Moceanu’s Father Must Keep His Distance

Dominique Moceanu’s father can write her letters or speak to her through her lawyer. And that’s it, for one year.

The 17-year-old Olympian wept and Dumitru Moceanu appeared visibly stunned Wednesday in Houston when state District Judge John D. Montgomery restricted any contact between the Romanian native and the gold-medalist gymnast for a year.

Montgomery, who declared the athlete a legal adult Oct. 28, ruled that Moceanu cannot get within 500 feet of his daughter and cannot threaten or have her followed in any way.

The decision followed more than four hours of testimony in a hearing called by the gymnast and her lawyer.

“I’m sad, but yet, in a way, happy,” Moceanu said, adding that her life has been turned upside down since her emancipation from her parents.

Moceanu’s parents refused comment. Their lawyer, Katherine Scardino, described the couple as “devastated” at the ruling.

“She wouldn’t even speak to them today,” Scardino said.

Montgomery had previously issued a temporary protective order prohibiting contact with both parents.

Camelia Moceanu, Dominique’s mother, no longer is restricted by the court.

Dominique Moceanu testified that she and a friend so feared for their safety that they left Houston for 10 days, including a brief Caribbean stop, while police investigated alleged threats by her father.

They left town after Houston homicide detectives informed her Nov. 13 that Dumitru Moceanu allegedly wanted to harm Brian Huggins, who had helped the gymnast hide from her family, and her coach.

Golf

The United States, fielding what some consider to be one of its strongest national teams ever--with young stars such as Tiger Woods, David Duval and Justin Leonard complemented by the experience of Mark O’Meara, Fred Couples and Davis Love III--faces an International team led by Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Nick Price in the Presidents Cup matches at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia.

O’Meara and Duval, 3-0 in the 1996 Presidents Cup, face New Zealand’s Greg Turner and Frank Nobilo in the first alternate-shot match today (Friday in Australia).

The complex relationship between David Leadbetter and South Korean star Se Ri Pak officially ended when the swing coach said he was fed up with dealing with innuendoes about his job status.

Leadbetter, who just 10 days ago dispelled rumors that Pak was leaving him and said he looked forward to helping her get to No. 1 in the world, cited “extremely difficult circumstances” in ending a relationship that began two years ago.

Basketball

Richie Adubato, who has spent 19 years in the NBA and coached three of its teams, is now part of the WNBA as coach of the New York Liberty.

A former head coach of Detroit, Dallas and Orlando and a one-time New York Knick assistant, Adubato was a consultant for the Boston Celtics last season. He is the fifth male coach hired in the 12-team WNBA.

Adubato, who compiled a record of 127-240 as an NBA coach, joins former NBA player Orlando Woolridge of the Sparks, Van Chancellor at Houston, former NBA coach Frank Layden at Utah and former ABL coach Brian Agler at Minnesota, an expansion team.

Elaine Powell completed a 17-point night with a driving layup to give the Portland Power a 70-68 victory over the Philadelphia Rage in an American Basketball League game at Portland, Ore.

An appeals court in Salem, Ore., has upheld Portland Trail Blazer guard Isaiah Rider’s 1997 marijuana conviction, saying there was clear evidence the player was in possession of the drug.

Miscellany

U.S. Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson is not ruling out the possibility of having John McEnroe play doubles in the World Group match against Britain in April, but he’s not overly enthusiastic about the idea, either.

McEnroe, who turns 40 in February, says he is still the best doubles player in the world and deserves a chance to play in the first-round match in Birmingham on April 2-4.

“I’d be happy to talk to John, but at his age he’s not the future of the Davis Cup,” Gullikson was quoted as saying in British newspapers. “It’s a different game from the seniors. He’s still a great player, but he played on the tour many years ago and the game has speeded up since then.”

The Winston Finals, season-ending event for the National Hot Rod Assn. drag racing series for the last 24 years, has a new title sponsor--the Automobile Club of Southern California. Winston will remain the series sponsor, however. The Auto Club event will be Nov. 11-14 at Pomona Raceway.

In the first expansion of the Little League World Series since 1947, the championship in 2001 at Williamsport, Pa., will expand to 16 teams, 224 players and nine days of competition.

Under the new format, regional tournaments will remain in San Bernardino, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Bristol, Conn.; and Indianapolis. Instead of four champions, eight will be crowned, representing the West, Northwest, Midwest, Northeast, Mid-South, Southeast, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic.

North Korea’s female gymnasts were cleared to continue at the Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, when their passports showed they were old enough to compete.

The gymnasts were ordered to present their passports to verify if they were 16 years or older.

Meanwhile, Ayed Jasser Khawaldeh, a Jordanian weightlifter, became the first athlete kicked out of the Asian Games for drugs after admitting he used a banned diuretic so he could compete in a lighter weight class.