PRO FOOTBALL

BENGALS PUT FRANCHISE TAG ON JOHNSON

The Bengals used their franchise tag yesterday on running back Rudi Johnson, who set a Cincinnati rushing record last season but couldn’t secure a long-term deal.

By using the tag on Johnson, the Bengals can keep him for $6.3 million next season while waiting to see whether first round draft pick Chris Perry pans out. A hamstring injury and a hernia essentially wiped out Perry’s rookie season.

FEDERAL JUDGE UPHOLDS WILLIAMS REPAYMENT

An arbitration ruling that ordered Ricky Williams to repay the Miami Dolphins $8.6 million was upheld Tuesday by a federal judge, who rejected arguments that the award disregarded Florida law and was excessive.

An arbitrator ruled in September that Williams breached his contract by abruptly retiring. Under the terms of that contract, the 2002 NFL rushing champion was required to repay the Dolphins $8.6 million in bonus money he had received.

Attorney Jeffrey Kessler, representing the NFL Players Association, conceded at a hearing Friday in Fort Lauderdale that the Dolphins were entitled to some damages. But he argued that the case should be returned to the arbitrator and the award amount reduced because the ruling disregarded Florida law, which prohibits contracts from including penalty clauses.

GIANTS MAY BYPASS STATE ON STADIUM DEAL

With a deal on a new stadium close, the New York Giants may bypass the state and negotiate directly with Xanadu developers about the hours the massive entertainment and retail complex to be built nearby would operate on game days, a source said yesterday.

Over the last month, the Giants and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority have moved closer to finalizing a deal on a new $700 stadium by reaching agreement on a $6.3 million annual rental fee, the cost of demolishing the current Giants Stadium and a number of other issues.

The one area where they are separated is the hours of operation for Xanadu on days the Giants play. The Giants’ lease gives them exclusive use of the Meadowlands complex on game days. They believe a traffic nightmare would happen if Xanadu stores were allowed to operate. The sports authority believes the Giants and Xanadu can coexist on game days.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

ACC TO BEGIN USING INSTANT REPLAY

The Atlantic Coast Conference will use instant replay in the 2005 football season, experimenting with a system based on the one the Big 10 debuted last season.

The league announced the move yesterday after a proposal by the league’s athletic directors was approved unanimously at the conference’s winter meetings. The NCAA Football Rules Committee voted last week to allow conferences to use instant reply on an experimental basis for the 2005 season.

Under the Big 10’s system, a technical adviser watched the game from the press box and notified officials on the field via pager if he saw something questionable. The adviser then reviewed the call using video from the television feed.

BASKETBALL

MOURNING SET TO REJOIN HEAT

Alonzo Mourning’s return to the Miami Heat is imminent. The seven time All-Star center was examined by doctors yesterday, and Heat president Pat Riley expects Miami’s former franchise cornerstone to begin practicing with the team immediately after this weekend’s All-Star break.

Mourning spent eight years in Miami, a stay interrupted twice by his fight with kidney disease. No contract will be signed until the physical is done, a process Riley said may take a couple days. Mourning, who cleared waivers yesterday and became a free agent, could be in a Heat uniform by early next week. His contract with Miami most likely will be for a prorated share of the $1.1 million veteran minimum salary, meaning the Heat will pay him only about $375,000 for the rest of the season.

SOCCER

FIXED GERMAN MATCH TO BE REPLAYED

One of the games at the center of the German match-fixing scandal is to be replayed, the German Football Federation (DFB) announced.

The second division fixture between Ahlen and Wacker Burghausen on October 22 last year is one of the four games referee Robert Hoyzer has admitted to manipulating for cash from a Croatian betting syndicate. Last month Hoyzer told the DFB he had orchestrated a 1-0 win for Ahlen when he awarded a 65th-minute penalty for a nonexistent hand ball by a Wacker Burghausen player. This is the first time in German football history that a contested match will be replayed.

In a further development another referee implicated by Hoyzer in the scandal, 29-year-old Dominik Marks, alleged in Monday’s to have taken 36,000 euros for fixing two lower division games, was suspended last night by the DFB.

WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER TAKES TOP PRIZE

Posing like the very symbol of the Westminster Kennel Club, a German shorthaired pointer called Carlee became America’s top dog last night. The 5-year-old female with the soft eyes and gliding gait won best in show, beating out a popular Norfolk terrier, a champion bloodhound, and a wobbling Pekingese.

All seven finalists gave fine performances on the green carpet of Madison Square Garden. But the sellout crowd and judge Lynette Saltzman were clearly won over by Carlee’s “free stack,” the time when the dog stands alone and shows its stuff. Carlee became the second German shorthaired pointer to win at Westminster, and is a direct descendant of the other winner in 1974. It was her ninth best in show title overall.

– Associated Press