Rodman Settles for $200,000

Chicago Bull forward Dennis Rodman has agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement to the cameraman he kicked in the groin during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Associated Press learned Monday night.

Rodman stumbled out of bounds over a photographer in the game last Wednesday in the Target Center in Minneapolis, then kicked Eugene Amos, who was sitting nearby, after Amos turned his camera on him. The game was delayed for seven minutes before Amos was carried off on a stretcher and treated briefly at a local hospital.

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Brigham Young linebacker Derik Stevenson, 22, of Diamond Bar was booked into jail after an alleged fight at a Jan. 15 male beauty pageant, the KSL television station reported in Salt Lake City.

Stevenson is free on his own recognizance and a BYU administrative panel is investigating.

The TV report said Stevenson and another man argued over Stevenson’s girlfriend and that shots were fired as they fought in the parking lot.

Stevenson was booked for investigation of aggravated assault, possessing a weapon on school grounds and possessing a concealed weapon.

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Peter Graf’s defense attorney asked a judge to spare his client jail time for evading taxes on income earned by his daughter.

Kurt Himmelsbach asked for a two-year suspended sentence and a fine for Graf, who has admitted setting up tax havens outside the country to avoid taxes of up to 53% on Steffi Graf’s earnings.

Prosecutors had earlier demanded a jail term of six years and nine months for Peter Graf.

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Shaken by the jailing of a top coach for sex abuse of players, Canada’s junior hockey league is drafting guidelines for screening coaches.

David Branch, commissioner of the Canadian Hockey League, said guidelines to be implemented by next season probably will call for use of police checks and psychological testing in screening.

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Reinaldo, a forward on the Brazilian soccer team that finished third in the 1978 World Cup, was sentenced to four years in prison for drug trafficking.

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Hours after New York Yankee pitcher Dwight Gooden attended his father’s funeral, he discovered someone had stolen as much as $50,000 worth of jewelry from his home. Gooden’s father, Dan Gooden, died Jan. 10 and his funeral was Saturday.

Figure Skating

Because of new regulations, some figure skaters will face a qualifying competition to get to the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Beginning with the 1997-98 season, the number of entries from each country in world championships and the Olympics will depend on the previous-year performance of the entire team, instead of the top performance from one skater in a world championship.

The new rules will be in place for the world championships in Switzerland on March 17-23.

Names in the News

The Angels signed veteran second baseman Luis Alicea and oft-injured pitcher Steve Ontiveros to minor league contracts. . . . The Texas Rangers agreed to a one-year, $4.8-million contract with third baseman Dean Palmer.

Barcelona’s Brazilian soccer striker Ronaldo was named FIFA’s player of the year, edging out AC Milan’s Liberian star George Weah and Newcastle’s Alan Shearer. . . . Forward Eric Wynalda became the first two-time winner of the Honda Player of the Year award when he was honored as the top U.S. player.

The rematch between heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson will be held in Las Vegas on May 3.

Romania’s Iulia Negura could be banned for four years and stripped of her European women’s cross country title after testing positive for steroids.