College football
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: The Rose Bowl completed the national college football title picture when ABC announced a four-year deal to televise a championship game beginning after the 1998 season.
ABC Sports and four conferences announced the formation of a "super alliance" that brings the Rose Bowl together with the bowl alliance in a system that guarantees a championship game the next four years.
The champion will be decided from the six major conference champions and two at-large selections. The conferences are the ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 12, all from the bowl alliance, and the Pac-10 and Big Ten, until now bound by contract to send their champions to the Rose Bowl.
Until the new alliance goes into effect, the Sugar Bowl will be host to the "championship" game this year and the Orange Bowl next year. Those games won't include Big Ten or Pac-10 schools because those leagues remain obligated to the Rose Bowl.
'NOLE FACES SUSPENSION: Fred Taylor, a top Florida running back who allegedly took part in a scheme to steal and sell textbooks, reportedly could be suspended as many as four games.
The Florida Times-Union, citing unidentified sources, said the student judicial affairs committee met last week and suspended him through September. Taylor said he had not been notified of the suspensions.
Taylor and freshmen defensive backs Dock Pollard and Damian Hill were arrested in June after textbooks were stolen and sold.
Hill was dismissed from school for off-field and academic reasons. A petty theft charge against Pollard was dropped because of insufficient evidence.
Basketball
BLAZERS SIGN, TRADE AND RENOUNCE: The Portland Trail Blazers signed free agent point guard Kenny Anderson to a seven-year deal, reportedly between $45-50 million, capping a day of deal-making.
Anderson, a five-year NBA veteran, averaged 15.2 points and 8.3 assists last season for New Jersey and Charlotte.
The Blazers also acquired troubled shooting guard Isaiah Rider from Minnesota for reserves James Robinson and Bill Curley, along with a No. 1 pick in 1997 or 1998, at Portland's option.
In addition, Portland renounced the rights to 15-year veteran forward Buck Williams, Rumeal Robinson and Elmore Spencer.
They finalized a four-player deal, sending point guard Rod Strickland and forward Harvey Grant to Washington for forward Rasheed Wallace and guard Mitchell Butler.
Anderson, 25, was the second pick overall in 1991 from Georgia Tech. Rider, 25, taken fifth in the 1993 draft out of UNLV, averaged 19.6 points last season, but his promising career has been tainted by numerous off-court incidents and chronic disciplinary problems.
The Trail Blazers re-signed forward Dontonio Wingfield to a multi-year contract.
RAPTORS-MAVS TRADE: The Toronto Raptors acquired Popeye Jones, one of the NBA's top rebounders, and a 1997 first-round pick from the Dallas Mavericks for guard Jimmy King and second-round picks in 1997 and 1998.
Jones, 6-foot-8, averaged 11.3 points and 10.8 rebounds last season, including 3.8 offensive rebounds, fourth best in the league. King, 6-5, a member of Michigan's Fab Five, averaged 4.5 points last season.
The deal also gives Toronto the right to exchange first-round picks next year with Minnesota, unless it is first overall.
The Raptors also renounced rights to center Oliver Miller, who opted out of the remaining two years of his contract and became a free agent.
MAGIC SIGN PICK: The Magic signed first-round draft selection Brian Evans to a three-year contract worth $1.58 million. Evans, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward from Indiana, was drafted 27th overall.
Evans was scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a dislocated right shoulder and likely will miss training camp and the exhibition season.
Evans, who finished his career as the No. 9 scorer in Indiana history with 1,701 points, had a similar injury during his sophomore season. He averaged 21.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season and was Big Ten player of the year.
EHLO JOINS SONICS: Free agent swingman Craig Ehlo signed a three-year contract with the Seattle SuperSonics. Ehlo, 34, a 13-year NBA veteran, spent the past three seasons with Atlanta, averaging 8.5 points while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range last season.
PAYTON'S PLACE IN SEATTLE: It's official. The Seattle SuperSonics have re-signed free agent guard Gary Payton to a seven-year, $88 million contract. The Sonics topped offers from the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets, Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks in their bid to retain Payton.
POPE TO PLAY IN TURKEY: Mark Pope, the Pacers' second-round pick in last month's NBA draft, will play pro basketball in Turkey next season rather than try to make Indiana's roster, The Indianapolis Star reported today. Pope, a 6-foot-10 forward selected 52nd overall out of Kentucky, recently completed summer league play for a combined Indiana-Golden State team.
MASON ARRESTED: Anthony Mason, traded by the New York Knicks to Charlotte earlier this month, was arrested today in New York and charged with assault, menacing and disorderly conduct after a dispute on a midtown street corner, police said. Mason, 29, was "involved in a verbal dispute with a few unidentified people," at about 3 a.m., officer Sarah Carpenter, a department spokeswoman said.
Football
JETS SIGN SLAUGHTER: The New York Jets signed former Pro Bowl receiver Webster Slaughter to a one-year contract believed to be slightly more than the NFL minimum $275,000.
Slaughter, 31, had 34 receptions for 514 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Chiefs. He has 523 receptions for 7,584 yards in 10 seasons with Cleveland, Houston and Kansas City.
Boxing
BRIBE INVESTIGATION: IBF president Bob Lee reportedly took bribes to rig rankings and is being investigated by federal prosecutors.
Lee denied taking payoffs and said he is unaware of any investigation. He blamed the allegations on a "racist" vendetta by promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Inc.
The New York Post said Arum received immunity from prosecution last week and told investigators he paid Lee to fix rankings, which determine which fighters get title shots.
Arum denied receiving immunity and said he has no knowledge if anyone is investigating Lee, or that Lee extorted money.
An unidentified boxing manager quoted by the Post said he gave Lee payments of $20,000 and $10,000 to get higher rankings for heavyweights.
GARDEN CARD: In its first boxing card since the Riddick Bowe-Andrew Golota bout ended in a chair-swinging riot, Madison Square Garden said it improved security and vowed such an incident will never happen again.
The melee July 11 spilled from the ring to the stands, injuring 14 and raising questions about the Garden's security measures for boxing.
The Garden card on Aug. 20 features Buster Mathis Jr. against Lou Savarese in a nationally televised heavyweight bout in the arena's 5,100-seat theater.
The melee started in the ring between members of the rival corners after Golota was disqualified for repeated low blows. Access to the boxers' corners will now face greater scrutiny.
Baseball
BOSTON-SEATTLE TRADE: The Red Sox acquired minor-league infielder Arquimedez Pozo from Seattle for reserve infielder Jeff Manto.
Pozo is hitting .279 with 15 home runs and 64 RBIs with Tacoma of the Pacific Coast League. Manto appeared in 10 games for Boston, hitting .267 with two homers and four RBIs.
Tennis
GENERALI OPEN: Clay-court specialist Thomas Muster lost in doubles with Clemens Trimmel, 2-6, 7-6, (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) to Georg Blumauer and Gerald Mandl in an all-Austrian match at the $435,000 Generali Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
In singles, third-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain beat German Lars Burgsmueller 6-4, 7-5; No. 5 Alberto Berasategui of Spain downed Italy's Omar Camporese 6-1, 6-4; and sixth-seeded Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic defeated Italy's Filippo Messori 7-6, 6-3.
Also, 11th-seeded Alex Corretja topped Spanish compatriot Galo Blanco 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4; No. 12 Slava Dosedel of the Czech Republic outlasted Daniele Balducci of Italy 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2; and No. 13 Filip DeWulf of Belgium dropped Czech David Rikl 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.