Bertuzzi's victim still suffers from injuries

Hockey

Moore still feeling effects of Bertuzzi's attack: Steve Moore says he has been forever changed by Todd Bertuzzi's blindsided punch to his head in an NHL game last season.

He is still feeling the effects from the March 8 attack when Moore and the Colorado Avalanche played Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks. And to make matters worse, Moore is upset that Bertuzzi was able to reach a plea bargain with prosecutors that made it impossible for Moore to be present for the sentencing hearing Wednesday.

Bertuzzi won't serve any jail time, and if he performs 80 hours of community service and meets his probation requirements, he won't have a criminal record.

Moore's hockey future is much cloudier. He declined to go into detail about his condition, but he said doctors have told him the resumption of his playing career is uncertain.

"I still suffer from significant postconcussion symptoms which prevent me from living a fully normal life," Moore said. "I'm just not the same person I was."

The Avalanche forward was hospitalized with a broken neck, facial cuts, postconcussion symptoms and amnesia after Bertuzzi slugged and jumped him from behind, driving him headfirst into the ice.

Bertuzzi pleaded guilty and received a year's probation during which he is not allowed to play in a game against Moore.

Tim Danson, Moore's lawyer, said he learned of the plea bargain on Monday and was given just one day's notice of the new court date, not enough time for Moore to get to Vancouver.

Moore wanted the chance to personally read his victim-impact statement, but instead it was delivered on his behalf.

Danson suggested that if Bertuzzi felt remorse, he would have ensured the victim would have been in court.

"I have never received a personal apology or a private apology," Moore said. "Apparently there was an apology (Wednesday) but I wasn't able to be there."

Moore, who does not have an NHL contract, suggested he won't file a civil lawsuit until doctors tell him he can't return to hockey.

Roenick will get portion of salary: In an agreement worked out with the Flyers, center Jeremy Roenick will be paid between $1.09 million and $1.5 million as an injured player for games he would have missed in October and November because of postconcussion syndrome, according to an NHL source.

Roenick was to receive $7.5 million this season. The deal will pay him six to eight weeks' worth of salary for the time the club believes he still would have been out injured had there not been a lockout.

Soccer

Colombian coach left paralyzed: Coach Luis Fernando Montoya is paralyzed from the neck down after being shot during an attempted robbery in Caldas, Colombia. Police reported the arrest of two men and two women suspected in the shooting.

Montoya, 47, led Once Caldas to this year's South American club championship.

Alvaro Uribe, president of Colombia, called the attack a "national tragedy."

Montoya is in intensive care at a hospital in Medellin.

Police identified the suspected shooter as Javier Alonso Calle, 37, and said he was arrested along with an accomplice. Authorities also have detained two women who allegedly followed Montoya's wife home after seeing her withdraw cash from an ATM.

USSF: Players' offer inadequate: Players on the U.S. national team made a new proposal that the U.S. Soccer Federation called inadequate, and it remains uncertain whether untested players will be used instead of the regulars for a World Cup qualifier in February.

USSF spokesman Jim Moorhouse said his organization calculated the union plan at a 108 percent increase, saying players on the national team earned $10.4 million from 1999 to 2002 and are asking for $22 million. Moorhouse said management's proposal would earn players $14.4 million.

Germans warn fans about ticket fraud: The German federation warned potential spectators against buying World Cup tickets from unauthorized agents, saying they could be prevented from entering stadiums for the matches.

The federation, which is especially fearful of fraud on the Internet, won a court ruling it hopes is the first step to limiting ticket problems for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Skiing

Maier settles claim: Austrian ski great Hermann Maier has settled out of court with a German insurance company over the 2001 road accident that nearly ended his career. His lawyer declined to reveal the terms of the settlement between Maier and the insurer of the German driver who was found negligent in the accident.

Olympics

Turin organizers seek funds: Organizers of the 2006 Turin Olympics said they are negotiating a transfer of funds from a public agency to cover a budget shortfall estimated to be more than $243 million.

Officials were meeting in Rome to finalize a transfer of funds from Sviluppo Italia, an agency linked to the Economy Ministry that promotes business development and investment.

Seattle Times news services