BRIEFLY : SOME BASEBALL OWNERS, OFFICIALS WANT SCHOTT OUT.

Marge Schott may be right when she says people are trying to force her out. Only it's not someone who wants to buy the Cincinnati Reds, it's other owners and top baseball officials.

Acting commissioner Bud Selig and National League president Len Coleman prefer that Schott step back from day-to-day operation of the Reds, two high-ranking baseball officials said this week.

Even before her controversial remarks this month to ESPN and Sports Illustrated, according to the officials, Major League Baseball was concerned with the way Schott was operating the Reds, especially her cutbacks in baseball operations and marketing.

AUTO RACING The rain held off and Billy Boat found the sailing smooth as he completed his rookie orientation test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He overcame the obstacle of the wettest May in the history of the track to become the 19th rookie to complete USAC's five-phase rookie orientation program for the race.

Kelly Denton, competing for a spot in just his fourth ARCA race, won the pole for Saturday's ADG Easy Care 100 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

Todd Bodine was picked to take over the Winston Cup driving duties of injured Bill Elliott, beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

BOXING Dave Dixon faces Cesar Rendon in a 12-round heavyweight bout tonight at the Veteran's Memorial Building in Culver City.

The card, the first in years at the 1,500-seat arena, begins at 7:30.

Riddick Bowe, the former undisputed heavyweight champion, will fight undefeated Andrew Golota on July 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Boxing's governing body in New York reportedly will investigate the reason heavyweight Bobby Czyz quit in his fight with Evander Holyfield last week.

ESPN reported that Czyz complained of an injured back between the fifth and sixth rounds of the bout at Madison Square Garden. But his trainer, Tommy Parks, insisted to the fighter that it was his eye that was hurt, presumably because Holyfield had liniment on his gloves.

BASKETBALL USC guard Damion Dawson, who was the team's top freshman, has decided to leave school, partly because of academic problems. The 6-foot-1 Dawson, who played high school ball at Long Beach Poly, could be headed to Long Beach City College, opening up a scholarship and a huge gap at point guard.

TENNIS Stefan Edberg showed a serve-and-volleyer can win on clay, upsetting second-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals.

No. 1 Thomas Muster moved closer to his fifth clay-court title of the year by rallying to beat Todd Martin, the last American in the field, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

SOCCER An Italian soccer player was beaten by fans in Salerno, Italy, apparently for accidentally kicking the ball into his own team's goal. Salernitana defender Gianluca Grassadonia told police he was ambushed in his garage on Wednesday, three days after his inadvertent goal.