Sports briefs for August 17, 2005

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

Chicken, Phanatic make first class

The Famous Chicken, the Phillie Phanatic and the Phoenix Suns' Gorilla are the first inductees of the Mascot Hall of Fame.

The representatives of the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies baseball teams and the Suns basketball team were chosen ahead of 11 other finalists, including Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald.

To be eligible, a mascot must have been in existence at least 10 years, have had a major impact on its sport, industry and community, and have had a consistent performance that is both memorable and groundbreaking, the hall's release said.

Kyle Busch fined for post-race altercation

Kyle Busch was fined $10,000 and placed on probation until the end of the year by NASCAR on Tuesday for hitting another competitor's car after the Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen International.

Busch, a Las Vegas native, and Anthony Lazzaro made contact late in Sunday's andrace, Busch responded by slamming into Lazzaro after the event.

"The punk crashed me on the cooldown lap," Lazzaro said. "It just shows me this guy never built or worked on a car."

NASCAR said Stewart, driving a Busch series car owned by fellow Nextel Cup competitor Kevin Harvick, bumped into the car driven by Brian Vickers as the two headed for pit road.

NCAA, NIT reach settlement

The NCAA and the National Invitation Tournaments settled their differences in federal court Tuesday, likely ending a civil trial in which the NIT had claimed that the NCAA was trying to put it out of business.

A jury that had been listening to NIT witnesses and evidence in Manhattan was sent home for the day by U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum after lawyers said a deal had been struck to end the dispute.

"We anticipate a complete resolution of the entire litigation," NIT lawyer Jeffrey Kessler told Cedarbaum. "We reached an oral agreement on all the principled terms, but it is complex so we are going to spend today writing it all up."

An NCAA spokesman did not immediately return a telephone call for comment. Lawyers on both sides did not immediately return telephone calls for comment.

-- Sun wire services