Sports briefs for March 25, 2005

Friday, March 25, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

Magic, NASCAR chief discuss L.A. franchise

Former Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson says he and NASCAR chairman/CEO Brian France have held discussions concerning the purchase of an NFL team for Los Angeles.

Johnson, a co-chairman of NASCAR's diversity committee, said he has met three or four times with France in Los Angeles, where France has a home, and he said the two will meet again in two weeks.

"I'm working on trying to bring the NFL back to L.A.," Johnson said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. "I've met with the league three, four, five times, hopefully to be a minority owner."

Johnson has established several businesses since retiring from the NBA, bringing movie theaters and Starbucks franchises to inner-city locations -- including Los Angeles. He has an ownership stake in the Lakers and is a club vice president. In his capacity with NASCAR, he is trying to help get more minority-owned businesses involved in the sport.

New Mexico gets best of Rebels

UNLV scored seven runs in the final two innings of Thursday's game against New Mexico but it wasn't enough as the Rebels lost 10-8 at Isotopes Park in Alburquerque, their first loss in Mountain West Conference play this season.

The Rebels had cut their deficit to 5-3 in the top of the eighth but UNM (12-12 overall, 2-2 MWC) scored five runs, all unearned, in its half of the frame to go up 10-3, seemingly putting the game away. UNLV (9-17, 3-1) responded by plating five runs of its own in the top of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate with a runner on third and two outs.

Rebels 19th after one day of nationals

With two honorable mention All-America swims in the 200-yard free and 400-yard medley relays, UNLV scored 16 points to stand in 19th place after the first day of action on Thursday at the 2005 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at Minneapolis.

The Rebels placed 13th in the 200 free and 400 medley relays, which marks the highest finish ever for a UNLV relay team at the NCAA championships.

Fife, 25, gets Division II head coaching job

Former Indiana basketball star Dane Fife became the nation's youngest Division I coach when he was hired by Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne.

Fife, 25, was a catalyst on the Hoosiers' Final Four team that lost to Maryland in the 2002 NCAA final.

Gambling ring had referee list in advance

The referee at the center of German soccer's game-fixing scandal says a gambling ring knew in advance which officials would work Champions League and international matches.

Robert Hoyzer, who has admitted taking bribes to rig games, told investigators he saw the list of referees in a car belonging to a Berlin cafe owned by three Croatian brothers alleged to have run the scam, Der Spiegel magazine reported Thursday.

The brothers had lists of referees and UEFA delegates about a week before Champions League, UEFA Cup and national team games, Der Spiegel said.

UEFA, European soccer's ruling body, does not publish the names of referees and their assistants until two days before games.

The Berlin prosecutors' office declined to comment.