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BOXING LAS VEGAS: Mike Tyson may never go down as one of the great heavyweights in history. He's wasted too much time and talent for that. He may, however, be the luckiest. And that might be one explanation why, seven weeks after Nevada boxing regulators told him to take a hike, two cities are still feverishly vying for the right to stage his fight with Lennox Lewis. One will likely be selected in the next few days, though Tyson's critics - and there are many - will argue that the real winners are those who won't have anything to do with someone whose behavior has been so abhorrent at times. But whether Memphis or Washington lands the fight, or Detroit makes a successful dark horse bid, one thing is certain: When Mike Tyson is involved, people will be watching. They might not watch for the right reasons. But they will watch. Because of that, a fighter who has done nothing inside the ring to deserve to fight for the heavyweight title will now make another $ 20 million or so on June 8 if his fight with Lewis actually goes on as planned.

SWIMMING MELBOURNE: Australia's world champion swimmer Ian Thorpe was so fast he was able to surf his own waves in the pool, Australia team biomechanist Bruce mason said on Thursday. Mason said scientists could not explain how Thorpe, whose size 17 feet power the most devastating kick in swimming, propelled himself efficiently through the water. ``You've got in Ian Thorpe a swimmer capable of reaching a certain velocity, who produces a more pronounced wave (directly in front of him) than anyone else,'' Mason was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun newspaper.

FOOTBALLLA CORUNA (Spain): Bayer Leverkusen swept to a 3-1 victory at Deportivo de La Coruna to clinch first place in European Champions League Group D on Wednesday. A first-half header by midfielder Michael Ballack, a shot by international team-mate Bernd Schneider after the interval and a late header by substitute Oliver Neuville gave the German side 10 points in the group. Deportivo, whose goal came in the second half through substitute international striker Diego Tristan, also has 10 points but finishes in second place head-to-head. Arsenal, which lost 1-0 at Juventus, ends third with seven points and is eliminated.

Second round results: Group C: Panathinaikos (Greece) 2, Real Madrid (Spain) 2; Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) 2, FC Porto (Portugal) 0. Group D: Deportivo de La Coruna (Spain) 1, Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 3; Juventus (Italy) 1, Arsenal (England) 0.

ZURICH: FIFA world rankings as of March 20: 1. France, 807 points; 2. Argentina, 793; 3. Brazil, 788; 4. Italy, 738; 5. Colombia, 735; 6. Portugal, 733; 7. Spain, 728; 8. Mexico, 719; 9. Netherlands, 718; 10. Germany, 710; 11. Yugoslavia, 708; 12. England, 704; 13. United States, 702; 14. Czech Republic, 692; 15. Paraguay, 685.

MILAN: Hoping to return to action in Sunday's crucial Serie A match against defending champion AS Roma, Inter's Brazilian star Ronaldo looked fit as he played 36 minutes of a warmup match with a junior team on Wednesday. Ronaldo has been troubled by a string of muscle problems this season on his return from a two-year absence due to a right knee injury. He played his last match for title-chasing Inter in mid December. ``I think this was a test for Ronaldo to regain the proper form,'' said club President Massimo Moratti, after watching the Brazilian star in action.

F-1 RACINGMARANELLO (Italy): Ferrari's Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello successfully completed a race distance on Wednesday at the Barcelona circuit during the second day of tests of the brand-new F2002 car. Meanwhile, Luca Badoer, the test driver of the Italian Formula One team, continued the development programme of the `old' F2001 model which was started in the two first championship races of the season, in Australia and Malaysia. Barrichello was quoted in the team website as saying he had a good feeling with the new car. ``But it's not up to me to decide whether starting the new car in the next Grand Prix in Brazil,'' Barrichello said.

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