BRIEFLY : IOC SAYS SAMARANCH NORMALLY ACCEPTS GIFTS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday acknowledged its leader, Juan Antonio Samaranch, accepted firearms from Salt Lake Olympic boosters and that such gift-giving is commonplace.

IOC rules impose a $150 limit on gifts to committee members, but a top official of the organization implied that limit doesn't apply to Samaranch, who does not vote on which cities will play host to the Olympics.

``The exchange of gifts on the occasion of visits by the IOC president is customary and it has almost become a matter of protocol to do so,'' Francois Carrard, the IOC's director general, said.

His acknowledgment of the practice was in response to a report in the Salt Lake Tribune that Samaranch received two guns worth $1,000 from the Salt Lake bid committee a month before Salt Lake won the right to host the 2002 Winter Games.

TRACK AND FIELD: A 12-year-old girl testified that former Ohio State track star Chris Nelloms raped her eight times but she didn't immediately tell anyone because she was scared. The girl told a Montgomery County Common Pleas Court jury in Dayton, Ohio, that the first assault occurred in 1996 when she was 9.

NHL: Gnida, the limousine driver in the 1997 crash that injured three members of the Detroit Red Wings, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating terms of his two-year probation.

Ron Illitch, the son of the owner of the Detroit Red Wings, told police he believes his brother Michael stole his 1995 Stanley Cup ring and gold-plated team watch from his hotel room and pawned them for drug money.

Vancouver center Peter Zezel will miss at least four weeks after being diagnosed with a small fracture in his left tibia, the club announced.

BASEBALL: Montreal offered free agent Bob Tewksbury a one-year contract, although the pitcher's agent said he won't accept it unless the team increases the salary.

Detroit completed its coaching staff by hiring longtime major-leaguer Juan Samuel and making Alan Trammell hitting coach.

NBA: Steve Javie, the second NBA referee to go on trail for his involvement in an airline-ticket scam, said he didn't report more than $84,000 in income over three years because the money was value earned from frequent-flyer miles, which are not taxed.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Former Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan was named offensive coordinator at Alabama-Birmingham, coach Watson Brown said.

TENNIS: Defending champion Petr Korda, in his first appearance since it was revealed he had tested positive for drugs at Wimbledon last year, was upset by Morocco's Karim Alami 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-3 in the opening round of the $1 million Qatar Open.

RACING: Jim Kropfeld, a three-time national champion driver in unlimited hydroplane racing, died of cancer Sunday in a nursing home in Cincinnati. He was 58.