BRIEFLY : FOUR JUDGES SUSPENDED IN AIBA FLAP.

Byline: Associated Press

Four of the five judges who worked a disputed match in the World Amateur Boxing Championships were suspended Friday by the executive committee of the Amateur International Boxing Association.

AIBA general secretary Loring Baker said he was outraged at the diversity of scoring by the judges and vowed a complete investigation into the entire scoring system of amateur boxing.

``You hear the word corruption . . . creeping in and this is a policy that it's time to get tough with officials,'' Baker said. ``This is the toughest position I know of in my 50 years in boxing.''

Judges awarded welterweight Timour Gaidalov of Russia the gold medal Thursday night by a 5-3 margin over Juan Hernandez of Cuba, setting off an angry protest and demonstration by the Cubans.

Cuban heavyweight champion Felix Savon later refused to enter the ring for his fight and the title was awarded to Michael Bennett of Chicago.

After reviewing the Cuban protest, AIBA reversed the decision and awarded the gold medal to Hernandez.

Ricardo Juarez kept his hometown fans in Houston cheering with a solid victory over Tulkunbay Turgunov of Uzbekistan to win the featherweight gold medal in the World Amateur Boxing Championships.

TENNIS: Venus Williams beat Monica Seles 6-1, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Pilot Pen in New Haven, Conn., to set up her fourth meeting of the year with Lindsay Davenport and their second in a final.

The victory moved Williams into No. 3 in the world, the highest ranking of her meteoric five-year career.

Unseeded Sjeng Schalken of the Netherlands upset second-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile 6-4, 6-0 in quarterfinal play in the U.S. Pro Championships at Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Mass.

Magnus Norman continued his best season on the ATP Tour, upsetting top-seeded and third-ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the Hamlet Cup in Commack, N.Y.

GOLF: Paul Lawrie relied on stamina and confidence from winning the British Open to get through 35 holes and grab a share of the lead with Carlos Franco after two rounds of the NEC Invitational in Akron, Ohio.

Fiery Dottie Pepper, playing with the fierce determination that helped her go 4-0 in last year's Solheim Cup matches, set one tournament record and tied two with a 9-under-par 63 for a five-stroke lead at 14-under 130 in the second round of the Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing, Mich.

Ben Bates shot a 66 to take a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Reno-Tahoe Open in Reno, Nev.

Hale Irwin overtook Larry Nelson with a second-round 65 in the second round of the $1.35 million Canadian Senior Open in Ste-Julie, Quebec.