Boxing Promoter King Acquitted in Fraud Trial

Flamboyant boxing promoter Don King was acquitted of insurance fraud Thursday in a New York court after 11 hours of jury deliberation.

“This is so great. I’m so thrilled,” King said. “The most important thing to me now is freedom.”

The federal jury also was unable to reach a verdict on charges against Don King Productions Inc., which were added to the case after a jury in 1995 failed to reach a verdict on the same nine wire-fraud charges against King.

U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White issued a statement saying prosecutors were disappointed but respected the jury’s judgment.

Prosecutors had alleged that King, 66, cheated Lloyd’s of London out of $350,000 in training expenses for a canceled 1991 bout.

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If Mike Tyson wants to fight again, he’s going to have to pick up a telephone and let Nevada boxing officials know his intentions.

On Thursday, the first day Tyson could formally ask to return to the sport he once dominated, Nevada officials made it clear they want to hear from Tyson personally before setting a hearing on his request for a new license.

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Lennox Lewis of Britain will defend his World Boxing Council heavyweight title against Croatia’s Zeljko Mavrovic on Sept. 26 on a Native American reservation at Montville, Conn.

Tennis

Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport will head the U.S. Fed Cup team for its semifinal match July 25-26 with Spain in Madrid. They will be joined by Lisa Raymond and newcomer Corina Moriaru. . . . Top-seeded Jason Stoltenberg avenged a loss this year by defeating fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, 6-3, in the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships at Newport, R.I. . . . Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna defeated fellow Czech Radka Bobkova, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Skoda Czech Open at Prague. . . . Top-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Open with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Lucas Arnold of Argentina at Gstaad. . . . Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy moved into the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Juan Antonio Marin of Costa Rica at Bastad.

Pro Basketball

According to a source close to the Chicago Bulls, the team has interviewed, or will interview in the next few days, five men as possible replacements for former coach Phil Jackson.

Besides Iowa State Coach Tim Floyd, the Bulls are said to be looking at NBA assistants Paul Silas of Charlotte, Scott Skiles of Phoenix, Rick Carlisle of Indiana and Ron Rothstein of Cleveland.

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Yinka Dare, who had a short and unremarkable NBA career, is suing his former agent and three other men, claiming they used his name to borrow money for bad real estate deals.

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Two teenage girls who say Charlotte Hornet star Anthony Mason and his cousin, Will Duggins, raped them during the NBA’s All-Star game weekend filed civil charges against the men in New York. Mason, 31, and Duggins, 24, pleaded guilty June 25 to endangering the girls, 14 and 15, after prosecutors dropped sex abuse and statutory rape charges.

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Kim Perrot scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Houston Comets to a 96-66 WNBA victory over the Detroit Shock before 9,641 at Houston.

Miscellany

Brian McBride, Stern John and Rob Smith scored as the visiting Columbus Crew beat Chicago, 3-0, ending the Fire’s winning streak at 11, one short of the Galaxy’s Major League Soccer record. The game was played before an announced crowd of 10,091.

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The New York Rangers signed free-agent right wing John MacLean, who had 43 points for New Jersey and San Jose last season, in an attempt to boost their offense.

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Cold weather spoiled Haile Gebrselassie’s attempt to break a third distance-running world record this season, and Michael Johnson showed he still hasn’t recovered from injuries, finishing third in the 400 meters with a time of 44.58 seconds at the Bislett Games at Oslo.

Gebrselassie, returning to the track where he smashed the world 10,000-meter record a year ago, missed the 3,000 mark by more than six seconds in 7 minutes, 27.42 seconds.

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Connecticut forward Richard Hamilton broke his right foot during tryouts for the USA World Championship basketball team in Chicago and will need up to three months to recover, school officials said.

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The San Diego Chargers selected Oklahoma State defensive tackle Jamal Williams and the Green Bay Packers picked Navy tackle Mike Wahle in the second round of the NFL’s supplemental draft.