NFL Considering Expanding Playoffs to 14 Teams in 2002

The NFL said Wednesday it was considering expanding the playoff field to 14 teams and seeding them according to won-lost record starting in 2002, the year Houston becomes the 32nd NFL member. Under the current format, 12 teams make the playoffs.

At a two-day meeting in Baltimore that ended Wednesday, NFL owners discussed the possibility of altering the playoff formula once the league switches to eight four-team divisions in two years.

“There’s a pretty good consensus behind the idea of adding two teams to the playoffs,” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said. “We would add two games the first week. Linked to that is seeding. There’s a lot of interest in that.”

Owners are considering giving the team with the best record in each conference a first-round bye in 2002, while the team with the second-best record plays the seventh-best team, the third best versus the sixth best, and so on.

A final vote probably will be taken in October.

Jurisprudence

A friend of two men stabbed outside an Atlanta nightclub testified that Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis “tussled” with one of the victims during a street brawl.

Jeff Gwen said he saw two men--Lewis’ co-defendant Reginald Oakley and another unidentified man--wielding knives during the fight, although he didn’t see Lewis with a weapon. Another prosecution witness testified that he saw an unidentified man holding a knife.

A lawyer accused of making illegal payments to former University of Florida football players pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to conduct business in Florida without an agent’s license. Sean Alfortish of New Orleans was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation after pleading guilty to the reduced charge. He was originally charged with conducting unlicensed agent activity, a felony.

Tennis

Top-seeded Mary Pierce received a jolt in her preparations for the French Open, losing in straight sets to a player with a No. 255 ranking. Germana di Natale of Italy eliminated the world’s No. 6 player, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round of the $170,000 Madrid Open at Spain. Also, Virginia Ruano of Spain beat No. 2 Amy Frazier of the U.S., 6-2, 6-3, and Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia beat No. 3 Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-2, 6-4.

Patrick Rafter rallied to beat Nicolas Massu of Chile and keep defending champion Australia on course for another title in the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany. Rafter won, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1, giving Australia a 2-0 record in the round-robin tournament. Russia also picked up its second victory, defeating Spain, 2-1.

Top-seeded Nathalie Tauziat of France struggled before beating Tathiana Garbin of Italy, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to advance to the third round of the $170,000 Strasbourg Open at Strasbourg, France.

Miscellany

Oakland Raider defensive back Charles Woodson was named in warrants charging him with drunk driving and driving on a suspended license, according to the Ann Arbor (Mich.) News. Woodson, 23, was arrested about 2 a.m. Wednesday. registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.24 in a preliminary breath test, police said.

The chief medical officer for British boxing is unaware Mike Tyson takes antidepressants and says he must be off the medication for a fight next month in Scotland. “No professional boxer in the UK is allowed to box with medication,” Adrian Whiteson of the British Boxing Board was reported as saying. Tyson has been taking the medication for about two years. It is believed, however, that Tyson goes off his antidepressants before he fights.

Rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving the 45th of 48 cars to qualify, won the first pole of his NASCAR career when he clocked 186.034 mph to take the top spot for Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

The Galaxy’s exhibition game against Persepolis of Iran, originally set for Monday, has been postponed indefinitely. The Iranian government objected to U.S. requirements that the Persepolis players be fingerprinted and photographed before being allowed to enter the country.

Richmond will leave the Colonial Athletic Assn. for the Atlantic 10 Conference beginning in July 2001. . . . Utah Starzz point guard Jennifer Azzi is scheduled for surgery today to insert a plate in her shooting hand and will be sidelined at least four weeks.

Senior-dominated Oregon carded a seven-over-par 295 to build a one-shot lead over Texas and Georgia while top-ranked Duke faltered in the opening round of the NCAA women’s golf championships at the 6,482-yard Crosswater Club golf course at Sunriver, Ore. Also within striking distance of the team lead are Arizona, USC and Stanford--all ranked in the top five.

The percentage of ethnic minorities hired by the nation’s colleges and universities for administrative and coaching positions has increased only a small amount since 1995, the NCAA said. The 1999 Race Demographics of NCAA Member Institutions’ Athletics Personnel report said the percentage of all African-American administrative staff at NCAA institutions increased from 8.4% in 1995 to 8.7% in 1999.