Jones Blazes to Victory in 100 Meters (10.84)

Marion Jones tied the year’s best time for the 100 meters, 10.84 seconds, to win at the Herculis track and field meet Friday at Monte Carlo.

The Olympic champion easily beat Tanya Lawrence of Jamaica, who finished in 10.95, and equaled the time turned in this month by world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block.

Jones stayed on course for a slice of the jackpot--110 pounds of gold worth about $500,000--which will be divided by athletes who win their event at all seven Golden League meets.

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Lashinda Demus, a Long Beach Wilson High graduate who attends South Carolina, won the 400 meter hurdles race in a world junior record 54.70 at the World Junior track and field championships at Kingston, Jamaica. Demus easily beat Melanie Walker and Camille Robinson, both of Jamaica, who finished second and third in 56.03 and 56.14, respectively.

Pro Football

Mike Martz, who built the high-flying St. Louis Ram offense and helped the once-downtrodden team become a Super Bowl contender, has agreed to a contract extension through the 2006 season.

New Orleans Saint cornerback Dale Carter has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL for failing a test for alcohol.... Former Jacksonville Jaguar offensive lineman Jeff Novak was awarded $5.3 million in a malpractice lawsuit against a former team doctor.... Derrick Rodgers was released from jail on a $10,000 bond posted by his wife after the Miami Dolphin linebacker was arrested on charges of kicking and punching her and assaulting a man who was with her.

Tony Gonzalez’s NBA experiment is over--at least with the Miami Heat. Gonzalez, one of the NFL’s premier tight ends with the Kansas City Chiefs, left the Heat’s summer team in Long Beach on Thursday. A Heat spokesman said Gonzalez may try to find another team.

Motor Racing

Bill Elliott continued his recent stretch of strong qualifying runs by winning his third pole of the season for the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon. Elliott ran a lap at 131.469 mph in a Dodge to take the top starting spot for Sunday’s race.... Jason Leffler won his third consecutive pole in the NASCAR truck series and seventh of the season when he qualified in the top spot for today’s New England 200 with a track-record lap at 128.424 mph.... Billy Boat’s new Infiniti-powered engine carried him to a track record (203.774 mph) at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn., in qualifying for the Firestone Indy 200.... Shane Hmiel’s car failed inspection after he won the pole for the Busch Series race at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., giving the top spot to Randy LaJoie.

Miscellany

ESPN Radio affiliate KSPN (1110) will drop Tony Kornheiser’s national show beginning Monday and replace it with a repeat of the first three hours of the “Mike and Mike Morning Show,” KSPN program director Erik Braverman said.

Braverman said the move had nothing to do with Kornheiser being suspended for a week because of critical remarks he made about ESPN management. He said it is being made because “Mike and Mike,” with Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, is formatted as a morning show, allowing more local cut-ins.

Olympic gold medal swimmer Donna de Varona withdrew as a candidate for the U.S. Olympic Committee presidency, less than a week after submitting her nomination, citing family and business commitments.

French Open quarterfinalist Guillermo Canas reached the semifinals of the $500,000 clay-court Mercedes Open by outlasting Alberto Martin, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), at Stuttgart, Germany. Canas next faces top-seeded Jiri Novak, who beat Tommy Robredo, 6-4, 6-2.... Defending champion Carlos Moya advanced to the semifinals of the Croatia Open at Umag, defeating fifth-seeded Fernando Vicente, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he will face Jurgen Meltzer, who defeated Victor Hansecu, 6-4, 6-4.... French Open champion Albert Costa reached the semifinals of the $381,000 clay-court Energis Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Andre Sa at Amersfoot, Netherlands.

Bruno Sundov, a 7-foot-3 center-forward who played 22 games with the Indiana Pacers last season, signed with the Boston Celtics.... The Phoenix Suns signed free agent Scott Williams, who averaged 4.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 41 games with the Denver Nuggets last season.

Grand Rapids blocked Brad Selent’s field-goal attempt on the final play and the Rampage (8-6) completed the regular season with a 63-60 Arena Football League victory over the Detroit Fury (1-13) before 7,108 at Auburn Hills, Mich.