Sports briefs for June 3, 2005

Friday, June 3, 2005 | 10:53 a.m.

Beamon, Coe squabble as 2012 decision nears

Two of the most famous Olympians are squabbling over a photograph - a sign of the tension between rival cities in the final weeks of the race for the 2012 Games.

Bob Beamon, the former long jump gold medalist and world record holder, is upset London is using his picture in a brochure promoting its Olympic bid. The American backs New York.

The photo shows Beamon as he soars to a world record at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, jumping 29 feet, 2_half(c) inches. The record stood for 23 years.

Beamon accused London of a "fundamental breach" of an Olympian's right to control his own image and demanded that London withdraw the brochure. London bid chairman Sebastian Coe, a two-time gold medalist at 1,500 meters, refused.

"No, we are not planning to withdraw it," London bid spokeswoman Jackie Brock-Doyle said Friday.

The dispute comes just more than a month before the International Olympic Committee selects the 2012 host in Singapore on July 6. Paris, Madrid and Moscow are also candidates.

Governor upset that anthem wasn't played

U.S. and international soccer officials are puzzled over acting governor Richard J. Codey's outrage that "The Star-Spangled Banner" was not played before a match between England and Colombia.

Codey attended Tuesday's match at Giants Stadium and became annoyed when the U.S. national anthem was not played along with the anthems of the countries in the match -- even though that is the normal protocol.

He said he immediately asked game organizers why it wasn't played and was told, "Governor, we're really very sorry. The British people don't want to hear it," The Star-Ledger of Newark reported.

Contreras fight being investigated

The California State Athletic Commission will investigate the boxing match in which Mexican flyweight Ruben Contreras quit fighting in the sixth round, suffered a seizure and needed brain surgery.

The commission has requested a tape of last Saturday's fight between Contreras and Brian Viloria from promoter Top Rank Boxing and will review the event round by round.

Contreras, of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, stopped fighting in the sixth round and complained of a headache. He had the seizure less than 10 minutes after the bout ended.

Force's Plank named coach of year

Doug Plank led the Georgia Force to the top seed in the Arena Football League playoffs, earning him Coach of the Year honors.

Plank, in his first AFL season as a head coach, was chosen in voting among the coaches in the league. He leads the Force against the Orlando Predators on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the ArenaBowl.

Plank, 52, was hired last July 30 after spending three seasons as the Arizona Rattlers' defensive coordinator. The Rattlers made the ArenaBowl in all three of those years.

NHL talks take an optimistic turn

As the NHL and the players association met in Toronto on Thursday, there was a growing sense of optimism that an agreement could be reached this month to end the lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the 2004-05 season.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Bill Daly, the league's executive vice president, said Thursday before the groups, led by commissioner Gary Bettman and the union executive director, Bob Goodenow, met. "But we also realize that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, that there are still issues that need to be resolved." -- Sun wire services