Sports briefs for July 23, 2004

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 9:31 a.m.

Blue-ribbon NHL panel wants to boost scoring

A panel of hockey royalty -- from Mario Lemieux to Scotty Bowman -- got together Thursday in New York to discuss how to create more flow and offensive chances. Ideas were exchanged and debated as part of a process National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman hopes will lead to rules changes that could go into effect after a new labor agreement is reached.

As long as the talents of goalies aren't curtailed and safety jeopardized, two-time defending Vezina Trophy winner Martin Brodeur is happy to see some improvements.

"There's a lot of ways they can improve the offense of the game and the flow of the game without touching the goalies," said Brodeur. "The safety of the goalies is one of the most important things -- having protective equipment that is decent for the guys that are making the big bucks and making a big difference in the game."

The talks were praised by players, NHL officials, coaches, general managers and executives, who made up the group.

"Everybody on the panel really cares about the game of hockey and is trying to make it more exciting and have more scoring," said Lemieux, the player-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was expected, but he didn't attend because of a scheduling conflict. Toronto forward Gary Roberts, and Nashville forward Scott Walker were joined by referee Stephen Walkom, several team presidents, Islanders owner Charles Wang, six general managers, and Bowman -- the winningest coach in league history.

"I've been involved in a lot of meetings in my life, but I've never been in a meeting that had the composition this meeting did," NHL hockey operations director Colin Campbell said.

Eight tied for lead

Eight golfers shot 6-under-par 65s and another 10 were one shot back after the first round of the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. An eight-way tie for the first-round lead hadn't happened on the PGA tour since the 2000 Honda Classic.

Rattlers fire White

The Arizona Rattlers fired coach Danny White, who had been the team's coach and general manager for 13 years and led the team to two Arena Football League championships and five Arena Bowl appearances.

Sugar Ray suit settled

Former cruiserweight champion Juan Carlos Gomez and Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing have agreed to resolve their disagreement over fight contracts. Gomez, 30, claimed in a lawsuit two weeks ago that Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing and two other defendants were keeping him from "making a living" by insisting they still had a valid contract with him.

Williams sisters win

Top-seeded Serena Williams and No. 2 seed Venus Williams both won to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Chase Open in Carson, Calif.

Sprint names arena

Sprint Corp. committed to paying $62.5 million over 25 years for the naming rights to a new arena proposed for Kansas City, Mo.

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