England Mourns Dead Fans

The reaction in England was almost unanimous. The UEFA Cup game should have been called off following the fatal stabbing of two English fans before Thursday’s soccer game at Istanbul, Turkey.

“There was really no way to play the game last night given the way everybody felt,” said David O’Leary, manager of the Leeds United team.

The Turkish club, Galatasaray, defeated Leeds, 2-0, in the semifinal. Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight were killed in street fighting Wednesday night in downtown Istanbul.

Istanbul police said a Turkish man confessed to stabbing one of the fans. Fifteen Turks have been questioned. According to the Turkish newspaper, Yeni Binyil, an autopsy showed Loftus was stabbed 17 times and Speight six times.

Galatasaray, fearing the safety of Turkish fans, said it will ask that the April 20 second leg in Leeds be played at a neutral site.

Boxing

The Senate approved legislation to free boxers from the grips of unscrupulous managers and promoters and restore the image of the sport.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said it “should have real benefits for every boxer who steps into a ring in America, in addition to the fans who sustain the industry.”

The bill is named after former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and McCain said Ali’s help in crafting the bill “has made it possible for a new generation of boxers to be free from the mistreatment and coercion that Muhammad and many others faced.”

The act imposes a one-year limit on the promotional rights a promoter can demand from a boxer, to stop the practice of promoters denying a boxer a bout unless he gets options on future bouts.

Auto Racing

Rusty Wallace is off to quite a start on the weekend marking the 500th NASCAR Winston Cup race of his career. Two weeks after reaching a milestone with his 50th career victory, Wallace won the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s 500 at Martinsville, Va., Speedway. He posted a lap of 94.827 mph in a Ford.

Wallace’s lap was 11-hundredths of a second faster than younger brother Kenny and completed a dominant day for the family. Earlier, middle brother Mike won the pole for tonight’s NAPA 250 Craftsman Truck Series race.

Miscellany

The fourth-ranked Stanford men’s tennis team upset No. 1 UCLA, 4-3, at Palo Alto, the Cardinal’s second win over the Bruins this season.

Duane Fasset, the driver of the limousine involved in the Ray Lewis murder case, has been granted immunity from prosecution, his attorney said. Lewis, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, Reginald Oakley of Baltimore and Joseph Sweeting of Miami have been charged with murder in the Jan. 31 deaths in Atlanta of Richard Lollar and Jacinth Baker.

Already on probation for a drug charge, NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor avoided a jail term at his sentencing for income tax evasion in Camden, N.J. Taylor received three months’ house arrest, five years’ probation and 500 hours of community service.

Boston College defenseman Mike Mottau won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey. The finalists included two of Mottau’s teammates, Brian Gionta and Jeff Farkas--only the second time three teammates have been among the finalists. Boston College plays North Dakota and its Hobey Baker finalist, Jeff Panzer, for the NCAA title tonight at Providence, R.I.

Running back Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts has given his alma mater, the University of Miami, the largest donation it has ever received. The $250,000 will help upgrade the weight training, locker room, academic and sports medicine areas. . . . Connecticut point guard Khalid El Amin confirmed at a news conference in Storrs, Conn., that he is passing up his senior season to make himself available for the NBA draft. . . . Joe Scott, a former basketball assistant at Princeton, has been named men’s coach at Air Force. . . . Stan Watts, who coached Brigham Young for 23 years and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, died of cardiopulmonary failure Thursday night in Provo, Utah. He was 88.