BRIEFLY : HORNETS' MASON ARRESTED AFTER SCUFFLE.

Anthony Mason's home basketball court may now be in Charlotte, but other courts in which he appears - criminal and civil - remain in New York.

The former Knicks forward, traded this month to the Hornets, was arrested Wednesday as police broke up a disorderly dispute on a Manhattan street corner.

Mason, 29, was held on charges of assault, menacing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

The incident, at 2:40 a.m. EDT in Times Square, began as a ``verbal dispute with a few unidentified people,'' police spokeswoman Sarah Carpenter said. She said Mason became ``disruptive and disorderly'' when police tried to break it up.

Three officers were hurt slightly tangling with the 6-foot-7, 250-pound player.

The New York Knicks eased a logjam at guard by trading Hubert Davis to Toronto in exchange for a first-round draft choice.

Former Kentucky guard and Final Four Most Valuable Player Tony Delk, the 16th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, signed a three-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets. The team did not release terms of the deal.

Steve Nash, the Phoenix Suns' top draft choice and potential successor to Kevin Johnson at point guard, signed a three-year contract worth about $3.1 million.

Robert Pack, the talented point guard who has missed chunks of the last two seasons with knee injuries, reached an agreement with the New Jersey Nets on a multi-year contract. Anthony Hilliard, Pack's agent, said the sides hoped to sign the contract sometime this weekend.

FOOTBALL

Junior tailback Fred Taylor won't be the only Florida player facing suspension when the season begins, coach Steve Spurrier said. Freshman cornerback Dock Pollard and sophomore offensive tackle Pat Browning will miss games due to ``conduct inappropriate for a Florida football player,'' Spurrier said.

The NFL hopes to resolve the seasonlong campus ban on pro scouts at Nebraska, a league official said. ``I think we can work out these problems,'' said George Young, chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee, which handles college relations.

Coach Tom Osborne announced the ban Tuesday, blaming an unspecified ``combination of things'' that includes the drafting and release of former defensive tackle Christian Peter by the New England Patriots.

Atlanta rookie defensive tackle Shannon Brown is out for the season after injuring his knee during the Atlanta Falcons' second day of practice.

ETC.

Tish Johnson of Northridge was sixth (14-10-0, 5,626) and Robin Romeo of Newhall was 27th (10-14-0, 5,167) after 40 regular games and 24 match games in the Greater Charleston Open bowling tournament in Goose Creek, S.C. . . . Bothered at the outset by his opponent's serve, Thomas Muster regrouped to beat Emilio Sanchez of Spain 6-3, 6-3 in his first singles match at the $435,000 Generali Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria. . . .

Marco Antonio Barrera, who has stayed busy in the ring since winning the WBO junior featherweight title in March of 1995, will defend his crown against top-ranked contender Jesse Magana on Sept. 14 at the Forum. Barrera, a 22-year-old from Mexico City, is 42-0 with 30 knockouts. Magana, 23, from Hanford, Calif., is 18-4-2 with eight knockouts.