BRIEFLY : INJURY SIDELINES KWAN.

Michelle Kwan, hurting from a stress fracture in her left foot, withdrew Thursday from another pre-Olympic figure skating event, less than a month before she is due to compete for a place on the U.S. team.

Kwan, who was examined by her doctor Wednesday after complaining of ``slight pain,'' is expected to be completely healed in time for the national championships in Philadelphia on Jan. 4-11, the U.S. Figure Skating Association said.

But the decision to skip the Champions Series Final in Munich on Dec. 19-21 marked the second time the six-week-old injury knocked the 1996 world champion and Olympic gold-medal favorite out of a major Winter Games warmup. The injury also forced Kwan out of the NHK Trophy event on the Olympic ice in Nagano.

Kwan suffered the injury during Skate Canada in early November.

SOCCER: Plans to start a women's first-division soccer league in the United States ended when the National Soccer Alliance withdrew its application to the U.S. Soccer Federation.

The NSA had announced plans in April to start an eight-team league featuring at least 18 members of the Olympic champion U.S. team, playing a 20-game schedule.

GOLF:Duffy Waldorf's short par putt on the 18th hole propelled him and teammate Tom Lehman, the defending champions, to victory in the first round of the Diners Club Matches at La Quinta.

Waldorf's par defeated John Cook and Tommy Tolles 1-up.

The PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA Tours each had eight two-player teams entered. The first three days consist of a round-robin match play, with the finals on Sunday.

The LPGA's Diners Club defending champions, Juli Inkster and Dottie Pepper, defeated Betsy King and Chris Johnson 6 and 4.

Walter Morgan's 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th gave him and teammate Bob Eastwood a 1-up victory over defending champions Jim Colbert and Bob Murphy in the senior tour division.

NBA: The Washington Wizards fined guard Rod Strickland and forward Tracy Murray $25,000 each for fighting.

The two came to blows at the team hotel Wednesday in Charlotte before the Wizards' 104-101 loss to the Hornets.

The Washington Post reported in Thursday's editions that a dispute had been brewing between the two over a telephone conversation between Murray and a woman in Los Angeles. The woman taped the conversation, during which Murray made disparaging remarks about Strickland, and then played the tape for Strickland.

Antoine Carr is going to stick around the NBA, after all. Following a closed-door meeting with Utah coach Jerry Sloan, Carr decided to stay with the Jazz instead of retiring.

On Wednesday, a frustrated Carr threatened to end his 12-year NBA career immediately.

NHL: The Kings have recalled center Nathan LaFayette from Fredericton, New Brunswick, and have assigned center Roman Vopatto the AHL minor-league team.

LaFayette, 24, had 13 points (five points, eight assists) in 26 games this season. Last year, he played 15 games for the Kings. He had four points (one, three).

Vopat, 21, has two assists in 14 games with L.A.

All-Star right wing Jaromir Jagr is close to signing a new contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins that could pay him more than $50 million over seven years, team owner Howard Baldwin said.

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Photo

Photo: MICHELLE KWAN

A stress fracture in the skater's left foot will prevent her from competing in an Olympic warmup meet in Munich.