Lewis May Fight Klitschko

Eager to salvage the June 21 fight card at Staples Center, heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said Saturday night he is considering a fight against Vitali Klitschko.

Lewis’ scheduled opponent, Kirk Johnson, was forced to drop out of the fight on Friday because of a torn chest muscle suffered in a sparring session.

Lewis had originally agreed to fight Klitschko at Staples after a proposed rematch with Mike Tyson fell apart when Tyson, knocked out by Lewis a year ago, said he wasn’t ready for a second fight.

When Lewis and Klitschko failed to come to an agreement, Lewis signed with Johnson and Klitschko agreed to fight Cedrick Boswell on the undercard.

The plan was to match Lewis and Klitschko in a pay-per-view fight in December, assuming both won at Staples Center.

Attending Saturday night’s Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward fight in Atlantic City, Lewis told reporters he could fight Klitschko at Staples and then face Roy Jones Jr. in his next pay-per-view match. Jones has been negotiating to fight Evander Holyfield, but those negotiations have stalled.

-- Steve Springer

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Gatti pounded out another thrilling 10-round decision over Ward, closing the book on a junior-welterweight trilogy that breathed new life into both men’s careers.

Gatti, who split a pair of fights with Ward last year, outpunched and outmaneuvered the slower, 37-year-old Ward this time around, overcoming a broken hand and a knockdown to win the rubber match with a unanimous decision.

Golf

Annika Sorenstam played three holes, made one bogey and lost her two-stroke lead in the LPGA Championship at Wilmington, Del.

A steady rain that saturated DuPont Country Club suspended the third round and made it a short day at the office for Sorenstam, who returns this morning tied for the lead with Hee-Won Han at seven-under-par and facing 33 holes on a waterlogged course.

Heavy rains postponed play in the FBR Capital Open at Potomac, Md., forcing officials to extend the tournament to Monday.

The third round will start at 7:45 a.m. PDT today, with the final round teeing off at 4:30 a.m. Monday. Officials determined that the TPC at Avenel course, saturated from 28 days of rain since the start of May, couldn’t be readied in time for 36 holes of play in one day to accommodate a Sunday finish.

The second-round leader is Rory Sabbatini, who shot a 66 Friday for a two-day total of eight-under-par 134.

Seiji Ebihara birdied two of his first seven holes to take a two-stroke lead before rain forced the suspension of play in the Senior PGA Championship at Newtown Square, Pa. Ebihara was four under when play was suspended. John Jacobs, Gil Morgan and Allen Doyle were tied for second at two under.

Craig Stadler was penalized two strokes after missing his tee time for the third round. He was scheduled to tee off at 7:05 a.m. PDT, but showed up two minutes and 20 seconds late and was assessed a two-stroke penalty by rules official Jim Deaton.

Football

John Kaleo threw five touchdown passes and also scored a touchdown to lead the Tampa Bay Storm to the ArenaBowl with a 60-50 victory over the Orlando Predators in front of 14,028 at Tampa, Fla.

Tampa Bay (14-4) advanced to the league’s championship game for the sixth time. The Storm’s opponent will be determined tonight when San Jose plays Arizona.

T.T. Toliver’s fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown gave the Storm a 60-44 lead with 40 seconds left. Jay Gruden passed for 341 yards and six touchdowns for the Predators (13-5).

Miscellany

Maurice Greene, struggling to regain his place as the world’s dominant sprinter, had another setback with a distant third-place finish in the 200 meters at the U.S. Open track and field meet at Stanford.

Greene got a sluggish start and was not able to run down J.J. Johnson on the final straightaway in a race run against a strong wind. Johnson won in 20.26 seconds. John Capel was second in 20.42. Greene was timed in 20.43.

Former Southern Mississippi running back Derrick Nix was resting comfortably at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, a day after kidney transplant surgery.

His oldest brother, Marcus, who made the kidney donation, could be released from the hospital today or Monday.

Southern Mississippi defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix, the middle of the three Nix brothers, said Derrick is being closely monitored by medical staff at the hospital.

Carl Lewis, who won nine Olympic gold medals in track and field, will be the official spokesperson and honorary starter for the PacificCare Keep L.A. Running Charity 5K and 10K runs, 5K walk and 10-20-mile coastal bike cruises, July 13 in El Segundo.