BRIEFLY : SIMI'S TORING STILL IN COMA.

Byline: - Daily News Wire Services

U.S. national water polo team and former UCLA and Harvard-Westlake High star Jim Toring remains in a coma Thursday as the result of being hit by a bus while in Paris participating in a tournament.

The accident occurred early Monday morning when Toring came from behind a parked bus and stepped into the path of an oncoming bus. He was thrown 30 feet and suffered severe trauma to his head.

Toring, a Simi Valley resident, was a four-time All-American in water polo at Harvard-Westlake and the Southern Section player of the year in 1993. He was MVP of the NCAA tournament in '95 and '96 when the Bruins won the national title.

NBA: Rashard Lewis, a 6-10, 212-pound standout at Houston's Elsik High, declared for the NBA draft, becoming the latest prep school star to bypass college for the lure of the pros.

As a senior, Lewis averaged 28.2 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.0 blocks and 4.3 steals per game, shooting 73 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

After leading his team to a 32-5 record and reaching the regional finals, Lewis played in three high-profile all-star games, including the Magic Johnson Roundball Classic, where he was named MVP.

GOLF: Jack Nicklaus, fresh off his run at the Masters, holed a 9-iron from 138 yards for an eagle at the first hole and went on to a 4-under-par 68 and a share of the first-round lead of the PGA Seniors' Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

After his spectacular start, Nicklaus made four birdies, all on putts from inside 10 feet, and two bogeys, twice missing 8-footers for par.

Meg Mallon, fighting a cold, set an LPGA record with 11 birdies and tied another record with a 10-under-par 62 to take a three-stroke lead after the opening round of the Myrtle Beach Classic at Murrells Inlet, S.C.

Masters champ Mark O'Meara shot a solid, unspectacular 1-under-par 70, putting him four shots behind the lead after the opening round at the MCI Classic in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

TENNIS: Michael Chang, troubled since March with an aching knee, lost to Hendrik Dreekman of Germany 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the third round of the Japan Open.

HOCKEY: Chicago's Gary Suter was given extra security for Wednesday's visit to Toronto after receiving death threats for his cross-check that ended the season for the Ducks' Paul Kariya in February, the Blackhawks said.

It was the U.S.-born defenseman's first trip to Canada since the incident, which left Kariya, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native, with a severe concussion and forced him off Canada's Olympic Team. Chicago has no more trips to Canada this season.

Former Pittsburgh center Petr Nedved will head back to the Czech Republic after an independent arbitrator ruled him ineligible to play in the International Hockey League.

Nedved, who had played three games with the IHL's Las Vegas Thunder under a court injunction, was deemed ineligible because he played with Sparta Prague, a high-level team in the Czech Republic, in March.Though he wasn't paid to play, IHL rules prohibit players who played for non-North American teams to join the league after Feb. 2.