ESPN's DAN PATRICK has been voted "national
sportscaster of the year" by the NATIONAL SPORTSCASTERS &
SPORTSWRITERS ASSOCIATION (Mult., 1/25)....REV. JESSE
JACKSON announced a campaign to "encourage" Titans and Rams
players "to wear the American flag," on their helmets during
Sunday's Super Bowl in order "to protest" GA's state flag
which "incorporates the Confederate battle flag" (DALLAS
MORNING NEWS, 1/25)....LENNOX LEWIS has filed suit against
DON KING, charging that King "fraudulently got him to sign a
contract that obligated him to fight a sick man." The suit
claims that King "required" Lewis, in order to get a second
bout against EVANDER HOLYFIELD, to "agree" to fight HENRY
AKINWANDE if he beat Holyfield. Lewis' suit seeks to null
the contract on the grounds that King and his company, Don
King Productions, "fraudulently failed to disclose --
although they knew -- that Akinwande had hepatitis" (AP,
1/23)....Mavericks rookie LEON SMITH is releasing a CD "in
which he'll be rapping poetry" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/24)....In
Chicago, Warren & Armour reported "rumors abound" that ANNA
KOURNIKOVA has "dumped" Red Wings C SERGEI FEDOROV for
tennis player MARK PHILIPPOUSSIS (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/24).