Doctors: Drugs Did Not Kill Reggie Lewis

Doctors who reviewed the case of Reggie Lewis have concluded that the Boston Celtic player did not die because of cocaine use, according to Massachusetts’ chief medical examiner.

Authorities stopped short of saying Lewis never used drugs.

Lewis died July 27, 1993, after collapsing while shooting baskets. Recent reports have questioned whether drug use weakened his heart, contrary to the public finding of the medical examiner.

Dr. Richard Evans, who oversaw the review of his department’s controversial finding, said Tuesday that Lewis died because several problems caused his heart to beat irregularly, the same finding that was on his death certificate. Among those problems was cardiac hypertrophy, or enlargement of the heart.

Boxing

A month after suffering brain injuries in a World Boxing Council super-middleweight title fight against Nigel Benn in London, Gerald McClellan is breathing on his own and occasionally opens his eyes and moves his arms.

McClellan collapsed in the ring after his 10th-round loss. A massive blood clot was later removed from his brain and he spent several days on life support.

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, recently released from prison, will read a statement, but not answer questions, at a news conference Thursday in Cleveland amid reports of a rift between him and promoter Don King.

Larry Donald, in the ring for the first time since a loss to Riddick Bowe in September, had his bout with Dave Dixon in Bay St. Louis, Miss., declared a no contest after an accidental butt in the fourth round stopped the match.

Football

Steve Stonebreaker, an NFL linebacker who played in the 1960s with the Baltimore Colts and New Orleans Saints, died of an apparent suicide in his suburban New Orleans home, authorities said. He was 56.

Stonebreaker, the father of former Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker, played with the Colts from 1964 to 1966 before joining the Saints for their inaugural 1967 season. He retired in 1968.

Utah Coach Ron McBride, who last fall led the Utes to their best season in history at 10-2, agreed to a new five-year contract.

Mobil Corp. is dropping sponsorship of the Cotton Bowl.

Jurisprudence

Monica Seles, knocked out of world-class tennis two years ago by an attacker who stabbed her in the back, feels like a bird imprisoned in a cage, sports psychologist Jerry Russel May of Reno told a Hamburg, Germany, court that is retrying Guenther Parche, charged as her assailant.

Miscellany

Leah Homma, a sophomore at UCLA, was voted the women’s gymnast of the year by the coaches of the Pacific 10. Her coach, Valerie Kondos, was voted co-coach of the year, along with Arizona State’s John Spinl.

At the Pac-10 meet, freshman Stella Umeh won the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and the all-around competitions to lead UCLA to its sixth conference title.

Revelations that Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race organizers withheld information about a dog’s death has disturbed some sponsors and prompted calls for policy changes.

The probationary period for Washington State’s athletic program was extended to June of 1997 and football scholarships have been reduced by two, to 23, for next year because of a case involving the use of two ineligible football players and an ineligible baseball player.

Seventh seed Lori McNeil lost, 6-3, 6-1, to Italy’s Silvia Farina, No. 12 Zina Garrison-Jackson lost to Russia’s Anna Smashnova, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, and No. 11 Ines Gorrochategui lost to Joanette Kruger, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), in the first round at the Family Circle tennis tournament in Hilton Head, S.C.

Formula One inspectors said they were satisfied with changes at the Imola track in Italy, where three-time world champion Ayrton Senna and another racer were killed last year. A favorable report by the FIA team should open the way for official approval of the San Marino Grand Prix on April 30.