BRIEFLY : SNOWBALL THROWER FINED.

The man photographed tossing snowballs during a New York Giants game in December was convicted Wednesday of improper behavior.

Jeffrey Lange, who became a national symbol of boorish fan behavior, was fined $500 and forced to pay another $150 in court fees and other costs. Lange's attorney, Robert Ballard Jr., said his client may appeal the ruling.

Ballard said the Giants and officials from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs the stadium, had singled out Lange from the thousands of snowball throwers.

Retired Rams player LeRoy Irwin, 38, was sentenced to 60 days in jail for spousal battery, and will be required to attend domestic violence counseling sessions for a year, a city prosecutor announced. A five-time All-Pro cornerback and a former coach at Cal State Northridge, Irwin pleaded no contest to charges that he punched a live-in companion during an argument about 1 a.m. Sunday at their Reseda apartment, according to a statement by Deputy City Attorney Kenneth Tso.

Van Nuys Municipal Court Judge Alan Ellis placed Irvin on threee years summary probation, and ordered the to stay away from the 40-year-old woman and to attend the counseling program.

Houston Oilers has been charged with mistreating 22 pit bulls seized at his property where authorities say the animals were being trained for dogfights. McNair, 30, was arrested Tuesday on cruelty-to-animal charges and released from the Gloucester County Jail in Woodbury, N.J., after posting $10,000 bail.

BASEBALL

The San Francisco Giants took their second big step in a week toward building a new waterfront ballpark. The team announced a $50 million marketing deal with Pacific Bell. Spread over 24 years, the agreement allows the telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Pacific Telesis, to name the stadium. They wasted no time: Pacific Bell Park.

BASKETBALL

Stephon Marbury made it official: One year of college basketball was enough to prepare him for the NBA. After one season at Georgia Tech, the 19-year-old guard said he had signed with an agent and would make himself available for the NBA draft.

Marbury was selected rookie of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference after averaging 18.9 points and 4.5 assists for the Yellow Jackets.

Even Dennis Rodman's likeness is getting ejected.

The painting of the Chicago Bulls forward on billboard-type advertising - blamed for tying up traffic heading downtown on a busy expressway for two weeks - will be painted over, officials of Bigsby & Kruthers clothiers, whose ad Rodman graces, said.

Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to the 1985 NCAA championship and later succeeded Jerry Tarkanian at Nevada-Las Vegas, has withdrawn as a candidate to coach at Gannon in Erie, Pa.

SOURCE: Daily News Staff and Wire Services