An Easy Victory for Agassi; Kafelnikov Struggles Again

Andre Agassi and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the two top-seeded players in the Italian Open, are headed in opposite directions. Agassi easily won his second-round match Wednesday, and Kafelnikov was soundly defeated at Rome.

The top-seeded Agassi defeated Argentine qualifier Gaston Gaudio, 6-1, 6-4, to advance to the third round. Argentine clay-court specialist Mariano Puerta defeated Kafelnikov, 6-4, 6-4, in another uninspiring performance by the second-seeded Russian.

Among the other upset losers were No. 5 Cedric Pioline of France, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5), to Andrei Pavel of Romania; No. 6 Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, 7-5, 6-4, to Francisco Clavet of Spain; and No. 8 Tim Henman of England, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4, to Fabrice Santoro of France.

Agassi dominated Gaudio, winning the first set in 30 minutes and scoring a decisive break at 3-3 in the second set.

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Russia’s Anna Kournikova made a dramatic exit at the German Open, losing in two hours to Spain’s Gala Leon Garcia at Berlin and playing in pain because of an injured ankle.

The teenager, seeded seventh, drew 7,500 spectators to center court but was beaten by the clay-court specialist, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

The tournament, already hurt when Serena Williams withdrew because of injury, also lost another big name when three-time champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain lost to Russia’s Elena Dementieva, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.

Other upsets were South Africa’s Joannette Kruger over No. 2 Nathalie Tauziat of France, 6-2, 6-0; and Argentina’s Paola Suarez over No. 9 Amelie Mauresmo of France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Colleges

Indiana University trustees will meet again behind closed doors Sunday, apparently to decide whether to expand the investigation of charges against basketball Coach Bob Knight.

University President Myles Brand in March appointed two trustees to look into accusations that Knight grabbed former player Neil Reed by the throat during a 1997 practice. Since then, other damaging claims have been made against the coach.

Indiana Athletic Director Clarence Doninger told the Associated Press that “various things” unrelated to Reed have been reported since Reed’s charges were made public in March.

Alvin Jones, a 6-11 junior center at Georgia Tech who was projected to be a possible late first-round selection in the upcoming NBA draft, will stay for his senior season, the school announced.

Pro Football

San Francisco 49er General Manager Bill Walsh says his team has been contacted by the NFL about the possibility the Denver Broncos tampered with quarterback Steve Young.

Walsh said the league was “very sensitive to it in this case. The league is watching it closely,” the Denver Rocky Mountain News reported.

Defensive end Courtney Brown, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, officially signed his six-year contract with the Cleveland Browns for an estimated $45 million and a reported signing bonus of $10.9 million. . . . Dallas Cowboy fullback Daryl Johnston said in a television interview that he expects to retire this year.

Miscellany

The Los Angeles Sparks waived former USC guard Kristin Clark, dropping their training camp roster to 16. Expected to report today at Los Angeles Southwest College is Croatian Vedrana Grgin, 25, a veteran of European and Brazilian women’s pro basketball leagues.

A federal grand jury indicted former Kansas City Chief running back Bam Morris and two associates on drug and money-laundering charges. If convicted on all counts, Morris faces a maximum of 40 years in prison without parole and up to $3.5 million in fines.

The manager of a topless bar in Las Vegas suggested that one of his dancers was trying to extort money from Mike Tyson by accusing the former heavyweight champion of hitting her during a scuffle at the bar. Lonnie Roybal said the dancer was fired by the club after she went to police a day later and filed a complaint against Tyson, saying he hit her in the chest.

In Europe’s top club soccer competition, Valencia held powerful FC Barcelona in check for more than 75 minutes and advanced to the final of the European Champions League for the first time after a 2-1 victory and a 5-3 edge on aggregate.

Craig Stadler, bothered by a rib injury, became the third former champion to drop out of the GTE Byron Nelson Classic. The withdrawals of 1984 champion Stadler, 1995 champ Ernie Els and 1987 winner Fred Couples have all come since practice rounds began Monday at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas.

Derrick Thomas, the late Kansas City Chief linebacker, will receive a posthumous bachelor’s degree Saturday from Alabama.

In a departure from years past, the U.S. men’s and women’s gymnastics teams for the Sydney Olympics will be chosen by selection committees, USA Gymnastics announced. Finishing in the top six at the Olympic trials this summer won’t guarantee gymnasts a spot on the team.

Boxers should be ranked by a single organization and their health and wallets should be better protected, according to a report released by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The report also calls for the use of a “consensus” scoring method in which the median score of the three judges would be tabulated each round.

Virgil “Buddy” Raines, a respected Eastern horseman, died Wednesday at a nursing home in Aiken, S.C. He was 89. . . . Clifford Sutter, a tennis star who helped move the game from country clubs to city parks, has died of cancer in Barnstable, Mass. He was 89.