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Sports briefs

By BRANT JAMES and Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 31, 2001

New York searches for Danny and dad

Child welfare officials in New York launched an educational-neglect investigation of the father of Little League World Series pitcher Danny Almonte for keeping his son out of school for more than a year.

Board of Education truancy officers and child protection caseworkers spent Thursday searching unsuccessfully for Felipe Almonte and his son, unable to verify where they live.

New York's Daily News reported that the Administration for Children's Services rushed its staff to find the youngster -- embroiled in a dispute about his age -- because of fears that he and his father might try to return to their native Dominican Republic. By law, children must attend school until they are 17.

The father and son -- who is 12 or 14, depending on which set of records is used -- spent the morning doing interviews with other members of the third-place Rolando Paulino All-Stars.

The Daily News also reported Danny may never have attended school in the Dominican Republic.

Danny's mother, Sonia Margarita Rojas Breton, said he and older brother Juan attended Escuela Evangelica Alianza in Moca. But school director Ermenia de la Rosa said only Juan attended, just one year.

Officials from the Dominican Republic said they would announce today the findings of a separate investigation into Danny's age.

The Associated Press reported Almonte and his father are in the United States illegally. They applied to come in June 2000 and were issued tourist visas that expired six months after their arrival.

BOXING: Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman and Lennox Lewis got into an argument during a taped TV interview, and both ended up wrestling on the floor. The scuffle broke out while they were being interviewed by Gary Miller on Up Close at the ESPN Zone in Disneyland. Lewis was upset by a comment Rahman made, then Lewis made a remark about Rahman's sister.

COLLEGES: Duke All-American Jason Williams broke a bone in his left hand during a pickup basketball game and will wear a cast for at least four weeks. ... The NCAA placed Jacksonville on five years' probation for violations in its men's soccer program. ... The parents of a former UAB student are suing the football coach and at least 26 current or former athletes, saying she was sexually exploited. The suit said coaches told players to stay away from the girl, who was 15 at the time, but did not do enough to stop them from having sex with her.

HORSES: Tampa Bay Downs' 93-day meet, which starts Dec. 15, will feature 21 stakes. The schedule is highlighted by a Festival Day March 17, which features the $200,000 Tampa Bay Derby, $100,000 Hillsborough Stakes and Grade III $150,000 Florida Oaks.

OLYMPICS: American and Canadian antidrug agencies will allow testing of each other's athletes.

WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES: A 46-game winning streak for the U.S. men's basketball team ended when it lost to China 83-82 in Beijing.

NHL: Former Lightning center Steve Martins and goaltender Zac Bierk signed deals with the Senators and Coyotes, respectively.

GOODWILL GAMES: Jermaine O'Neal had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the U.S. men's basketball team won 109-76 against host Australia in Brisbane. Cheryl Haworth set two U.S. records and won three weightlifting golds.

SOCCER: Tony DiCicco was named commissioner of WUSA. ... U.S. forward Brian McBride had surgery to repair a condition that was causing blood clots in his right arm.

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