Carl Lewis’ Attorney Sets Record Straight

Contrary to a report from Australia over the weekend, Carl Lewis will extend his track and field career beyond this year, his attorney said Tuesday.

On the day he returned with Lewis from a trip to New Zealand and Australia, David Greifinger said a story reporting that Lewis would retire in his hometown of Houston in June was simply not true.

“A couple of concepts got spliced,” Greifinger said from his Santa Monica office. “He did say he would like to have his last meet in Houston. He certainly didn’t give a date.

“The real story is, he plans basically this year to go to a lot of cities, a combination of places he’s never been and places where he’s had good experiences. What will probably happen in 1998 is, he won’t tour Europe, he’ll do a very limited number of meets, and that will be it.”

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The IAAF, track and field’s world governing body, dropped its appeal of a German court verdict that allowed Katrin Krabbe, the former sprint world champion, to seek compensation over a drug-related suspension.

Miscellany

Volunteers given life-or-death responsibility for a crew of bungee jumpers received only two minutes of instruction before the Super Bowl rehearsal in which one acrobat was killed, one of the volunteers says.

The unidentified volunteer also said the group was asked not to tell the performers about their lack of experience, The Times-Picayune reported Tuesday. The volunteers were responsible for letting out the jumpers’ lines.

Lora “Dinky” Patterson, 41, of Sarasota, Fla., was one of eight bungee jumpers who were to drop toward the field and bounce twice at the end of their cords, and then be lowered to the floor by the two-member teams of volunteer rigging handlers.

Names in the News

Larry Spriggs, a member of the Lakers’ 1984-85 championship team who still lives in the Los Angeles area, said a story reporting that he had been charged with taking part in a nightclub brawl in Turkey last April was not true.

The Anatolia news agency reported last week that a Turkish prosecutor had charged Spriggs and Dallas Comegys, another former NBA player, in the incident that left one person dead.

Spriggs said, “I have not been charged with anything.”

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Starting defensive end Cyron Brown has been dismissed from the Illinois football squad for violating team rules, new Coach Ron Turner said.

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Gerry Hart, a youth hockey coach who played for four teams in 15 NHL seasons, mostly with the New York Islanders, denied charges that he punched a 14-year-old opposing player and a referee after a weekend game in Smithfield, R.I. Hart, 49, told the Providence Journal-Bulletin that the player spat at him.

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Dallas police, criticized for naming Dallas Cowboys Erik Williams and Michael Irvin as suspects in a rape complaint by a woman now charged with perjury, have changed their policy and say they will wait until suspects are arrested or charged before identifying them.

The decision is “an interim change,” pending a formal review of the department’s policy, said a police spokesman.

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Southeastern Conference revenues grew 14% to $62 million last year, bolstered by steadily increasing payments from the league’s television contracts with CBS and ESPN, according to IRS documents filed by the SEC and reviewed by the Associated Press.

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Former Washington coach Don James was named to the College Football Hall of Fame, along with former Georgia coach Wally Butts and former Tennessee coach Bowden Wyatt. Butts and Wyatt are both deceased.

Baseball

The Dodgers, who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, have been selected to play in the annual Baseball Hall of Fame exhibition game in Cooperstown, N.Y., Aug. 4, but a scheduling conflict has to be resolved.

The Dodgers are expected to play the San Diego Padres at Cooperstown but would like their night game Aug. 3 against the Cubs in Chicago, scheduled for ESPN, to be a day game.

The Hall of Fame is hopeful of completing arrangements by the end of the week.

Baseball will honor Robinson throughout the season by having all players wear commemorative arm patches of their uniforms. The Dodgers will also honor Robinson on April 5 in pregame ceremonies at Dodger Stadium.

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The New York Yankees will play an exhibition game at Grambling State University in Louisiana on March 13 to honor Tiger football Coach Eddie Robinson, who intends to retire after next season. Robinson has won 405 games in 56 seasons, an NCAA record.

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Yankee pitcher David Wells will not face charges in connection with a fight outside a San Diego bar that left two other men injured.

Wells and a male companion fought with two other men Jan. 12, believing the other men had taken the keys to Wells’ car.

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The Montreal Expos traded outfielder Yamil Benitez to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Melvin Bunch in an exchange of minor league prospects. Both players spent most of last season in triple-A ball.

Boxing

Heavyweight Andrew Golota is suing Riddick Bowe and Madison Square Garden over the riot after their first bout in July.

Golota and corner man Sam Colonna maintain that they were injured because Bowe was negligent in supervising his employees and because the Garden failed to provide adequate security.

Golota and Colonna are seeking unspecified remuneration, according to the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Jersey City, N.J.

Swimming

China’s Lu Bin, competing for the first time outside her country after a two-year suspension for steroid use, won the 50-meter backstroke at a World Cup short course meet in Glasgow, Scotland, and insisted she was never a drug cheat.

“It’s a mystery to me how I tested positive,” Lu, 19, said after the race. “I didn’t use any drugs and now I want to show my ability as a swimmer is natural.”

Motor Sports

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, whose drivers have won the last two Winston Cup championships, said he has a rare form of leukemia. Hendrick, 47, disclosed the illness because he is seeking a change of venue in his North Carolina trial on 15 federal counts linked to his car dealerships.