Rules Anger McEnroe; He’ll Skip Davis Cup
John McEnroe reiterated his displeasure with a code of conduct required of U.S. Davis Cup members and said he will skip the international competition this year. McEnroe, who previously had said the requirement for signing a behavior pledge would likely keep him from playing in preliminary rounds, said: “I don’t feel some sponsor should be telling us or the USTA or anyone what to do.”
Signing the conduct code became a requirement after officials of Louisiana Pacific, a U.S. Tennis Assn. sponsor, were displeased at the antics and comments of McEnroe and Jimmy Connors last December at the Davis Cup final in Sweden. McEnroe had represented his country in the last seven Davis Cup competitions.
Bill Walsh, coach of the Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers, signed a four-year contract reportedly worth between $800,000 and $1 million a year, making Walsh the highest-paid coach in the NFL. Under his old contract, which had two years to run, Walsh reportedly earned $450,000 annually.
Memphis State’s basketball program, already under fire for possible links to a federal gambling investigation, drew a new attack for alleged exploitation of black athletes.
The Memphis, Tenn., branch of the NAACP charged that Coach Dana Kirk ignores his players’ problems, and said its own investigation showed that Memphis State fails to give enough academic help to black athletes. A letter written to university President Thomas Carpenter urged that Kirk should be fired.
Everton of England won its first European soccer trophy with a 3-1 victory over Rapid Vienna of Austria in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup at Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
It was the second triumph in nine days for the Liverpool team, which already has won the English League title and Saturday will seek a unique “triple” for British soccer in the F.A. (Football Assn.) Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in London. Everton’s crosstown rival, Liverpool, the defending European champion, will meet Italy’s Juventus in the final of the European Cup at Brussels May 29.
Czechoslovakia’s Jarmila Kratochvilova will compete in the 800 meters as well as the 400 meters in Saturday’s Pepsi Invitational at UCLA.
The meet’s timetable has been adjusted to accommodate Kratochvilova, the women’s world record-holder in both events. The 800 has been rescheduled for noon instead of 12:45 p.m. to give Kratochvilova a 1 1/2-hour rest before the start of the 400.
Names in the News
Veteran utility man Derrel Thomas was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies from the Miami Marlins of the Class A Florida State League.
All-Southern Section basketball star Enoch Simmons of North High in Riverside signed a letter of intent to attend Loyola Marymount University.
Herb Vincent, an assistant public relations director for the Express before this season, was named to succeed Bob Rose as public relations director for the Express.
Former Dallas Cowboy lineman John Niland was put back on probation for two cocaine possession convictions after spending five weeks in jail on a drunk driving charge last month.
Mike Keenan of the Philadelphia Flyers was named National Hockey League Coach of the Year by The Sporting News.
Rookie Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls was named winner of the Seagram Sports Award as the outstanding player in the National Basketball Assn., narrowly beating out Boston’s Larry Bird.
The New York Yankees placed veteran pitcher John Montefusco on the 15-day disabled list with a recurring nerve problem in his hip. He was 0-0 with a 10.29 earned-run average in three games this season.
Oklahoma State slugger Pete Incaviglia broke the NCAA record for home runs in a season when he hit his 43rd against Kansas State. The home run broke the record held by Jeff Ledbetter of Florida State and gave him 129 runs batted in this season, one shy of the NCAA record.
