Rogers Is Lions’ Coach, After All

After vehemently denying Tuesday night that he would become coach of the NFL’s Detroit Lions, Arizona State’s Darryl Rogers announced Wednesday that he has accepted the position.

At an afternoon news conference, Rogers explained that the deal wasn’t made until Wednesday morning after his meeting with Arizona State Athletic Director Dick Tamburo.

“It was finalized this morning,” Rogers said. “Last night was the first time I had contact with an official from their (the Lions’) organization.”

Rogers, 49, said the contract was for five years and was agreed to by telephone. He declined to reveal financial terms. He replaces Monte Clark, who was fired Dec. 19 after a 4-11-1 season.

Rex Norris, 45, the defensive line coach under Rogers at Arizona State, was named interim coach of the Sun Devils.

Diann Roffe, 17, of Williamson, N.Y., surprised the world’s ski-racing elite by winning the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom at the World Alpine Championships in Santa Caterina, Italy.

Roffe was timed in 2:18.53 for the two runs, and American teammate Eva Twardokens of Reno won the bronze for third in 2:19.20. Elisabeth Kirchler of Austria was second in 2:19.13.

Debbie Armstrong, the 1984 Olympic giant-slalom gold medalist at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, gave the United States fourth place in 2:19.26.

Roffe had a flawless second run down the 343-meter Cevedale course that catapulted her from fifth place in the first heat to victory.

Roffe clocked 1:09.18 in the first run on an hard, icy track and barreled down the track as the first skier in the second run three hours later, clocking 1:09.35.

Roffe’s previous World Cup best was an eighth place last year in a World Cup giant slalom at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Louisiana State University basketball Coach Dale Brown lashed out at his critics, saying: “I’ll never quit. I’ll never give up the ship.”

Brown, who has a 225-136 record in 12-plus seasons at LSU, has come under attack from fans and media as the Tigers, picked to win the Southeastern Conference, have struggled in the middle of the pack.

Criticism reached a peak Saturday when the Tigers had possession of the ball with one second left but lost to Georgia, 59-58.

Baseball players in the Atlanta Braves’ minor league system will be subject to random drug tests this season, and the organization also will crack down on post-game clubhouse drinking.

The Braves have notified each potential minor-league player in a letter that random urinalysis tests will be conducted, starting in spring training.

Financially struggling Churchill Downs said it has doubled the admission price for the 111th Kentucky Derby May 4.

General admission increased from $10 to $20 and clubhouse admission was doubled to $30. The least expensive boxes at the track increased to $300, and the most expensive jumped from $2,480 to $5,000.

Donald Trump, billionaire owner of the United States Football League’s New Jersey Generals, said that giving the National Football League more antitrust exemptions would only strengthen a “great monopoly” and could kill the USFL.

Testifying in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on two bills that seek to restrict sports franchise movement, Trump said: “The USFL, as a new league, absolutely must have the NFL under the (antitrust) laws of the state. We are dealing with a great monopoly.”

Trump said the NFL and the three television networks have collaborated to squeeze opposing leagues off the air.

“A network would prefer to put on flyfishing from Nicaragua” than televising the USFL because of the NFL’s stranglehold on network television, he said.

The American ocean yacht Congere won the 14th biennial 1,200-mile Buenos Aires-to-Rio de Janiero race in a record time of 6 days 8 hours 55 minutes 26 seconds, bettering the previous record by more than an hour.

Names in the News

Carl Lewis was named the winner of the fifth annual Jesse Owens International Amateur Athlete Award.

Linda Shepard, a 5-7 senior guard at Peru State College in Nebraska, sank 22 field goals and scored 49 points in a 77-57 win over Tarkio College to set National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics women’s basketball records for most field goals and most points.

Italy’s Guliana Salce set a world record for the women’s indoor 3,000-meter walk, clocking 12:31.57.

JoAnne Carner, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley confirmed their entries in the LPGA’s $250,000 GNA tournament March 20-24 at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale.

Lance Van Zandt, the New Orleans Saints’ defensive backfield coach, is joining the St. Louis Cardinals as defensive coordinator. Van Zandt, 46, replaces Tom Bettis, who has joined the Cleveland Browns’ coaching staff.