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Panel: USOC reform starts at top

WASHINGTON - An independent commission proposed Thursday that the U.S. Olympic Committee, a "constant source of embarrassment," answer to a much smaller oversight board under a permanent boss and report annually to Congress.

Commissioners ended their five-month review of the scandal-plagued committee by recommending a wholesale restructuring. Changes should be in place by January 2004, the year of the next games, commissioners said.

"The situation has deteriorated to such a degree - and the time to the 2004 Athens Olympic games is so short - that drastic measures to reform the USOC must be undertaken immediately," the 70-page report said.

The five-member commission said the new leadership should include an assembly taking in representatives from the participating sports, athletes, communities and the public at large.

Overseeing the committee should be a board of directors with nine members, down from 124. The board also would have four additional members with limited voting rights.

Randy Ayers will be promoted from assistant to head coach to replace Larry Brown, the Associated Press reported, with the former Ohio State coach to be introduced at a news conference today.

Ayers spent the past six seasons as an assistant to Brown and was the Buckeyes' coach the previous eight years, going 124-108.

BULLS: Guard Jay Williams broke his leg in a motorcycle accident. Details were unclear to team officials, Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said. The 21-year-old from Duke averaged 9.5 points last season.

WIZARDS: Washington officially hired Eddie Jordan as its coach. Jordan, an assistant with the Eastern Conference champion Nets this season, is the Wizards' seventh coach in six years.

DRAFT: Mammoth Russian center Pavel Podkolzine, 7 feet 4 and 303 pounds, has pulled out of the draft after he was unable to get a firm commitment of where he would be selected.

Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, 32, announced his retirement at Rosmalen, Netherlands, and said continuing pain in his right elbow made it impossible to compete at the highest level.

After Tuesday's first-round loss at the Ordina Open, Krajicek pulled out of Wimbledon, complaining of pain in the elbow. He was sidelined for more than a year after surgery on the elbow in March 2001 and missed four months with a foot injury at the end of last year.

MORE WIMBLEDON: Spain's Albert Costa withdrew with a knee injury, the fourth straight year the clay-court specialist will miss the tournament. Costa, who won the French Open last year and was seeded 24th, will be replaced by 35th-ranked Nikolay Davydenko.

Also withdrawing was American Sarah Taylor, who has a sprained right wrist.

TOURNAMENTS: Top seeds Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne advanced to the Ordina Open semifinals with both Belgians surviving tough quarterfinals. Clijsters ousted Tina Pisnik 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), and Henin-Hardenne, the defending champion, rallied past Ludmila Cervanova 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. In other quarterfinals, Nadia Petrova and Barbara Rittner advanced. ... American Mardy Fish rallied in the wind at Nottingham, England, to reach the Samsung Open semifinals along with defending champion Jonas Bjorkman, Hicham Arazi and Greg Rusedski. ... Defending champion Chanda Rubin and Saddlebrook's Jennifer Capriati won quarterfinals at Eastbourne, England, and will meet in the next round. Conchita Martinez and Silvia Farina Elia also reached the semifinals. Capriati sailed through the opening set but dropped the first nine points of the second as Nathalie Dechy built a 4-1 lead. Capriati made it 4-4 before breaking to lead 6-5.

Heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis weighed in at 2561/2 pounds, the heaviest he has ever been in his career. His previous high was 253 when he was knocked out by Hasim Raham in their first fight in April 2001. Challenger Vitali Klitschko weighed in at 248, but Lewis remained a 4-1 favorite to win their WBC title bout Saturday in Los Angeles.

A New York firm hired to review electronic wagering after the Breeders' Cup Pick Six scandal says the sport is taking the right steps to ensure safe and efficient betting systems.

"I am encouraged by the proactive approach the industry and the (National Thoroughbred Racing Association) is taking," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, chairman of Giuliani Partners, said. "The commitment to develop concrete safeguards will instill confidence that wagers are handled in a secure manner."

A full report will be delivered Aug.17 at The Jockey Club's conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Giuliani's consulting group was hired last fall by the NTRA to look into racing's betting operation.