BRIEFLY : BILLS' JOHNSON SIGNS FOR BIG STACK OF BILLS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Buffalo Bills quarterback Rob Johnson, a former Heisman Trophy candidate at USC, signed a $25 million, five-year deal Tuesday that includes a franchise-record $8.5 million signing bonus.

Bills owner Ralph Wilson said it was one game, Johnson's only NFL start, that convinced him to bank on the 25-year-old, acquired from Jacksonville in February in exchange for Buffalo's first- and fourth-round draft picks.

``He's got a great arm. He's got great mobility,'' Wilson said, ``and right now he's got a lot of money.''

Johnson, a backup behind Mark Brunell for three years in Jacksonville, completed 20 of 24 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns in his only career start at Baltimore last season.

Greg Lloyd, a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker whose nasty temperament and aggressive play personified the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense for much of the 1990s, was released. Lloyd, 33, is coming off two serious injuries in as many seasons.

Former Notre Dame player Chris Clevenger testified that ex-assistant coach Joe Moore, suing the school for age discrimination, once punched him so severely that blood poured from his mouth. He also said that, despite the abuse, he respected Moore and said the former offensive line coach helped him more than anyone else in his five years at Notre Dame. He even said he missed the coach during the 1997 season.

SOCCER: Brazilian fans turned out by the thousands to give their team a heroes' welcome to the capital of Brasilia, despite their worst World Cup defeat ever. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso hailed ``our glorious team'' and bestowed the National Merit Order on each player at a ceremony in the Presidential Palace.

A bystander hit by a car during a World Cup celebration along the Champs-Elysees has died. The unidentified victim died at the Beaujon hospital in Clichy, near Paris, a hospital spokesman said. Thirty-three people were hospitalized after the accident early Monday. A woman apparently panicked when the crowd pounded her vehicle and she plowed into a crowd of revelers. About 80 people were injured.

BASEBALL: The Cincinnati Reds will retire the late Ted Kluszewski's uniform No. 18 prior to Saturday night's game against the San Diego Padres. Kluszewski played first base for the Reds from 1947-57, hitting 251 home runs during that span. The four-time All-Star led the NL with 49 home runs and 141 RBI in 1954.

HOCKEY: The sale of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning to Art Williams for $117 million was completed, making the retired Palm Beach, Fla., insurance executive the franchise's second owner in its six-year history.

MOTOR SPORTS: Six days after being fired from his driving job on NASCAR's Winston Cup circuit, Todd Bodine landed a familiar job in the Busch Grand National series. Team 34 officials announced that they were replacing struggling first-year Grand National driver Mike Cope with Bodine, effective with this weekend's race at California Speedway.