Barkley, Katz agree on 76ers' future
Charles Barkley and Philadelphia 76ers owner Harold Katz see eye to eye after all. With coach Jim Lynam also in attendance, the trio met yesterday for two hours at the team's Veterans Stadium offices and agreed they're all on the same page.
Katz meets individually with all his players after every season. But Barkley raised expectations for the importance of yesterday's meeting when, after the Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs, he covered his feelings about the future with a cone of silence, promising to reveal a secret plan only after having a sit-down discussion with the owner.
When he emerged from the team's offices, ready to embark on a "fun summer," Barkley set about smoothing over all real and perceived differences between himself and team management.
"I just wanted to know if he felt we're capable of winning a championship the way this team is constructed," Barkley said. "We all agreed that it is not. Based on our conversation, I know they want to do whatever it takes to make this team win. I just want to win, and I'm very satisfied with the meeting. As for what they do, that's their job. I can't draft players and make trades. Those aren't my decisions."
Katz wouldn't rule out a trade for Barkley, but said he has no desire to trade his superstar forward.
* The New York Knicks have prepared a coaching offer for Pat Riley, and they could present it to him as early as today, Newsday reported.
Knicks president Dave Checketts said, "We have decided to make an offer to one candidate. I plan to do that in the next couple of days. And we hope to have an answer next week."
Football
Victor Kiam says he has put on hold his attempts to move the New England Patriots out of the area.
"When I talked to the governor in March," Kiam said, "the word got out that I was talking with Baltimore, and that was as a favor to an old friend. Other cities started to call. I talked with several of them. But then about three or four weeks ago, I decided to stop and do everything I could to try to make a success of what we are doing here. And that's the way it will be."
* Former Los Angeles Raider Lyle Alzado, suffering from brain cancer, is unlikely to be able to appear in court to face a charge of assaulting a county deputy marshal, an attorney representing him said yesterday.
Alzado was scheduled for arraignment in Culver City, Calif., yesterday morning but was granted a continuance to June 14. Attorney Robert Shapiro, however, said afterward that he doubted his client, who is receiving treatment for the cancer, would ever be physically able to make a court appearance.
"He does not look very good," Shapiro said. "He's in serious medical condition. He's lost weight. He's lost his hair. This is a terrible thing."
* The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks of the World League of American Football, hindered by an unsuccessful season on the field and at the gate, may fold or move to another location after this season, owner George Shinn says.
The Skyhawks, last in the league in attendance, drew a league-low 4,207 fans against the Orlando Thunder on Monday night. The Thunder won, 20-14, dropping Raleigh-Durham to 0-9.
"We just failed," Shinn told The News and Observer of Raleigh. "I take pride in my ability, as an individual, to understand marketing. It just hasn't worked."
Tennis
French hero and 1983 champion Yannick Noah has pulled out of the French Open, saying he is not fit enough for the two-week Grand Slam event.
Noah, ranked 116th in the world, was expected to ask the organizers for a wild card to enter the tournament, which starts Monday in Paris.
"I'm not playing because I'm not fit enough to stand five sets at Roland Garros," Noah told a French radio station.
Soccer
The Washington group hoping to bring the 1994 World Cup to RFK Stadium ended its formal bidding process with a one-hour oral presentation to the World Cup organizing committee in Los Angeles.
The D.C. group is headed by Maryland Bays chairman John Koskinen and will enter the waiting period that will culminate in December with the selection of as many as 12 stadiums out of 31 applicants for the monthlong tournament.
Koskinen said: "Our bid is one of the best, most comprehensive of all those submitted. Today we got the chance to bring our bid to life, to summarize it and to focus the organizers on all the factors that make the Washington region a natural place to hold the World Cup."
Boxing
Only a favorable review of promoter Murad Muhammad's suspension seemed to be in the way of putting the June 28 Mike Tyson-Donovan "Razor" Ruddock rematch back together, Las Vegas sources agreed yesterday.
On May 8, Muhammad, Ruddock's promoter, was fined $25,000 and suspended for one year by the Nevada Athletic Commission for his role in a melee after the Tyson-Ruddock fight March 18. Video cameras caught him kicking Tyson trainer Richie Giachetti, who had been knocked to the floor.
Ruddock has said he will not fight Tyson on June 28 if the suspension prevents Muhammad from participating. It's expected that the commission next week will at least grant Muhammad a stay, pending review of his case, enabling the fight to proceed.
Muhammad filed an appeal Monday. The five-member commission will consider it next Tuesday or Wednesday.
Track and field
South Africa's bid to return to international sports received another boost when the country was granted provisional membership by Africa's track and field federation.
The African Amateur Athletics Federation voted to admit South Africa on condition that it continue efforts to promote multiracial competition and administration in sports.
Auto racing
NASCAR race team owner Junior Johnson says he will appeal his 12-week suspension from Winston Cup competition for having an oversize engine. A NASCAR inspection after Sunday's The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., disclosed an oversize engine, and a follow-up inspection Monday confirmed that the engine was too big.
NASCAR rules allow a maximum displacement of 358 cubic inches. The measurement Sunday was 362 inches and on Monday, after further engine cooling, the measurement was 361.856 cubic inches.
Olympics
Tickets for the Barcelona Olympics will go on sale in the United States on June 15, with prices ranging from $7.50 to $500.
Olson Travelworld, official sales agent for the 1992 Games, anticipates U.S. ticket demand for next year's Olympics will exceed those for the 1988 Olympics. More than 125,000 tickets will be on sale to the general public in the United States, a 25 percent increase from three years ago.
Lacrosse
Tickets to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., are on sale at the Towson Center until tomorrow at noon or by calling 830-2244. Tickets are $14 for Saturday's semifinals, which feature Towson State vs. Maryland, or $22 for the semifinals and final. Information on airfare and hotel rates is available through Steve Blake at the Tiger Club at 830-3284.