TRACK AND FIELD

Montgomery submits guilty plea

NORFOLK - Former track star Tim Montgomery, once dubbed "the world's fastest man," pleaded guilty yesterday to distributing heroin, averting a trial set for next week.

He appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, answering "Yes, sir," as District Judge Jerome B. Friedman asked if he understood his plea to federal charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of more than 100 grams of heroin.

The Olympic gold medalist and former 100-meter world-record holder was arrested in April and has been held without bond after a judge declared him a flight risk and a danger to the community. The jury trial he requested had been scheduled to start July 9.

Montgomery, 33, was sentenced in May to nearly four years in prison for his role in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy.

He faces a minimum of five years in prison on the heroin charges at his sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 10. He also faces up to a $2 million fine and at least four years of supervised release.

NBA

Wizards and Arenas agree

WASHINGTON - Gilbert Arenas has agreed to re-sign with the Washington Wizards for $111 million for six years, essentially taking millions less so that his team could have more financial flexibility, two newspapers reported yesterday.

Arenas told the Washington Times and Washington Post that he was offered a maximum deal in the neighborhood of $127 million on Tuesday, the first day of the free agency period.

"[The Wizards] offered me the max, and I'm basically giving back $16 million," Arenas told the Washington Times from China, where is traveling as part of promotional tour for a shoe company. "This is in line with what I've been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don't wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can't do anything about it."

GOLF

Marino: It felt like home

BETHESDA, Md. - Steve Marino used to consider it a treat to play Congressional as a teenager. It was a thrill yesterday to play bogey-free in the first round of the AT&T National and shoot 5-under 65 for a one-shot lead.

Marino, who grew up a half-hour away in Fairfax, Va., birdied three of his opening four holes, never had a par putt longer than 5 feet and finished off his round with an 8-foot birdie to be in the lead after any round for only the second time in his career.

"I played a bunch of junior golf growing up here, all over the D.C. area, so it feels great to get off to this good start," said Marino, who attended the University of Virginia. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the week."

It's already been a big week for Jeff Overton and Frank Lickliter, who were among a group of four parked at 66.

Overton has missed six of his previous seven cuts. Lickliter hasn't made a cut in his past six tournaments.

OLYMPICS

Hamm cleared for competition

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm's broken hand is healed enough that he can return to regular gymnastics, giving him five weeks to get ready for the Beijing Games.

An X-ray taken yesterday showed the broken bone in Hamm's right hand can withstand the force of gymnastics, said Dr. Lawrence Lubbers, the hand specialist who operated on Hamm on May 27.

"You could just kind of see him light up when he was looking at the X-ray," Lubbers said.

Though he has been awarded a spot on the U.S. roster for Beijing, Hamm must prove that he is physically able to compete in Beijing at a July 19 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. In other Olympic news: