Whites Support Alleged Gang Leader

Reggie White and his wife are offering to help post bail for a man facing racketeering and narcotics charges in federal court in Milwaukee.

White, who retired from the Green Bay Packers earlier this year, and his wife, Sara, said they would pledge $25,000 of the equity in their Green Bay home to help raise bail for Gamaliel Matos, 29, whom prosecutors say is a leader of the Latin Kings.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Whites wrote a letter a year ago in support of Matos, one of 33 alleged Latin Kings named in indictments in June 1998.

Matos, who was working as a youth mentor when indicted, is charged with two racketeering counts and conspiring to distribute narcotics. The racketeering counts allege he was involved in drug trafficking in 1987, an attempted car arson in 1988, an attempted murder in 1988 and drug conspiracy.

The Whites said in their letter that they met Matos in 1996 when Reggie White, a minister, was preaching at a Milwaukee church.

"After Gama's dedication to God, he became a new creature," they wrote. "It was the new Gama that every one of our friends knows; you see, the people he impacted after he changed cannot imagine the `old' Gama. He has been so instrumental in helping us get to the street kids and in helping changing the lives of many without hope."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Larsen said Matos has avoided prosecution after some of his arrests "through intimidation of witnesses."

PAN AMERICAN GAMES

Cuban weightlifter Hidalberto Aranda set a world clean-and-jerk record for the 77-kilogram division. Aranda lifted 205.5 kilograms (453 pounds) at that international competition in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In soccer, the U.S. under-18 national women's team, supplemented by several older players, won the gold with a 1-0 victory over Mexico. Catherine Reddick scored after a series of magnificent moves in the first half, and goalie Hope Solo had a pair of outstanding saves to preserve the win.

In swimming, record performances by Staciana Stitts and Karen Campbell gave the U.S. women's team a boost.

Stitts, 17, smashed the Pan Am record in the 100-meter breaststroke, finishing in 1 minute, 9.16 seconds. Campbell shattered the record in the 100 butterfly in the preliminaries in 59.70, then won the final in 1:00.05, the first time in this competition the final was slower than the heats.

HORSE RACING

Jockey Rudy Baez was paralyzed from the waist down after his spinal cord was severed in a spill at Rockingham Park in Salem, N.H., according to his agent, Mike Szpuk.

Baez, 49, the top jockey in New England, was listed in serious condition after seven hours of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"He can move his arms and he can breathe," Szpuk said. "It doesn't look like he'll be able to walk at all. He's going to be confined to a wheelchair. His riding career is over."

Baez was thrown from his mount when the horse went down during a race on Wednesday. The horse, Gaitor Bait, clipped the heels of the horse in front of him.

TENNIS

Martina Hingis lost just seven points on her serve in the second set and beat Dominique Van Roost 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the TIG Classic in Carlsbad, Calif.

Hingis broke Van Roost twice in rolling through the first set in 31 minutes.

Hingis, the No. 2 seed, advanced to a semifinal against the winner of today's match between Amanda Coetzer and Amy Frazier.

Other quarterfinal pairings today pitted Lindsay Davenport against Anke Huber and Venus Williams against Sandrine Testud, who defeated Aranxta Sanchez-Vicario 6-2, 7-5.

-- Andre Agassi, whose first-round match was washed out by rain, won twice to move into the quarterfinals of the du Maurier Open in Montreal.

Agassi opened with a 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-3 victory over Richey Reneberg, then ousted Michael Chang 6-2, 7-5.

Patrick Rafter of Australia reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic.

AUTO RACING

A day after celebrating his 28th birthday, Jeff Gordon had another big day on the 2 1/2-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Gordon set an Indy stock-car qualifying record with a lap of 179.612 mph, grabbing his third pole in six tries on the track where he is the only two-time winner of NASCAR's Brickyard 400. He broke the record of 179.394 set last August by Ernie Irvan in taking the top spot for tomorrow's race.

-- Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., held off Stacy Compton to win the Power Stroke 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park and take over the lead in the Craftsman Truck Series driver standings. Biffle took the lead on the 160th lap and beat Compton by .261 seconds.

NHL

Goaltender Stephane Fiset won his salary arbitration hearing with the Los Angeles Kings, while Philadelphia defenseman Dan McGillis avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year contract.

Fiset, 29, was the Kings' No. 1 goalie last season, posting a career-best 2.60 goals-against average.

Buffalo defenseman Jason Woolley was given a one-year contract after his arbitration hearing.

SOCCER

Chicago scored twice within five minutes in the first half and cruised to a 2-1 Major League Soccer victory over host Kansas City.

COLLEGES

The NCAA Division I board of directors decided there is "no compelling reason" to change Proposition 16 requirements on freshman eligibility pending a challenge in federal court.

In March, a federal judge said the NCAA bylaw dictating requirements for freshmen at the association's 302 Division I schools had an "unjustified disparate impact on African-Americans."

The 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia granted the NCAA a stay, and arguments are scheduled to be heard Sept. 14.

-- Temple extended the contract of basketball coach John Chaney through the 2002 season.

Chaney, who has coached at Temple since 1982, has a 380-160 record with the Owls, the best in the school's history. Overall, Chaney has a 605-219 record in 27 years of college coaching.

-- Larry Farmer's contract to coach basketball at Loyola was extended for two years, taking him through the 2002-2003 season. The Ramblers went 9-18 last season, Farmer's first with the team. They were 8-8 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, their best conference record since 1986-87.

CYCLING

Laurent Jalabert, the world's No. 1 cyclist, was released from a hospital in Madrid and might return to racing in time for next month's Tour of Spain.

The Frenchman was treated for head and collarbone injuries from a spill in a race last weekend.

The hospital staff knew Jalabert was well enough to go home when he sneaked out of his room to dine at a Madrid restaurant.

"I was a bit bored, so I decided to leave the hospital to eat," he said.