FOOTBALL

RAVENS’ PRO BOWL RUNNER JAMAL LEWIS RELEASED

Running back Jamal Lewis, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, was cut by the Baltimore Ravens yesterday.

General manager Ozzie Newsome said the team still hoped to re-sign him.

Lewis ran for 2,066 yards in 2003, the second-highest total in NFL history. His numbers slipped after that — his 1,132 yards last season were his most since then, although he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry

Lewis, 27, spent the 2005 off-season serving time in prison after a guilty plea to using a cell phone to set up a drug buy. He also has had ankle problems. The Ravens’ first pick in the 2000 draft, Lewis was due a $5 million roster bonus on March 3 along with a $5 million base salary for the 2007 season.

The Ravens have spent the last week negotiating with Mitch Frankel, his agent for a deal that would be more cap friendly.

“There has been good dialogue,” Newsome said. “Jamal has been a significant contributor to us in the last seven seasons. It’s our hope to have him back with the Ravens.”

BEARS COACH SMITH, GM ANGELO SIGN CONTRACT EXTENSIONS

The Chicago Bears signed coach Lovie Smith to a four-year contract extension through the 2011 season last night. The team also signed general manager Jerry Angelo to a contract extension through the 2013 season.

Bears spokesman Jim Christman said the team would have no further comment Wednesday night, but would hold a news conference today.

BASEBALL

DODGERS PITCHER COULD BE A BILLIONAIRE

Matt White, a journeyman pitcher trying to make the Los Angeles Dodgers, could become baseball’s first billionaire player.

It has nothing to do with his arm. He owns a rock quarry in western Massachusetts.

White, who has appeared in seven big league games in nine professional seasons, paid $50,000 three years ago to buy 50 acres of land from an elderly aunt who needed the money to pay for a nursing home.

While clearing out a couple acres to build a home, he discovered stone ledges in the ground, prompting him to have the property surveyed.

A geologist estimated there were 24 million tons of the stone on his land. The stone is being sold for upward of $100 a ton, meaning there’s well over $2 billion worth of material used for sidewalks, patios and the like.

TENNIS

FEDERER, NADAL ADVANCE TO QUARTERS OF DUBAI OPEN

Roger Federer showed off a circus shot while extending his career-best winning streak to 38 matches, defeating Daniele Bracciali 7–5, 6–3 yesterday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open. The top-seeded Federer next will face seventh-seeded Novak Djokovic, who beat Rainer Schuettler 7–6 (5), 6–3. Defending champion Rafael Nadal survived another thriller, edging Igor Andreev 6–2, 3–6, 7–6 (2). Next for Nadal is Mikhail Youzhny.