For The Record

Jinxed
By light-hitting IBF welterweight champion Cory Spinks, the heavily favored WBC and WBA king, Ricardo Mayorga, in a majority decision at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Following in the tradition of his father, Leon (who upset Muhammad Ali in 1978), and his uncle Michael (who upset Larry Holmes in '85), 25-year-old Cory (32-2, 11 KOs) gave Nicaragua's chain-smoking, trash-talking "Matador" (SI, Dec. 8) his first loss in five years and scuttled plans for a March 13 fight with Sugar Shane Mosley. Wearing trunks that read SPINKS JINX, the St. Louis southpaw eluded enough of Mayorga's wild-swinging charges to become the first undisputed 147-pound champ in 17 years. Until his mother's death in '99, Spinks hardly knew his dentally challenged dad. But Leon was at ringside last Saturday and hugged Cory after the win. "I knew he could do it, if he put his mind to it," Leon said, weeping openly. "I'm very proud of him."

Retired
After 31 seasons, Indiana men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley, whose 544 wins are the most in Division I history. On Sunday, Indiana beat St. John's 2-1 for a record sixth national title. Yeagley announced his retirement at the start of the season, and it had appeared he was challenging University of San Francisco coach Stephen Negoesco's record of 544 wins. But earlier this month four of Negoesco's wins (from the 1978 NCAA tournament) were vacated because San Francisco had used an ineligible player. The discovery of the illegal wins was prompted by questions from reporters covering Yeagley's retirement; word that Negoesco's record now stood at 540 came the day after Yeagley won number 541 in Indiana's last home game. "It's been great," says Yeagley. "I think I've heard from every alum who ever wore a Hoosier soccer jersey."

Settled
For $7.5 million, a lawsuit filed by former WBC junior welterweight champ Terry Norris against boxing promoter Don King. Norris, 36, who suffers from brain damage related to boxing, claimed King, 70, had conspired to shortchange him on eight purses between June 1994 and January '97. "It's now clear that King can be beaten," says Judd Burstein, Norris's lawyer. "The reaction in the boxing world has been extraordinary. It's like how everybody reacted when the house fell on the Wicked Witch." King settled, Burstein notes, after a New York Supreme Court jury asked for a calculator, as well as a magnifying glass to examine the fine print of contracts. "It's nothing but legal extortion," King told reporters last Thursday. "Skillful using of the law and playing the game on something that everybody in the world knows I had nothing to do with."

Started
At quarterback in last weekend's Pop Warner national championships at Disney World, Jasmine Plummer, the first girl to play the position in the 56-year history of the peewee tournament. Jasmine, 11, is captain of the Harvey (Ill.) Colts, who finished third in the 9-to-11-year-old group at the championships after going 8-1 during the season. The 4'9", 90-pound Plummer, a straight-A student at Angelou Elementary School who also wrestles competitively (against boys), started playing football when she was six. "She's the best all—around player I've coached, next to [current Steelers receiver] Antwaan Randle El," says Jim Stovall, who has coached the Harvey Colts since 1974. "She does it all-scramble, throw and she's a true leader."