Sports briefs for July 13, 2004

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

Fan is offered $11,800 for bad Beckham ball

A Spanish soccer fan was offered 9,550 euros ($11,800) on EBay Inc.'s Web site for the ball England captain David Beckham kicked over the bar in a Euro 2004 quarterfinal penalty shootout last month.

Pablo Carral, a 25-year-old from Galicia, northwest Spain, caught the ball from his seat in row Q at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz and smuggled it out of the arena. He began a 10-day auction on http://www.es.ebay.com at midday yesterday, according to the Internet auction site.

A picture of the silver ball made by Adidas-Salomon AG on the Web site was marked "Quarterfinal 24.06.2004" in black letters. A version of the tournament ball was on sale for as little as 19 euros in downtown Lisbon last month.

Claudia Amaral, a Euro 2004 spokeswoman, said she couldn't immediately comment on whether the tournament organizers objected to the sale.

Beckham slipped as he took the kick, skying the ball over the bar. Teammate Darius Vassell also missed his kick as England lost the shootout 6-5 to Portugal.

Devils sign two

The New Jersey Devils signed defenseman Richard Matvichuk and re-signed right winger Grant Marshall. Matvichuk, 31, has spent his entire 12-year NHL with Dallas. He had one goal and 20 assists last season and has 38 goals and 129 assists during his career.

Bonnies plead case

St. Bonaventure University officials asked a federal judge to throw out a $21.5 million wrongful-dismissal lawsuit filed by former men's basketball coach Jan van Breda Kolff. In the school's first legal response to the suit, lawyer Judy Hernandez argued van Breda Kolff had no basis for his claims, and noted that a clause in his contract allowed the school to dismiss him without cause.

Starke sentenced

Former Washington Redskins offensive lineman George Starke was sentenced Monday to one year's probation and a $50 fine for drug possession. Starke was also ordered to attend drug rehabilitation.

Aussie champ appeals

World champion cyclist Sean Eadie filed an appeal today to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against doping charges that could cost him his spot on the Australian Olympic team.