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Spencer appeals fine, suspension

Jimmy Spencer filed an appeal Tuesday with NASCAR, hoping to overturn the suspension and fine levied against him for a post-race altercation with Kurt Busch at Michigan International Speedway.

And Busch got back in the news when the tape of a radio conversation with his pit during Sunday's race indicated he may have purposely tried to "flatten" Spencer's fender.

NASCAR spokesman Herb Branham said a hearing on Spencer's appeal would be held this morning in Bristol, Tenn. Spencer was suspended Monday from all NASCAR-sanctioned competition until Aug. 26 and fined $25,000 for punching Busch in the garage at MIS after the GFS Marketplace 400. He also was placed on probation through the end of the year, as was Busch.

Spencer, scheduled to appear Tuesday night on Wind Tunnel on Speed Channel, skipped the telecast, but host Dave Despain played the tape, which he said was recorded during Sunday's race.

Busch said, "See, I'm not very good at being bad. I was trying to flatten the 7 car (Spencer) fender and I got mine. I needed to be further forward on his car."

Someone on his crew responded, "They just showed that on TV. You just missed by about an inch or two." Busch replied, "Inches only count unless you're playing horseshoes and hand grenades. Ah, I don't want to play either with that clown."

PARROT REPLACES FOX: Todd Parrott, on indefinite leave from Robert Yates Racing since April, replaced Raymond Fox III as crew chief of the team's No. 38 Ford driven by Elliott Sadler. Fox, who has been a crew chief since October, will remain with the No. 38 team, working with Parrott and car chief Dave Smith.

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens was released from the hospital, three days after he fell and was almost trampled at the Arlington (Ill.) Million. A hospital spokesman said Stevens, who had a collapsed lung and fractured vertebra, left "in good condition." Stevens will be sidelined a month.

FUNNY CIDE UPDATE: Funny Cide is not out of Saturday's $1-million Travers Stakes yet. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner put in a solid workout, but trainer Barclay Tagg insisted his New York-bred gelding still was "highly doubtful" for the race at Saratoga. With the Travers' post position draw today, it appears Funny Cide will be entered at a cost of $5,000 to Sackatoga Stable, the 10-member ownership group.

Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert are part of the first inductees into the U.S. Open's Court of Champions, honoring the top players in tournament history. Connors, a five-time champion, and Evert, who won the Open six times, were named best players in the Open era, which began in 1968. Other inductees included Bill Tilden and Helen Wills for the Golden era (1881-1967), and Rod Laver and Billie Jean King, who played both eras.

PAES AILING: Leander Paes, one of the world's best doubles players, is being treated for a brain lesion and will miss the U.S. Open, which starts Monday. Paes, 30, had severe headaches last week and checked into an emergency room near his Orlando home Sunday. Tests are being conducted to determine the lesion's cause, and a brain tumor has not been ruled out. Paes teamed with Martina Navratilova last month to win the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon.

National champion Courtney Kupets became the third American scratched from the World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., when she injured her left Achilles' tendon. Kupets joined reigning world beam champion Ashley Postell (stomach flu) and vault specialist Annia Hatch (knee) on the sideline for the second biggest meet in the world behind the Olympics.

FIGURE SKATING: Former U.S. champion figure Rudy Galindo had left hip-replacement surgery and will have a similar operation on his right hip in about six weeks. Galindo is expected to be sidelined up to six months.

GOLF: University of Kentucky standout John Holmes shot 2-under 138 to finish first among 64 match-play qualifiers at the U.S. Amateur in Oakmont, Pa. Tampa's Ty Harris, state amateur champ last year, was among fourteen tied at 147, the cut. Two will be eliminated in a playoff this morning.

NHL: The Panthers re-signed free-agent defenseman Mike Van Ryn and signed free-agent defenseman Jeff Paul to one-year deals. Van Ryn, acquired in March from the Blues for right wing Valeri Bure, had three assists in 20 games with St. Louis last season. Paul had two goals and three assists in 50 games with AHL Hershey.

RUNNING: Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis pleaded innocent to a drunken driving charge. A pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 16. The charge stemmed from an early-morning crash April 21 in Los Angeles. Lewis was arrested by the California Highway Patrol after allegedly failing sobriety tests.