BOXING

TONEY LIKELY TO BE STRIPPED OF TITLE

John Ruiz lost his piece of the heavyweight title in the ring when he was beaten by James Toney. Now he will likely get it back after Toney tested positive for steroids after the April 30 fight at Madison Square Garden. The New York State Athletic Commission changed Toney’s victory to a no contest after his post-fight urine test came back positive for nandrolone.

Toney’s camp suggested in a statement that medications given Toney by his doctor following surgery to repair his biceps and triceps last year resulted in the test coming up positive.

The commission suspended Toney for 90 days and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine. The real damage for Toney, though, will come from losing the heavyweight title that he won for the first time in a unanimous decision over Ruiz. According to World Boxing Association regulations, Toney will not be allowed to fight for the organization’s title for two years.

Ruiz announced his retirement after losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Toney, but on Monday said he wasn’t going to retire after all and would fight again. Assuming the WBA follows its regulations and reinstates Ruiz, he will have gone from a retired former champion to the WBA title holder in a matter of days.

BASKETBALL

STERN TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS

NBA Commissioner David Stern will testify before Congress next week about his league’s drug-testing policy, making him the third head of a major American sport called before lawmakers investigating steroids. NBA vice president Rick Buchanan also will appear before the House Government Reform Committee on May 19, league spokesman Tim Frank said yesterday.

Stern has said he would like to strengthen testing for performance-enhancing drugs in the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, which is currently being negotiated with the players’ union. Lawmakers have said they are drafting legislation to establish uniform drug-testing rules for major American sports, though any such bill would be expected to face an uphill fight in Washington.

FOOTBALL

REPORT: EAGLES WON’T RENEGOTIATE WITH OWENS

The Philadelphia Eagles will not renegotiate the contract of star wide receiver Terrell Owens, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday. Owens fired longtime agent David Joseph in April, hired Drew Rosenhaus, and started asking for a renegotiation just one year into a seven-year deal worth almost $49 million.

The Eagles have intimated they wouldn’t redo the contract, and owner Jeffrey Lurie told the newspaper, “It’s not even an issue.” Lurie criticized Owens’s new agent for giving him “self-destructive advice.”

Owens helped the Eagles reach the Super Bowl in his first season in Philadelphia after eight years with San Francisco. He skipped the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp April 29, in a holdout that could extend into training camp, which starts in late July. Asked if he expects Owens to be with the Eagles next season, Lurie said, “If he wants to win a Super Bowl, he should be.”

BASEBALL

OWNERS ENDORSE SELIG’S STEROIDS PROPOSAL

Baseball owners unanimously endorsed commissioner Bud Selig’s proposal for toughened steroid testing and approved new controlling owners for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Selig’s steroids proposal, made to the union last month, calls for a 50-game ban for first offenders, a 100-game penalty for second offenders and a lifetime ban for a third positive test. It also would penalize use of amphetamines.

Following yesterday’s quarterly meeting, the teams and the players’ association also said they will go ahead with a 16-nation World Baseball Classic in March, an event that has been in the planning stages for several years. Agreements remain incomplete, and Major League Baseball hopes to have a formal launch of the tournament at the All-Star game in July.

TENNIS

SERENA WILLIAMS UPSET AT ITALIAN OPEN

Serena Williams certainly didn’t look ready for the French Open yesterday. The six-time Grand Slam winner was upset 7-6 (2), 6-1 by Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in her opening match at the Italian Open, an important tuneup for the season’s first major, which starts in less than two weeks.

Williams moved poorly and was overpowered by the 26th-ranked Schiavone, who had all her shots working. Williams called it the worst loss of her career. In the first-set tiebreaker, a seemingly uninterested Williams didn’t even run for a drop shot by Schiavone that gave her a set-point opportunity.

– Associated Press