Thomas, Dolphins Agree to 3-Year Deal

Thurman Thomas agreed to contract terms Monday with the Miami Dolphins, said his agent, Leigh Steinberg.

The three-year, $3.6-million deal includes a $750,000 signing bonus and numerous incentives that could be worth millions more, Steinberg said. Terms will probably be finalized within a couple of days. Thomas, released by the Buffalo Bills Feb. 10 along with Bruce Smith and Andre Reed, hurt his liver in the season opener last season and played in only five games.

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With reports circulating that the Minnesota Vikings have offered Dan Marino the starting quarterback job, Dolphin President Eddie Jones said for the first time that if Marino plays next season, the Dolphins want him.

“Danny has been told he can come back,” Jones said.

Steinberg, current Viking starter Jeff George’s agent, said he was surprised by the reports. “Usually when a guy goes 9-3 and takes his team to the playoffs, the team tries to extend his contract very quickly,” he said.

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The New York Jets are considering trading Pro Bowl receiver Keyshawn Johnson and have talked to Baltimore about acquiring the fifth pick in the upcoming draft.

A source familiar with the talks told the Associated Press that the Jets want Atlanta’s first-round pick, fifth overall, which the Ravens own, plus a player or another draft pick.

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The San Diego Chargers released running back Natrone Means, who rushed for only 277 yards in 125 carries last season. Meanwhile, cornerback Darryll Lewis has agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Chargers. . . . New York Jet offensive tackle John “Jumbo” Elliott, 34, will have surgery soon for a recurring back problem and has asked to be put on the reserve/retired list. . . . Safety Shawn Wooden, who played for the Miami Dolphins last season, signed a three-year, $3.6-million deal with the Chicago Bears.

Boxing

With a guarantee from Staples Center officials of $5 million to $6 million in hand, promoter Bob Arum has all but agreed to hold the Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley fight in Los Angeles on June 17 if state officials agree to a tax break for the event.

The roadblock, according to Arum and Staples Center President Tim Leiweke, is California’s 5% tax rate on such events. Figuring a live gate of $8 million if the fight were to sell out, that would mean a tax bill of $400,000. Arum and Leiweke plan to appeal to Gov. Gray Davis to work for a cap of $50,000 to $100,000 in taxes.

Undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis could lose his WBA title. Lewis is scheduled to defend his WBC and IBF belts against Michael Grant in New York on April 29, but the WBA has told Lewis he must fight its No. 1 contender, Johnny Ruiz, in his next mandatory defense.

Olympics

Olympic executive Kevan Gosper quit the IOC’s ethics commission and faces an outside investigation of allegations he and his family accepted excessive gifts from Salt Lake City bidders. It was expected that the ethics commission would clear Gosper, but the panel decided to appoint an “independent expert of high reputation” to review all the documents and facts of the case involving the IOC vice president, who is Australia’s highest-ranking Olympic official.

Senior executives on the organizing committee for the Sydney Olympics continue to depart. Mark Jackson, who was on the bid committee in 1992 when Sydney won the right to the 2000 Games, and Dennis Lock, are the latest to quit. In all, six have quit or been fired this year.

Miscellany

Richard Davis, a sports history professor at the University of Nevada Reno, said proposals in Congress to outlaw gambling on NCAA events at legal sports books in Nevada should instead be aimed at illegal sports books that operate across the country. He said that legalized sports books serve as a safeguard against fixed games. In 1994, a Las Vegas sports book helped uncover the Arizona State scandal.

The nation’s largest group of pediatricians is calling for a ban on checking in youth hockey to cut the injury rate. The American Academy of Pediatrics cited a study that blamed aggressive contact for as much as 86% of youth hockey injuries.

James Franklin and Alfred Twitty, associates of indicted agent Tank Black, pleaded not guilty to fraud and money-laundering charges in Gainesville, Fla., setting the stage for a trial in May.

The State Farm Women’s Tennis Classic final between Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis at Scottsdale, Ariz., was canceled because of rain. . . . Greenwood Lake, among the leading contenders for Saturday’s Florida Derby, broke an ankle in training and will miss the Triple Crown races. . . . Colorado defensive back Damion Barton, accused of assaulting his pregnant wife, was suspended by the team.