Pro BasketballCharles Barkley did not instigate a...

Pro Basketball

Charles Barkley did not instigate a brawl at a Cleveland nightclub and won’t have to pay any money to the man who sued him for $550,000, a jury found.

The eight-member panel rejected the claim of a man who said the NBA star bloodied his face with a flurry of punches.

Coach Rudy Tomjanovich of the Houston Rockets signed a contract extension through 2001 that will pay him an average of $4.5 million a season.

The NBA Players Assn. will file a grievance over the fines levied by the New Jersey Nets against disgruntled forward Jayson Williams, according to the New York Post.

Williams was fined $8,000 for disparaging comments about Net Coach John Calipari, particularly in an article Williams wrote for GQ magazine.

Atlanta Coach Lenny Wilkens has agreed in principle to a four-year contract extension, an Atlanta television station reported.

George Toliver resigned after nine years as an NBA referee, one day after he became the second game official this week to plead guilty to filing false federal income tax returns.

Chairman Peter Holt of the San Antonio Spurs appealed for civic and political leaders to step forward to push for a new multipurpose, $120-million arena, raising questions about whether the Spurs will abandon the Alamodome and leave town.

Holt released what he called worrisome results of a poll showing opposition to a publicly funded arena.

Hockey

The Detroit Red Wings ended doubts about center Igor Larionov’s return to the Stanley Cup champions by signing the Russian to a three-year contract. Larionov, 36, had 12 goals and 42 assists in 64 regular-season games.

Vladimir Yurzinov, an assistant coach on Russia’s last two Olympic hockey teams, has been picked as the team’s head coach for the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Yurzinov, 57, was an assistant to legendary taskmaster Viktor Tikhonov during the previous two Olympics.

The San Jose Sharks are close to acquiring goaltender Mike Vernon from the Red Wings, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Vernon had a 13-11-8 record and a 2.43 goals-against average last season, sharing time with Chris Osgood. Vernon then went 16-4 with a 1.76 GAA during the playoffs for the Stanley Cup champions.

Tennis

Fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia advanced to his third tour semifinal this year, beating fifth-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden, 7-5, 6-7 (7-9), 6-1, at the $2.5-million du Maurier Open in Montreal.

The 23-year-old Kafelnikov will play unseeded American Chris Woodruff, who continued his solid play by ousting seventh-seeded Mark Philippoussis of Australia, 6-4, 6-4.

Carlos Moya of Spain and Magnus Norman of Sweden advanced to the semifinals of the Grolsch Open with victories at Amsterdam. Top-seeded Moya beat countryman Francisco Clavet, 6-3, 6-4. Fourth-seeded Norman won a battle of baseliners, defeating Christian Ruud of Norway, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

An elbow injury forced top-seeded Barbara Paulus of Austria to default to Spain’s Maria Sanchez-Lorenzo in the Styrian Open quarterfinals at Maria Lankowitz, Austria. Barbara Schett of Austria upset third-seeded compatriot Judith Wiesner, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0.

Miscellany

The United States, defending its world under-23 basketball title, beat Yugoslavia, 95-75, in its opening game of the tournament at Melbourne, Australia. Cory Carr of Texas Tech scored 18 points and Mike Doleac of Utah 14. . . . Scoonie Penn, the starting point guard at Boston College for two seasons, is following his former coach Jim O’ Brien to Ohio State. Penn was the Big East tournament MVP last season.

Starting fullback Jeff Paulk has been suspended from Arizona State’s football opener Aug. 30 against New Mexico State for beating a man in a nightclub. A university group that oversees the athletic department also put Paulk on a year’s probation. . . . Oregon State Athletic Director Dutch Baughman is being forced out of his job, the Eugene Register-Guard reported. The newspaper quoted sources as saying disagreements between Baughman and prominent boosters over fund-raising had intensified.

One of the nation’s top high school receivers has been cleared to play football as a freshman at Ohio State. Ken-Yon Rambo of Long Beach Poly has been ruled eligible. . . . The West Coast Yankees, a baseball team made up of Los Angeles and Orange County players, defeated Kentucky in the Junior Olympics at Charlotte, N.C., 12-1. . . . Fulton County Stadium, the former home of the Atlanta Braves and the site of Hank Aaron’s historic 715th home run, will be demolished today.