Sports briefs for October 1, 2004

Friday, Oct. 1, 2004 | 10:13 a.m.

Mayorga revs up for Trinidad bout

Ricardo Mayorga did just about as much Thursday as any fight promoter would want in drumming up interest for his middleweight fight Saturday night in New York with former welterweight champion Felix "Tito" Trinidad, who's coming off a 29-month retirement.

Mayorga offered to bet "anyone who wants" $1 million on the outcome of the 12-round bout at Madison Square Garden.

And he proclaimed that Trinidad had no chance because of the layoff and the result of his last fight before retirement -- a loss to middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins when Trinidad stepped up in weight class.

"Tito has been knocked out ever since he signed that contract," Mayorga said. "Once a car wrecks, it does not have the same value as before."

Mayorga, whose unpredictable behavior sometimes includes smoking a cigarette in the ring after a bout, promised a knockout.

"When Tito falls and there is two or three seconds of silence, the only thing you'll hear is the old man (Trinidad's father and manager) stepping up to the ring to take care of his son."

Mayorga enters the bout with a 27-4-1 record that includes 23 knockouts. Trinidad was 41-1 with 34 knockouts when he retired.

The card is a pay-per-view broadcast and is available via closed-circuit viewing in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay, Gold Coast, San Remo and Sapphire. The telecast begins at 6 p.m. and all seats are $50.

Rodman works out

Retired forward Dennis Rodman took part in four scrimmages with the Denver Nuggets, the second time he has practiced with them this offseason, and later said he hoped he would get an invitation to attend the team's training camp, which begins Tuesday.

Mets get Minaya

Omar Minaya rejoined the New York Mets as their general manager. He was also given the title of executive vice president of baseball operations. Minaya spent the past three years as GM of the Montreal Expos. Before that, he was the Mets' senior assistant general manager for three seasons.

Colleges on probation

The NCAA placed Louisiana-Monroe and Stetson on probation for one year because of recruiting violations by a former women's coach Maria Zavala. The violations were found in 1991 when Zavala was moving from the Stetston job to the Monroe job.

Ex-Steeler killed

Justin Strzelczyk, a former offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, died in a fiery head-on collision with a tanker truck in Herkimer, N.Y., after he led state troopers on a 40-mile highway chase during morning rush hour.

Tiger shoots 68

Despite a sore back, Tiger Woods shot a 4-under 68 that left him in a large group two shots behind British Open champion Todd Hamilton after one round of the American Express Championship in Thomastown, Ireland.

Five in a row for UNLV

The UNLV women's team pushed its home winning streak to five with a 1-0 victory against Idaho State. Freshman midfielder Ashly O'Harrow scored her first career goal at 16:47 for UNLV (6-2-2).