BRIEFLY HORSE PULLED OUT OVER WEIGHT ISSUE.

Byline: - Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Medaglia d'Oro will not run in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday because trainer Bobby Frankel is unhappy with the horse's 124-pound weight assignment.

Both Medaglia d'Oro and Congaree were assigned co-high weight for the 1 1/4-mile race.

``I don't want to start the horse off this early in the year with 124 pounds because where will it go from here?'' Frankel said Tuesday.

FOOTBALL: Attorneys for the Minnesota Vikings say the diet supplement ephedra contributed to Korey Stringer's death from heatstroke at training camp in 2001.

The team was responding to a motion filed by Stringer's widow, Kelci, in her $100 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the team, scheduled for trial June 9.

--USC coach Pete Carroll fired assistant coach Keith Uperesa and promoted graduate assistant Rocky Seto to full-time assistant in charge of safeties. Carroll also promoted defensive-line coach Ed Orgeron to assistant head coach.

Uperesa split duties between coaching tight ends and offensive tackles last season, and shared duties with Tim Davis, who now will coach the entire offensive line.

Also, USC announced quarterback Carson Palmer has been added to its next class of Hall of Fame inductees and will be honored at a ceremony May 3.

BOXING: Olympian Rocky Juarez will be the featured fighter on the first of three Saturday fight cards in May on NBC.

Boxing returns to the network May 3 for the first time in 11 years with a 10-round featherweight fight between Juarez (15-0, with 11 knockouts) and Frankie Archuleta (22-3-1, 13 KOs).