Sports Briefing
Holyfield will return to ring under new management

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Evander Holyfield will keep fighting, looking for a bout this summer with hopes of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion again.

Holyfield, 41, said yesterday he will return with a new management team, and he remains confident in his skills despite winning a mere two of his last eight fights.

"If I didn't believe I could get all three belts, I wouldn't fight," he said at a news conference in New York.

No matchup has been set for Holyfield, who has been urged by many in boxing to retire. He said he would like to fight IBF champion Chris Byrd or WBA champ John Ruiz, and will not take on mediocre opponents.

"If I fight lesser opponents, I might as well do that in the gym," Holyfield said.

Holyfield's corner threw in the towel as the fighter took a beating from James Toney on Oct. 4. "I don't want people in my corner second-guessing," he said.

Holyfield (38-7-2) has hired the Avondale Management Group. The group hopes to have Emanuel Steward as Holyfield's trainer.

Tennis

Fifth-ranked Jennifer Capriati has withdrawn from the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif., because of a recurring back problem.

Golf
 
John Daly injured his hand by getting it caught in a door and withdrew from the Honda Classic, a PGA Tour event that starts Thursday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

"It was a freak accident," said Daly's agent, Bud Martin of SFX Sports.

Martin did not say which hand Daly injured.

• Craig Parry complained to the PGA Tour about television analyst Johnny Miller describing the Australian's swing as poor enough to make legendary player Ben Hogan "puke."

Auto racing

Ex-Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach have formed an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports to field a car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series next season.

Hall of Fame Racing, which Aikman and Staubach started last year, will receive equipment, resources and technology from Hendrick, which has won five titles in NASCAR's prime series.

"We want to be competitive right out of the box, but we also know that's a big hill to climb," Aikman said in a news release.

An alliance with Hendrick Motorsports might make the proposed team more attractive to potential sponsors.

Soccer

National-team veteran Brandi Chastain will return to the U.S. squad for the prestigious Algarve Cup, which begins Sunday in Portugal.

Chastain, a defender, was one of 20 women selected for the defending-champion team that will play France, Denmark and Sweden in the opening round.

• Arsenal drew archrival Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinals. The English Premier League powers will meet in Birmingham, England, on April 3 or 4.

The winner will face either Sunderland or the Millwall-Tranmere quarterfinal winner in the final. Sunderland and Millwall are Division One teams, and Tranmere plays in England's second division.

Horse racing

Kieren Fallon, Britain's champion jockey six of the past seven years, was suspended for 21 days for failing to ride out an apparent winner after leading a race by a big margin. He faces a separate investigation into whether he fixed races in a betting scam.

Fallon's mount, Ballinger Ridge, led by about 10 lengths midway through a race at Lingfield last Tuesday. The rider apparently eased up on the horse, who was sent off at 15-8 odds, in the final eighth of a mile and lost by a head to favored Rye.

Before the race, security officials reported "suspicious betting patterns." Fallon has denied wrongdoing.

Sailing

Defending champion Peter Bromby of Bermuda won the second race of the Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta in Miami.

Bromby and crew Lee White were tied for seventh overall.

Sweden's Fredrik Loof and crew Anders Ekstrom finished third, and held the overall lead after a fourth-place finish in Sunday's first race.

— Times news services

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