Sports Briefing
King agrees to pay $7.5M to former champ Norris

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Promoter Don King agreed to pay former champion Terry Norris $7.5 million yesterday, just as a jury in New York was debating the boxer's claim that King stole money from him, Norris' attorney said.

King agreed to pay $3 million by next week and the remainder within 15 months, said attorney Judd Burstein, who said the settlement in the seven-year case might encourage other fighters to sue the promoter.

"I think this is the beginning of the end for Don King," Burstein said. "A lot of people now realize he can be held accountable for what he's done."

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is also suing King in New York, claiming King stole more than $100 million while promoting Tyson's fights after his release from prison in 1995. That case has yet to go to trial.

"If anything, from what I've heard, the Mike Tyson case is even more overwhelming," Burstein said.

King, who is promoting an eight-fight card Saturday night in Atlantic City, N.J., could not be reached for comment.

Burstein said Norris, who has brain damage from punches, had no money left from a career in which he made millions in purses. Norris was the 154-pound champion in the 1990s, beating Sugar Ray Leonard in 1991 in his biggest fight. He lost his last three fights and finished 47-9 with 31 knockouts.

Norris' lawsuit against King went to a New York State Supreme Court jury this week, and Burstein said King agreed to settle when jurors came back and asked the judge for a calculator and a magnifying glass.

Horse racing

The New York Racing Association is expected to pay millions of dollars in fines and adopt anti-corruption reforms to avoid a federal fraud prosecution, law-enforcement sources told The Associated Press.

Authorities planned to announce the settlement today. Prosecutors also will unseal an indictment against six people, including former NYRA managers, alleging conspiracy, tax evasion and other charges, the sources said. The defendants would be prosecuted in federal court.

Investigators allege that NYRA managers ignored rampant corruption among track tellers. The tellers, they say, ran money-laundering, gambling or loan-sharking schemes using their access to NYRA and bettors' money in their cash boxes.

Auto racing

The only minority-owned team in NASCAR's top level is shutting down after losing its sponsor. BelCar Racing fielded the No. 54 Ford for Todd Bodine last season. Sam Belnavis, who is black, was the majority car owner along with Travis Carter.

The team was sponsored by the National Guard, which has signed to sponsor Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., and the No. 16 Ford for Roush Racing.

Soccer

Arsenal beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0 to advance to the knockout stage of Europe's Champions League, while its Russian opponent also qualified.

Elsewhere, Lyon, Bayern Munich, Deportivo de La Coruna and Real Sociedad reached the next round. Juventus and Monaco, which had already qualified, advanced as group winners.

Internazionale tied Dynamo Kiev 1-1 and was eliminated.

• The Women's United Soccer Association could return in a smaller version next year and as a full league in 2005.

The women's league, which folded in September, might come back in 2004 with a handful of festivals featuring the top players, according to WUSA commissioner Tony DiCicco. A meeting to discuss a business plan will be held today.

Skiing

A women's World Cup downhill and super-giant slalom were moved from one Swiss site to another because of a lack of snow. The races, scheduled for Laax on Dec. 20-21, now will take place in St. Moritz.

Rodeo

Sherry Cervi of Marana, Ariz., won her second straight barrel-racing round, and Kelly Kaminski of Bellville, Texas, earned her sixth consecutive check at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

In the all-around competition, leader Trevor Brazile of Decatur, Texas, maintained his substantial lead over Jesse Bail of Camp Crook, S.D.

— Times news services

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