FOOTBALL

PENNINGTON MISSES PRACTICE WITH STOMACH VIRUS

All of a sudden, the New York Jets have issues at quarterback. Chad Pennington missed practice yesterday with a stomach virus, while backup Quincy Carter went home to Georgia to be with his ailing mother. Pennington may not be able to practice today, but coach Herman Edwards is confident his franchise player will be ready for Saturday’s playoff game against Pittsburgh.

“He’ll play,” Edwards said. “I would be shocked if he didn’t.”

Pennington called Edwards on Tuesday night to say he was sick. He came to Jets headquarters yesterday and tried to practice, but Edwards took one look at him and sent him inside to get some rest. Carter went home Tuesday, so no. 3 quarterback Brooks Bollinger took the snaps with the first team offense at practice. Edwards said he did not know when Carter would return.

BOXING

KING SUES ESPN FOR $2.5 BILLION

Don King filed a defamation suit yesterday against ESPN, in which the promoter seeks damages of more than $2.5 billion.

The lawsuit says a “SportsCentury” segment aired last May accused King of being “a snake oil salesman, a shameless huckster and worse,” claimed the flamboyant promoter underpaid Muhammad Ali by $1.2 million, and claimed King – convicted in a 1967 beating death and acquitted in a 1954 killing – “killed not once, but twice.”

Most of the material in the program had been printed or broadcast earlier about King, who has spent much of his career in court, but the wild-haired promoter said he had just had enough. The suit, filed in state court in Broward County, Fla., names ESPN and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., among the defendants. Also named are Disney-owned ABC Cable Networks and Advocate Communications, a Florida based cable and satellite system.

Besides being sued numerous times by his clients, King also has beaten federal charges, including tax evasion and fraud. He served nearly four years in prison for the 1967 beating death of a man who owed him money. In 1954, he killed a man who was robbing a numbers house he operated in Cleveland, but it was ruled self-defense.

BASEBALL

LO DUCA RE-SIGNS WITH MARLINS

Paul Lo Duca agreed yesterday to an $18 million, three-year contract with the Marlins, who acquired the two-time All-Star catcher in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer. Lo Duca, who turns 32 on April 12, hit .258 with three home runs in 53 games last season with the Marlins.

TENNIS

AGASSI INJURED IN MATCH AGAINST RODDICK

Andre Agassi pulled out of his Kooyong Classic match against Andy Roddick this morning because of a hip injury.

“My hip was cramping, and I just could not continue,” said Agassi, down 6-5 in the first set when he walked to the net and shook hands with his fellow American.

The four-time Australian Open champion appeared to favor his hip while serving in the 10th game, and called a trainer. The Australian Open begins next week.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

TEXAS A&M UPSETS TEXAS

Acie Law had 24 points and six assists, Joseph Jones added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Texas A&M ended an 18-game Big XII losing streak with a 74-63 upset of no. 10 Texas last night. The Aggies (12-1, 1-1) are off to their best start since 1959-60, and first-year coach Billy Gillispie has made the best debut in school history.

Before a school-record crowd of 12,811, Law helped A&M end the Longhorns’ 10-game winning streak in College Station and improve its record at Reed Arena to 12-0 this season. The Aggies also knocked off their first Top 10 foe since beating Texas in 1982. P.J. Tucker led the Longhorns (12-3, 1-1) with 18 points and eight rebounds and freshman LaMarcus Aldridge, added 12 points and eight rebounds.

BASKETBALL

JAYSON WILLIAMS RETURNS TO PRO BASKETBALL

Jayson Williams signed a contract with the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association, and saw limited action off the bench last night against the Yakima Sun Kings. The former NBA All-Star, who still faces reckless manslaughter charges related to a 2002 shooting at his New Jersey mansion, has said he hopes to use the CBA as a springboard for his return to the NBA. The 6-foot-10 forward turns 37 next month. He quit pro basketball in 2000 because of knee problems.

– Associated Press