor will look into the testimony of two investigators in the failed drug cases against Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski and his wife, Julie.

Harvey Steinberg, the Romanowskis’ attorney, said the testimony of a federal drug agent and a Douglas County sheriff’s detective contradicted their written reports and the testimony of other investigators.

Kathy Jager, a 58-year-old track athlete and age-group record holder from Glendale, Ariz., was reinstated following a suspension for a failed drug test.

USA Track and Field confirmed that her two-year suspension for testing positive for methyl testosterone was lifted by the International Association of Athletic Federations.

Miscellany

Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban said he agreed with forward Dirk Nowitzki on a six-year contract extension worth an estimated $90 million.

“Yes [we have an oral agreement], but it’s not something we will rush to do,” Cuban said of his negotiations with Nowitzki, who is under contract for the 2001-02 season at $2.2 million.

*

Michael Jordan is worried that critics of his possible comeback to professional basketball will “crucify” him if he does not resurrect the Jordan of old, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

*

“If things don’t go quite like people expect them to go, you know I’ll be crucified,” Jordan, 38, told the Sun-Times’ columnist Jay Mariotti after a workout against other NBA pros Tuesday at a Chicago gym.

*

Though the early signing period doesn’t begin until Nov. 14, USC has received nonbinding oral commitments from Ventura College basketball players Jonathan Oliver and Jack Wolfinger for the 2002-03 season.

Oliver, a 7-foot, 225-pound center who has drawn interest from NBA scouts.

He played a year at Indian Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa, and was recruited by Washington State, Seton Hall, Fresno State, Iowa and Missouri.

Wolfinger, a 6-10, 215-pound swingman, played sparingly at St. John’s last year and was being recruited by Washington State, Tulsa, Nevada Las Vegas and Kentucky.

Former National League president Len Coleman will head efforts by the YankeeNets to bring a proposed $355-million downtown arena to Newark for the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils.

*

Representatives of Switzerland’s sporting federations voted to support the capital city of Bern rather than a rival bid by the eastern Alpine resort of Davos, which was backed by executives of the Swiss Olympic Committee.

*

Winston Cup driver Steve Park, who suffered a concussion and bruised collarbone in an accident at Darlington Raceway last week, said he will not race in the Monte Carlo 400 this weekend and indicated he may miss a few more events.

*

Former Indy Racing League champion Greg Ray, fired by car owner John Menard last month, will race for A.J. Foyt, and former Formula One driver Johnny Herbert will make his series debut in the IRL season finale Sept. 16 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Danielle Downey shot a two-over-par 74 as Auburn maintained its 17-stroke lead after the second round of the women’s competition at the U.S.-Japan Intercollegiate Golf Championship in Tanagura, Japan.

USC and Japan’s Tohoku Fukushi University are tied for second at 26-over 602.

Individually, the Trojans’ Mikaela Parmlid is at even par, one stroke back of Tohoku’s Mika Saito.

Passings

Cawood Ledford, the longtime radio voice of the Kentucky Wildcats and one of the nation’s most respected horse racing broadcasters, died of cancer in Harlan, Ky. He was 75.