FCC Getting Involved in Earnhardt Incident

NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s expletive on NBC last weekend is being reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission for possible indecency violations, an FCC spokesman said.

NBC Sports also said that it would institute a five-second delay in NASCAR coverage beginning Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

“We’ve gotten a few dozen e-mail letters of concern,” FCC spokesman David Fiske said. “We’ll subject them to the normal review procedures, in which we look at the law, the precedent, the facts, and the context.”

NASCAR fined Earnhardt $10,000 and docked him 25 points toward the season’s Nextel Cup championship, costing him the lead with seven races to go.

The FCC has stepped up its investigations of possible indecency violations after singer Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during the Super Bowl halftime show in February. Viacom Inc.’s CBS unit was fined a record $550,000 for airing the show, and the network is deciding whether to appeal. Both the U.S. Senate and House also have passed bills raising the maximum fines for broadcast indecency.

NBC spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs declined to comment on the FCC review and said the network was concentrating on ensuring that it wouldn’t broadcast more expletives at NASCAR events.

Golf

Harrison Frazar shot a bogey-free round to take his place among a crowded group at the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under-par 64 in the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas.

Seven players shared the lead on a day when perfect playing conditions and a lack of wind made the three courses used in the tournament easy targets.

Two of those players, Danny Ellis and Jason Bohn, shot 63s, but their scores were on the par-71 TPC Canyons course while the others played the par-72 TPC Summerlin and Bear’s Best layouts. Also tied at eight under were Scott Verplank, Kent Jones, Steve Lowery and Billy Mayfair.

Grace Park had four straight birdies on the back nine in a six-under 66 that put her in a tie for the lead with Kim Saiki and Silvia Cavalleri after the opening round of the LPGA Asahi Ryokuken International Championship at North Augusta, S.C.

Park was four under par after only six holes in the LPGA’s final full-field event of the year.

Michelle Estill, Becky Morgan and Joanne Morley were one stroke behind the leaders.

Graeme McDowell matched a course record with a 10-under 62 on the Old Course to take the first-round lead in the Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland.

U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, English Ryder Cup star David Howell and Peter Lonard of Australia all shot seven-under 65 at Kingsbarns, one of the three courses being used in the annual pro-am event. James Kingston of South Africa matched that score at Carnoustie.

Soccer

Galaxy and former South Korea national team defender Hong Myung Bo announced that he would retire from the sport at the end of the Major League Soccer season after 13 years as a professional player in South Korea, Japan and the United States.

Hong, 35, played 122 games for South Korea and took part in the 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cup tournaments, helping South Korea reach the semifinals in 2002.

Hong joined the Galaxy on Nov. 4, 2002, becoming the first Korean player in MLS.

Reliant Stadium in Houston will play host to the final of the 2005 Interliga tournament on Jan. 12.

The tournament determines the two Mexican league teams that advance to the Copa Libertadores, South American’s top club competition.

The 2006 World Cup will break with tradition and begin with a separate show a day before the opening game.

FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter said the theme of the 90-minute show would be the cultural impact of the World Cup, adding that he wanted the event part of future tournaments.

FIFA will pay the $26.8 million the Germans had earmarked for the project and will get the marketing and TV rights.

Tennis

Amelie Mauresmo overcame a slow start to win her first match at No. 1 in the rankings, beating Patty Schnyder, 7-5, 6-4, in the Porsche Grand Prix at Filderstadt, Germany.

In other matches, third-seeded Anastasia Myskina beat Nathalie Dechy, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, Elena Likhovtseva struggled past Mary Pierce, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3, and Svetlana Kuznetsova ousted Elena Bovina, 7-5, 6-4.

Second-seeded David Nalbandian was upset by Gilles Muller, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, in the third round of the Japan Open at Tokyo.

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt rallied past Takao Suzuki, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals.

On the women’s side, top-seeded Maria Sharapova defeated Youlia Fedossova, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals.

Third-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero was upset by David Ferrer, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, in the second round of the Lyon Open at France. In another match, Mikhail Youzhny overcame Agustin Calleri, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4).

Miscellany

Michael Phelps led all the way in winning the 200-meter freestyle in the World Short Course Championships at Indianapolis, giving the world’s best swimmer a chance to equal the six gold medals he won at the Athens Olympics.

Phelps touched the wall first in 1 minute 43.59 seconds, almost a second ahead of Rick Say of Canada (1:44.39).

Kaitlin Sandeno got off to a fast start, winning the 200 butterfly (2:06.95), 400 individual medley (4:30.12) and anchoring the victorious 800 freestyle relay team(7:47.22).

University of Minnesota senior point guard Adam Boone could sit out the 2004-05 season after having surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon in his right arm.

Passings

Johnny Kelley, a two-time Boston Marathon champion who became a beloved figure in the history of the race by running it a record 61 times, died at 97. See B section.