Lifetime Contract for Favre; Leaf to Buccaneers

Brett Favre, the NFL’s only three-time winner of the most-valuable-player award, will finish his career with the Green Bay Packers. “I do want to be a Packer for life,” the 31-year-old quarterback said Friday from his home in Kiln, Miss.

The lifetime extension reportedly will be for 10 years, making Favre the NFL’s first $100-million player. The Packers also traded Favre’s highly touted backup, Matt Hasselbeck, to the Seattle Seahawks for undisclosed 2001 draft choices.

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Ryan Leaf, cut after three troubled seasons with the San Diego Chargers, was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Cornerback Jason Sehorn re-signed with the New York Giants for a reported $36 million over six years, including a $10-million signing bonus. . . . Pittsburgh’s Jerome Bettis agreed to a six-year deal with incentives that could boost the amount to $35 million. . . . Tennessee wide receiver-kick returner Derrick Mason, who set an NFL record with 2,690 all-purpose yards last season, agreed to a five-year, $23.45-million deal.

College Football

An internal investigation of the Kentucky football program has uncovered more than three dozen violations of NCAA rules, school officials said. The report will be taken up by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, which will have the final say on any sanctions or penalties.

Minnesota has completed its investigation into the misuse of a long-distance telephone access code by at least 16 football players and reported the matter to the NCAA, but said it does not believe any “extra benefit” violation occurred, and no player must be declared ineligible. . . . Temple, the lone football-only school in the Big East, was voted out of the conference effective June 30, 2002, by the seven other schools. . . . Georgia Coach Mark Richt suspended cornerback Tim Wansley, wide receiver Durell Robinson and defensive back Regan Torbert for breaking team rules.

Jurisprudence

A police officer critically injured during a car wreck involving two NASCAR mechanics is suing the men and Petty Enterprises Inc. Alan White said in a lawsuit filed at Daytona Beach, Fla., that Petty Enterprises provided a rental car for Joseph Fiorelli and Jeremy Upchurch despite knowing of their “immaturity and propensity to consume alcoholic beverages and then operate motor vehicles while under the influence.”

WBA featherweight champion Derrick Gainer is free on bond after a not-guilty plea to a battery charge made after his estranged wife said he grabbed her by the throat and shoved her down. . . . Ty Law and New England Patriot owner Robert Kraft have settled a grievance stemming from the cornerback’s suspension for crossing the Canadian border with the drug Ecstasy.

Miscellany

LA2012, the committee bidding to bring the Summer Games to Los Angeles, had its bid reviewed and returned with questions from the U.S. Olympic Committee. Rich Perelman, a spokesman for LA2012, said the questions were basic and could be answered easily. The next step in the bid process will be a visit from a USOC technical team, between May and October.

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport defeated Lisa Raymond, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3, at the State Farm Women’s Tennis Classic at Scottsdale, Ariz. Jennifer Capriati defeated Tina Pisnik, 6-1, 6-2. . . . Greg Rusedski upset Australian Lleyton Hewitt, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the $400,000 Sybase Open at San Jose.

Russia’s Kristina Oblasova edged Ann Patrice McDonough of Colorado Springs, Colo., in the women’s short program at the World Junior Figure Skating Championship, setting up a head-to-head meeting today for the title at Sofia, Bulgaria. Ye Bin Mok of Burbank withdrew from the ladies’ competition because of an ankle injury.

Daron Rahlves of Truckee, Calif., was disqualified for an improperly tied bib after a fourth-place finish in a World Cup downhill event at Kvitfjell, Norway. Hermann Maier of Austria won the race. . . . Veteran Southland boxing promoter Don Fraser was elected president of the Golden State Boxer’s Assn.

Claudia Pechstein of Germany set a world record of 3:59.27 in the 3,000 meters at a World Cup speedskating event in Calgary, Canada.