Wrath of Khan stirred by fishy fight ruling

Amir Khan is hoping to get some action in Washington, D.C., a place where little seems to get done these days.

Khan, the former WBA and IBF junior welterweight champion, wants his Dec. 10 loss in D.C. to Lamont Peterson overturned, claiming he was the victim of incompetent officiating and questionable judging. Referee Joe Cooper deducted two points from Khan for pushing Peterson, and one judge's scorecard inexplicably was changed after the fight, which gave Peterson the win.

Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Khan, has demanded accountability and appealed the decision to the D.C. Athletic Commission, which regulates boxing. The commission has yet to respond. Golden Boy has offered Peterson a seven-figure deal for a rematch May 19 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Peterson has not responded to the offer.

Khan, from Bolton, England, said the loss has stunted his willingness to fight overseas.

"If you're not going to be treated fairly, why bother going there?" he said. "I'm willing to come back to the States to fight -- but never in Washington."

■ PAUL QUINN, PUNCHING BAG? -- Baylor, the country's sixth-ranked men's basketball team, comes to Orleans Arena on Thursday to play in the Las Vegas Classic. On Monday, the Bears had a scrimmage disguised as a legitimate game against Paul Quinn College, an NAIA school located in Dallas with an enrollment of 362.

Baylor drained nine 3-pointers, shot 60 percent from the floor -- dunking 17 times -- and had a 50-21 rebounding advantage in a 95-54 victory. Paul Quinn's tallest player is 6 feet 6 inches.

So why bother playing such a game? Apparently, Baylor needed to fill a gap in its schedule, and Paul Quinn -- founded by a small group of African Methodist Episcopal preachers in Austin, Texas, in 1872 to educate freed slaves and their offspring -- was available.

Said Baylor coach Scott Drew: "This was an opportunity for us to come out and improve in an area we didn't do very well against BYU (on Saturday), and that was rebound the ball."

When the other team is playing a bunch of 6-2 guys, you better outrebound them. It's safe to say Baylor won't get 17 dunks when it faces Saint Mary's on Thursday.

■ ESPN FUMBLES -- On a night when the lights went out twice at Candlestick Park and a sideline reporter was needed, ESPN chose to give a member of one of its sister channels a tryout on "Monday Night Football."

And John Sutcliffe did not distinguish himself.

Sutcliffe, who appears on ESPN Deportes, offered little, particularly when a transformer blew and turned Candlestick dark before the Steelers-49ers game and again during the second quarter. He had no clue where to turn to get the right information to the viewers.

Sutcliffe was so bad that ESPN turned the lights out on him in the second half.

COMPILED BY STEVE CARP
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL