Fan Violence Ends Match With AC Milan Leading
AC Milan goalkeeper Dida was hit by a flare thrown from the stands, and Tuesday night’s European Champions League quarterfinal against crosstown rival Inter Milan was halted with about 15 minutes to play at Milan, Italy.
AC Milan was ahead, 1-0, and set to advance on 3-0 aggregate when Dida was struck on his left shoulder by the flare in the 73rd minute. The game was stopped, and when referee Markus Merk tried to restart play 10 minutes later, more fireworks were thrown and Merk abandoned the match in the 75th minute.
“Tonight’s episode doesn’t just hurt Inter, but the entire city of Milan,” AC Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “The reaction of the Inter fans was surprising. I’ve played and coached in Milan for 10 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Inter fans were upset that when Esteban Cambiasso put the ball in the net in the 71st minute, the goal was disallowed because of a foul.
“After the goal was annulled, the fans’ anger was understandable, although the reaction of throwing objects onto the field is not justified,” Inter defender Ivan Cordoba said.
The Union of European Football Assns. said it would decide whether the result of the game stands.
College Basketball
UCLA extended the contract of second-year Coach Ben Howland by a year, through April 2012.
Howland, 47, led the Bruins to a fourth-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference and their first NCAA tournament bid in three years this season.
His original contract was for seven years at $800,000 a year, and a UCLA spokesman said the details of the contract hadn’t changed, only the length.
The 2004-05 team started three freshmen for most of the year, though UCLA is losing its leading scorer and rebounder, senior Dijon Thompson.
Pepperdine guard Alex Acker, who is graduating with a degree in art this month but is a junior in eligibility, has made himself available for the NBA draft. He has not signed with an agent, however, and is leaving open the possibility of returning for his senior season, his father said.
Acker was an All-West Coast Conference first-team pick last season for the Waves, averaging 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Valparaiso center Kenny Harris collapsed during a workout and was hospitalized in critical condition at Valparaiso, Ind.
Harris was still being treated at a hospital late Tuesday, spokesman Andrew Snyder said.
Georgia Tech guard Zam Fred- rick will transfer to another school after getting little playing time as a freshman. Coach Paul Hewitt said that Fredrick asked for and received his release from the school.
Tennessee Tech Coach Mike Sutton was in critical condition and on a ventilator in a Virginia hospital after being diagnosed with a disease that attacks the immune system, Athletic Director Mark Wilson said.
Pittsburgh point guard Carl Krauser is making himself available for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent in case he changes his mind and returns to school.
Tennis
Roger Federer beat Greg Rusedski, 6-3, 6-1, in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco.
Third-seeded Tim Henman lost to Mariano Zabaleta, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, and former French Open champion Carlos Moya was upset by Mariano Puerta, 7-6 (10), 1-6, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva was upset by Iveta Benesova, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, in the second round of the Family Circle Cup at Charleston, S.C.
Atlanta’s Donald Young, the No. 1 junior player in the world, won his first-round match in the boys’ 18-and-under division at the ITF Easter Bowl Championships at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs. Young, the top-seeded player, beat Jason Jung, 6-4, 6-1.
College Football
Two Tennessee freshmen were charged with aggravated assault for their alleged roles in fights that broke out between football players and fraternity members at an on-campus party last month.
Jerod Mayo and Robert Ayers, who redshirted last season, turned themselves in and were released from the Knox County Detention Facility.
Georgia Tech defensive tackle Darryl Richard will sit out the season after injuring his right knee in spring practice, Coach Chan Gailey said.
The NCAA Division I Management Council has backed legislation that would allow Division I-A and I-AA schools to add a 12th football game starting with the 2006 season.
The plan was given tentative approval by the council at its meeting and will be sent to the NCAA Board of Directors for final consideration April 28.
Pro Football
The NFL and its players have agreed to follow stricter standards for testosterone levels for the start of next season
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said that the union had approved the new standards, which continue its practice of using the guidelines set by the International Olympic Committee.
The Seattle Seahawks agreed to terms with free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper.
The Seahawks did not release details of the signing, but the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Sharper agreed to a five-year deal worth $17.5 million, including a $1.5-million signing bonus.
The Cincinnati Bengals re-signed running back Kenny Watson.
Miscellany
Mike Lambert, the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals most valuable player last year, said he would continue to play this season with Karch Kiraly.
Lambert and Kiraly won an AVP-best three tournaments last year and won the tour points race but discussed a possible breakup after Kiraly aggravated his surgically repaired right shoulder during the AVP season-opening event April 2 in Florida.
The next AVP tournament is April 22-24 in Tempe, Ariz.
Times staff writer Steve Springer was given a Barney Award for investigative reporting by the Boxing Writers Assn. of America.
The national TV rating for Sunday’s Masters final round on CBS when Tiger Woods defeated Chris DiMarco in a one-hole playoff was 9.8, up 34% from last year, and was seen by 35.9 million viewers.
The Saturday-Sunday average Nielsen rating was 8.0, up 19% from last year’s 6.7.
San Diego State Athletic Director Mike Bohn has agreed to the same post at Colorado, the university announced. Bohn will be introduced today.
Passings
Barney Poole, 81, a college football Hall of Famer and member of one of the most famous families in Mississippi football history, died at Jackson, Miss. The cause of death was not immediately available.
