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Sports Briefs

■ Soccer
Aussie to referee Cup final
Australian Mark Shield will referee the Asian Cup final between Iraq and Saudi Arabia today, the Asian Football Confederation said. Shield, 33, impressed tournament officials with his work in four games at the Asian Cup. Shield has officiated at two World Cup tournaments, debuting at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan with a match between Belgium and Tunisia. At last year's World Cup in Germany, he refereed group matches between Iran and Angola and Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, Shield was named Australian referee of the year for the second time.

■ Football
Nike suspends Vick contract
Nike suspended its contract with Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on Friday and will pull goods with his name off the shelves at stores the company owns. In a statement, the company said it had not terminated the contract, as animal-rights activists had urged the company to do after Vick was accused of federal dogfighting charges. "Nike has suspended Michael Vick's contract without pay, and will not sell any more Michael Vick product at Nike-owned retail at this time," the company said. Vick pleaded not guilty on Thursday to participating in a dogfighting ring that allegedly executed underperforming pit bulls.

■ Boxing
Johnson knocks out Moore
Former IBF light-heavyweight champion Glen Johnson of Jamaica knocked out US boxer Fred Moore in the fifth round on Friday. Johnson dropped Moore with a right-left combination to the head late in the round. With a dazed Moore on the canvas, referee Frank Gentile didn't bother to count and ended the bout at 2:45. "I took my time and waited for the opportunity," Johnson said. Before Johnson (46-11-2, 31 KOs) landed his two-punch combination, he hurt Moore near the ropes with strong power punching. Bleeding from the nose, Moore (30-7) couldn't avoid Johnson's attack while he was pinned on the ropes. Johnson, now living in Miami, was the busier fighter from the opening round. He scored with rights to the head and lefts to the body.

■ Athletics
Leak effects dismissed
Federal prosecutors say media leaks did not compromise the deliberations of the grand jury that indicted elite track coach Trevor Graham on perjury charges. Graham's lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing widely published reports by The Associated Press saying Graham "was expected to be indicted" were grounds for dismissal. The reports, issued a day before the indictment was made public, cited two Justice Department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. In court papers filed in federal court on Friday, the US attorney's office said the leaks did not influence the grand jury.

■ Rugby
Pichot to lead Cup team
Scrumhalf Agustin Pichot will lead Argentina in his fourth World Cup after being named as captain in the 30-man squad announced by coach Marcelo Loffreda on Friday for the tournament starting in September in France. Pichot, who turns 33 next month, is the sole surviving Puma from the 1995 tournament in South Africa where he was a reserve. Other core members of Loffreda's squad, including back Felipe Contepomi and forwards Gonzalo Longo, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Mario Ledesma and Omar Hasan, have two World Cups under their belts.


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