SACRAMENTO - In the moments before signing a deal to return his team to Oakland, owner Al Davis was reassured the stadium had been sold out for the 1995 season and would be packed for 15 years to come, he testified Tuesday.
In testimony in his $1-billion suit against the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for allegedly luring him back on the false promise of a sold-out stadium, Davis said he would have turned to his other option in Baltimore had he known the stadium was not sold out.
Davis said he was assured by negotiator Ed DeSilva that things were great and that he should sign the commitment.
Davis said he later learned promises of a sold-out stadium had not materialized. His suit against the coliseum, DeSilva and the defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen claims he was defrauded.
Defense lawyer James Brosnahan has said Davis, 73, was not given any such guarantees.
DOLPHINS: Free-agent defensive end Corey Callens signed a two-year contract. Callens started 10 games with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe last season.
OBITUARY: Kevin Belcher, a former Giants offensive lineman, died at age 42 Saturday at his home in El Paso, Texas. The cause of death was undetermined, his brother, Darius, said. Belcher was drafted by the Giants in 1983 and played two seasons before a 1985 car accident injured a leg and he was forced to quit. He played college ball at Texas-El Paso.
AWARD: Tillmans win ESPY
Brothers Pat and Kevin Tillman, who left their sports careers to join the Army, were chosen to receive the ESPY's Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Pat played four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before enlisting in the Army in 2002. The safety turned down a three-year, $3.6-million deal from Arizona. Kevin was a baseball prospect in the Indians organization.
Both were assigned to the Army Rangers and served in Iraq.
ET CETERA
BOXING: Christy Martin took a swing at Laila Ali as Ali spoke at a news conference in Gulfport, Miss., for their IBA super middleweight bout Aug.23 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Ali grabbed a fistful of Martin's hair, and promoters separated the two.
HORSES: Phantom Light won the $226,000 Dominion Day Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto, equaling the track record set by Alphabet Soup, his sire, in the Breeders' Cup Classic seven years ago. The 4-year-old colt took the lead at the start and went on to a four-length victory (2:01.15).
SOCCER: David Beckham completed his move from Manchester United to Real Madrid by signing a four-year contract for $40-million.
TRACK: Olympic and world champion Maurice Greene couldn't do any better than third in the 100 meters at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. Greene's finished in 10.11; Deji Aliu won in 10.04. Four records were set: Yelena Zadorozhnaya in the women's 3,000 in 8:35.50, Maria Mutola in the women's 800 in 1:56.57, Allen Johnson in the men's 110 hurdles in 13.06 and Felix Sanchez in the men's 400 hurdles in 47.80.
