Baseball Looks Into Rose Situation

Pete Rose is in tax trouble again, and baseball’s security department is investigating the career hits leader as he negotiates a possible end to his lifetime ban.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig’s position on the talks -- and Rose’s eligibility for the Hall of Fame -- could be affected by the tax revelations, a high-ranking baseball official said Friday on condition of anonymity. Selig refused to comment.

Rose, who served a five-month prison sentence a decade ago on tax charges, owes $151,689 in federal taxes from 1998, according to the Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office.

Rose agreed to a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 after an investigation into his gambling. He is ineligible for the Hall of Fame as long as he’s barred from the sport.

An accountant who has represented Rose in California, David Stern, did not return telephone calls Friday seeking comment.

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After eight National League batting titles and 3,141 hits in 20 seasons with the San Diego Padres, Tony Gwynn returned to the school whose home stadium bears his name in an attempt to lead it to baseball prominence.

But, in a frustrating debut as coach for Gwynn, San Diego State blew leads of 4-0 and 5-1 in a 7-5 loss to Arizona State.

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Bob Kersee, the husband of Olympic track star Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and the company he used to run owe Dodger outfielder Brian Jordan a six-figure debt for a loan made four years ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Kersee is a personal trainer of world-class athletes. His attorney, David Fairchild, acknowledged the debt to Jordan and told the Post-Dispatch: “We are trying to reach some kind of accord on the matter.”

According to a suit filed in October in St. Louis County Circuit Court by Jordan’s lawyers, Jordan lent $226,000 to Kersee and his company on Jan. 13, 1999. A promissory note that Kersee signed came due two years later, but Kersee made no payments on the note, the suit said.

Miscellany

Lennox Lewis said his next fight may be a rematch with Mike Tyson in June.

Talks for a proposed bout in April between Lewis and Vitali Klitschko have collapsed, Lewis’ attorney Judd Burnstein said.

Burnstein said Lewis will watch how Tyson does Feb. 22 against Clifford Etienne in Memphis, Tenn.

Lewis stopped Tyson in the eighth round of their much-anticipated heavyweight championship fight June 8, and neither fighter has fought since. Both fighters had a rematch clause in their contracts for that fight.

Lewis had been expected to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Klitschko, the organization’s No. 1 contender.

Julio Gonzalez of Huntington Beach outpointed Glencoffe Johnson of Miami in a 10-round light heavyweight fight at Commerce. Gonzalez improved to 32-1. Johnson is 38-9.

The Seattle Seahawks signed offensive tackle Chris Terry to a five-year contract worth as much as $19 million. The deal includes a $5-million signing bonus, and a $1-million roster bonus if he’s on the team in March 2004.... Former Oregon State running back Ken Simonton was one of six free agents signed by the Buffalo Bills.... The Green Bay Packers will play the Kansas City Chiefs in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio. The game starts the exhibition schedule.

Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer got a one-year contract extension that did not include a pay raise after a disappointing season in which the Volunteers finished 8-5 and out of the national rankings. His contract, which pays him $1.65 million per year, will carry through Dec. 31, 2009.... Wake Forest signed Coach Jim Grobe to a 10-year contract extension after he led the Demon Deacons to consecutive winning seasons.

Russia’s Evgeny Plushenko botched a combination but still won the short program of the European men’s figure skating championships at Malmoe, Sweden.

American Chris Soule beat Canada’s Jeff Pain by a half-second to win a World Cup skeleton race at St. Moritz, Switzerland.