Marino Reportedly Set to Announce Retirement

Former Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino has yet to make up his mind concerning retirement, his agent said Thursday as several broadcast reports aired saying the player would call it quits next week.

Marvin Demoff, Marino’s agent, told ESPN.com that Marino had yet to decide whether he would retire or stay in football, perhaps by accepting an offer from the Minnesota Vikings.

CNN-SI and WTVJ-TV in Miami reported Thursday night that Marino had decided to reject the Vikings’ offer and retire instead.

Dolphin President Eddie Jones said the reports that Marino had decided to retire were news to him.

“I have not heard a thing about it,” Jones said. “It’s Dan’s decision to make. If he has made it, I have no idea.”

Marino, 38, would follow Dolphin Coach Jimmy Johnson into retirement.

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Quarterback Scott Mitchell, an unrestricted free agent from the Baltimore Ravens, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as a backup to Akili Smith.

Mitchell, 32, signed a one-year contract for $800,000. He chose the Bengals after also having talked with the Dallas Cowboys, where Mitchell’s college quarterback coach, Jack Reilly, is the new offensive coordinator.

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The Cleveland Browns signed offensive tackle Roman Oben and waived defensive tackle John Jurkovic, a 10-year veteran. Oben, 27, had agreed to terms on a three-year, $10.8-million contract last week, a deal that includes a $3.2-million signing bonus. . . . Free-agent running back Stanley Pritchett and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a four-year contract. . . . Aaron Bailey, a wide receiver and kick returner, signed with the New England Patriots.

Sinking shovels into a mound of earth in the middle of what is now the Astrodome parking lot, officials broke ground on the stadium for Houston’s new NFL team. Team owner Bob McNair joined NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and former Oiler and city officials at the morning rally. The $367-million, retractable-roof stadium is scheduled to be finished in 2002, in time for the team’s first season.

Jurisprudence

A judge fined former Green Bay Packer wide receiver Charles Jordan $5,000 for lying to police about a traffic accident.

Brown County Circuit Judge Sue Bieschel also ordered Jordan to write a letter of apology to the sheriff’s department after he’d pleaded no contest to obstruction of justice.

Seven people, including the personal assistant to Kansas City Chief kick returner Tamarick Vanover, were charged in connection with a nationwide car-theft ring.

A federal indictment, unsealed Wednesday, said the seven stole as many as 50 luxury vehicles, particularly BMWs and Lexuses, from North Carolina.

Winter Sports

Austrian skier Mario Matt won his second World Cup slalom race in seven starts, defeating Norway’s Ole Kristian Furuseth by .81 of a second at Schladming, Austria.

Putting together two flawless runs under the floodlights, Matt covered the soggy Planai course in 1 minute 44.72 seconds. Furuseth was timed in 1:45.53, with defending World Cup slalom champion Thomas Stangassinger of Austria third in 1:45.62.

Germany’s Stefan Lindemann held on as others faltered in the free skate and benefited from a first-place finish in the qualifier to win the men’s title at the World Junior figure skating championships at Oberstdorf, Germany.

Lindemann had only the second best free skate, but his first in qualifying and second in the short program were good enough to give him the overall victory and end the event’s Russia-United States domination.

Olympics

Following their attorneys’ advice, Olympic trustees voted to not release a list of documents subpoenaed by federal investigators looking into the Salt Lake City bribery scandal.

Trustees also decided to withhold details of Delta Air Lines flight arrangements during Salt Lake’s early bid efforts. That information would detail which IOC members traveled and where they went at bid committee or Delta expense.

Trustees voted 14-1 to turn down the request filed by Lynn Packer, a journalist working for City Weekly, a Salt Lake City publication, who was testing the limits of SLOC’s open-records policy.

Organizers of the Sydney 2000 Olympics will put more than 2 million tickets on general sale next month, a move that should help appease a highly critical Australian public.

Miscellany

Detroit police are investigating a complaint from a massage therapist who says she was inappropriately touched and kissed by a client. The woman’s attorney says the client was former Laker star Magic Johnson.

Marty Singer, an attorney for Johnson, said police had not yet contacted Johnson. He called the allegations “pure nonsense.”

Matt Kenseth, the NASCAR Winston Cup rookie who leads the Busch Series points standings, took the pole for the Aaron’s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., with a lap of 185.704 mph.

The fallout from Texas’ decision to cancel its football game against Hawaii has extended to the Hula Bowl. Bowl Games of Hawaii, which stages the January college all-star game, confirmed that Longhorn Coach Mack Brown will not coach one of the teams.

Sprinter Donovan Bailey, Canada’s double Olympic gold medalist, has lost his A-list status with the government because of his slow recovery from a 1998 Achilles’ tendon injury, Athletics Canada said. The downgrade means Bailey’s monthly government subsidy will be reduced to $685 from $810.

Defending champion Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., held the lead when the top teams in the Iditarod sled dog race reached the halfway point in their 1,100-mile trip from Anchorage to Nome.