FanFare 4/2/03

Briefly

Boxing

Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis may fight in the same ring June 21 -- just not against each other. Talks are under way for the two heavyweights to appear in separate fights of a heavyweight doubleheader, perhaps in Buffalo, N.Y. Possible opponents for Lewis include No. 1-ranked Vitali Klitschko, Kirk Johnson or Buffalo's Joe Mesi. Tyson's fight would be against someone along the lines of his last opponent, perhaps a fading Oleg Maskaev.

Hockey

Buffalo defenseman Rhett Warrener skated with two teammates after being kept away from the Sabres for a few days because of possible exposure to the mysterious new illness spreading through Asia. Warrener's roomate, defenseman Brian Campbell, will be separated from the team for two more days, coach Lindy Ruff said.

Motorsports

NASCAR admitted it made a mistake at Texas Motor Speedway when Matt Kenseth was allowed to keep the race lead even though Jeff Gordon had passed him under a caution flag. "If we had to do that call over again, we would have done it differently," NASCAR president Mike Helton said. Kenseth was leading midway through Sunday's race when the caution flag came out. As he approached the start-finish line, he slowed to let teammates Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and Roush Racing-affiliated driver Ricky Rudd pass. Gordon, second at the time, did not want that to happen. So he sped and passed Kenseth to retake the lead before they crossed the line. NASCAR does not have a rule prohibiting drivers from racing back to the line under a caution, yet officials in the tower said Gordon could not pass Kenseth.

Obituaries

George Connor, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the first of the Chicago Bears' great linebackers, has died. He was 78. The first winner of the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's top college lineman, in 1946, Connor died Monday after a long illness. A star at offensive and defensive tackle, Connor became the first of the big, mobile linebackers when the Bears asked the 6-3, 240-pounder to stop Philadelphia's great running back, Steve Van Buren. Connor not only stayed at linebacker, he defined the position for future generations of Bears greats like Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary.

Tennis

Top-seeded and defending tournament champion Jelena Dokic was ousted by Paola Suarez in straight sets in opening round of the Sarasota Clay Court Classic. In what has become a tournament of upsets, Dokic was one of three seeded players to lose. The others were No. 4 Ai Sugiyama and No. 8 Tatiana Panova. Third-seeded Patty Schnyder was ousted Monday from the season's first clay-court event.

Verbatim

Coach Ron Lardizabal, to the San Diego Union-Tribune, after his Hoover High School baseball team -- the Splendid Splinter's alma mater -- committed 17 errors in barely 24 hours: "Ted Williams is rolling over in his freezer."

On the air

College baseballSoutheast at SIU, 2:45 p.m., KGIR-1220

High school baseballNotre Dame at Chaffee, 3:45 p.m., KAPE-1550

MLBChicago Cubs at N.Y. Mets or Montreal at Atlanta, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Brewers at Cardinals, 6:35 p.m., Fox-Midwest, KZIM-960, KBXB-97.9

Seattle at Oakland, 9 p.m., ESPN2

NBA

Sacramento at Washington, 7 p.m., ESPN

New York at Denver, 9:30 p.m, ESPN

CHARTER CABLE KEY:CNBC (ch. 53), ESPN (42), ESPN2 (43), Lifetime (49)Fox-Midwest (45), Fox-Central (352), Fox-Pacific (353), Fox-Sunshine (351), Fox-World (350), FX(50), Golf Channel (46), KBSI (9), KFVS (7), MSNBC (55), Outdoors (38), Outdoor Life Network (74), Oxygen (75), Speed Channel (44), TNT (48), WDKA (17), WPSD (6), WQWQ (33), WSIL (3). Listings and times are provided by the networks and individual stations and are subject to change.

Area events

College baseballSoutheast at Southern Illinois, 3 p.m.

College softballMissouri at Southeast (2), 3 p.m.

High school baseballSikeston at Central, 4 p.m.

Notre Dame at Chaffee, 4 p.m.

Hillsboro at Jackson, 4 p.m.

Bloomfield at Bell City, 4 p.m.

High school softballScott City at Oak Ridge, 4 p.m.

Bloomfield at Bell City, 4 p.m.

High school girls' soccerFarmington at St. Vincent, 4 p.m.

Sullivan at Central, 5:30 p.m.

Notre Dame at Poplar Bluff, 5:30 p.m.

Hillsboro at Jackson, 7 p.m.

High school girls' swimmingNotre Dame at Incarnate Word Triangular, 4:15 p.m.

Central at Affton Triangular, 5:30 p.m.

High school boys' tennisCarbondale, Ill., at Central, 4 p.m.

High school golfFarmington at Central, 4 p.m.

Notre Dame at Perryville, 4 p.m.

Fredericktown at Jackson, 4 p.m.

High school track & fieldJackson Quad (Notre Dame, Fredericktown, Dexter), 3:15 p.m.

Kelly Meet, 4 p.m.