De La Hoya's choice avoids family feud

Oscar De La Hoya has chosen Dedham's Freddie Roach as his trainer for a May 5 super welterweight title fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr., who has trained De La Hoya since late 2000, turned down an offer to be in the boxer's corner against his estranged son. De La Hoya confirmed yesterday that he offered the trainer a $500,000 guarantee and $500,000 if he wins; the elder Mayweather called it insulting, and demanded $2 million. De La Hoya is expected to make a guarantee in excess of $20 million for the fight and will share in the pay-per-view profits. "I really didn't feel he was going to be as passionate as I'm going to be," De La Hoya said. "How is he going to feel when we're in the middle of training camp and some of his family members call him and say, 'Don't do it'? I don't want no distractions. This is the fight of my life." De La Hoya said he didn't feel comfortable getting in the middle of the feuding father and son, who rarely speak.

Skiing

Bode Miller wants what he doesn't have: a slalom world championship. To get it, Miller might not defend his downhill title at the upcoming world championships so he can avoid the demanding jumps on which he injured his left knee last year. "I might have to think about skipping the downhill. The downhill there last year was what beat up my knee pretty bad," he said before qualifying for the slalom championships in Schladming, Austria. Miller is trying to become the first skier with world championship titles in all five disciplines. Miller's last chance to qualify for a berth in the slalom worlds at Are, Sweden, came last night at the World Cup event, and he did so just by finishing, albeit in 25th and last place. Olympic champion Benjamin Raich won the event, charging down the floodlit Planai course in a two-run combined time of 1 minute 42.55 seconds. Miller skidded onto his right hip a few gates in, hiked back up the course to rerun the gate but finished almost 10 seconds off the pace. Ted Ligety finished 17th despite a minor car accident the day before. Ligety and teammate Roger Brown were headed to their hotel Monday when the four-wheel-drive car suddenly rolled off the road.

baseball

Barry Bonds gave the San Francisco Giants the right to terminate his $15.8 million, one-year contract if he is indicted. The unusual provision could set off a legal test between the individual player contract and the union's collective bargaining agreement. The language, included in the deal completed Monday, is designed by the team to protect itself in case Bonds is charged in the federal government's steroids investigation. Jeff Borris, Bonds's agent, said that the language would be unenforceable if the matter ever was litigated because baseball's collective bargaining agreement would take precedence. Because of that, Borris said the inclusion of the added provision is meaningless . . . David Wells, who turns 44 May 20, finalized a one-year deal with San Diego, 11 days after the sides agreed to terms. Wells will earn $3 million in base pay and can make another $4 million if he starts 27 games -- 14 more than he did last year, including eight with the Red Sox . . . The Nashua Pride signed righthander Hideki Nagasaka, the second Japanese player signed by the Can-Am team this offseason. Nagasaka, 28, is slated to join 33-year-old righthander Akira Okamota in the Pride's starting rotation.

Football

Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, who retired as a player after the 1992 season, was the eighth candidate to be interviewed by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about replacing retired coach Bill Parcells . . . Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis withdrew from the Pro Bowl because of a hand injury he sustained in a playoff loss to Indianapolis. His place on the AFC roster will be filled by teammate Bart Scott . . . Browns tight end Kellen Winslow underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove scar tissue and repair cartilage damage in his right knee . . . Chris Woods resigned as Stonehill's head coach after three years to take over as linebackers coach at Harvard.

Soccer

Goals from Lori Chalupny and Natasha Kai led the US women's team over China, 2-0, to win the Four Nations tournament in Guangzhou, China . . . American defender Oguchi Onyewu, who was named US player of the year in December, joined Newcastle on loan in a move that will keep him in the English Premier League for at least the rest of the season . . . Ronaldo left Madrid for AC Milan, returning to Italy's Serie A for a reported $9.73 million transfer fee.

Miscellany

Suspended basketball prep star O.J. Mayo won a temporary restraining order that allowed him to play later in the day against a nationally ranked opponent. Cabell (W. Va.) County Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon granted separate requests by Mayo and five other Huntington players who were suspended for two games stemming from a game against Capital last Friday. The rulings allowed Mayo to play last night in Durham, N.C., against Artesia of Lakewood, Calif. Mayo scored 19 points before fouling out with 2:38 remaining in Huntington's 73-66 win over Artesia at Cameron Indoor Stadium. In West Virginia, O'Hanlon set hearings for the players for Feb. 9 and barred state athletic officials from imposing the suspensions until a decision is made on the players' procedural rights to appeal the penalties. Mayo received two technical fouls and was ejected, then he followed referee Mike Lazo to the scorer's table and apparently bumped the referee from behind. Under state rules, the penalty for receiving two technical fouls in a game or being ejected from a game is a two-game suspension. A student who ''in protest lays hands or attempts to lay hands upon an official'' can be declared ineligible for up to a year. Mayo's five teammates were suspended for leaving the bench area ..... New Orleans point guard Chris Paul returned to practice for the first time in a month. Paul, the NBA's reigning rookie of the year, has been sidelined since severely spraining the right ankle Dec. 26 ..... Nuggets guard Allen Iverson will miss tonight's game in Portland after spraining his right ankle Monday ..... The Grizzlies waived guard Eddie Jones, 35, after agreeing to a buyout of his contract ..... Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler underwent successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip and will miss the regular season, but might return for the playoffs ..... The Boston Cannons filled out Bill Daye's coaching staff by hiring assistant Ted Garber, former coach of the University of New Hampshire and Massachusetts programs.