Vikings, Wildcats To Decide District Title Tomorrow

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Western Washington University's Vikings don't care if the axiom isn't quite right - they hope the fourth time is the charm.

With their biggest game of the year (the NAIA District 1 men's championship contest tomorrow night at 7:30 in Ellensburg) looming, the Vikings (18-12) hope to accomplish something they failed to do three times earlier this season - defeat Central Washington.

The top-seeded Wildcats (27-6), who are riding a 12-game winning streak, are led by senior forward Jason Pepper, whose 18.3 points per game netted him district player-of-the-year honors. WWU is paced by senior forward Jay Shinnick, who averages 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game.

-- Seattle University's LaShanna White was named an NAIA All-American for the second consecutive year. White, a 6-foot-2 junior center, averaged 24.2 points and 13.3 rebounds and became her school's all-time leading scorer.

-- COLLEGE FOOTBALL

The Big Sky Conference Presidents' Council has launched a three-year plan to slash football scholarships by 27 percent and permit as many as two of the league's eight schools to withdraw from football competition.

-- Three Maine players tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug banned by the NCAA and have been stripped of their eligibility. The school refused to release their names, and the specific drug was not identified.

-- AWARDS

Speedskater Bonnie Blair, who won the 500-and 1,000-meter races in the Albertville Olympics, won the Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete in 1992.

-- OLYMPICS

Milan, Italy, is expected to withdraw its bid to stage the 2000 Summer Games after a meeting of the city's bid committee tonight. Still in the race are Beijing; Berlin; Brasilia, Brazil; Istanbul, Turkey; Manchester, England, and Sydney, Australia. -- TRACK AND FIELD

A record 60,000 tickets have been sold for the world indoor championships that open Friday night at Toronto's Skydome. The previous record was 40,000, for the 1987 meet in Indianapolis.

-- COLLEGE BASEBALL

Louisville will comply with an NCAA ruling and suspend seven players for from five to 12 games for allegedly wagering on college basketball games, university officials said.

The length of the suspensions depends upon the extent of each player's involvement.

-- BOXING

Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, 43, returns to the ring tonight in Bay St. Louis, Miss., for a bout against Rocky Pepeli, 28, in a 4,000-seat tent just outside Casino Magic. Holmes has a 55-4 record. Pepeli's is 16-6-1. -- SOCCER

England beat the United States 1-0 today in the world youth championships in Melbourne, Australia.

-- COLLEGE GOLF

Washington's men's team finished nine strokes behind the leader, San Jose State, after the first two rounds of the Oregon Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore. Washington was tied with Boise State and Long Beach State for fifth place heading into today's final 18 holes.

-- ADMINISTRATION

Dick Zornes will step down as athletic director at Eastern Washington University to devote more time to duties as football coach, the school said today. John Johnson, associate athletic director, will take over as interim director until a search for a permanent director can be completed.