Lambert Retires After 11 Seasons With Steelers

Middle linebacker Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a member of four Super Bowl championship teams, announced his retirement Thursday after 11 seasons, saying he wants to be remembered “just simply as somebody who played the best he could.”

Lambert said he made his decision to retire three days ago, on his 33rd birthday. A dislocated big left toe, which failed to heal last season, was given as his reason.

“It’s still sore,” Lambert said. “It’s not well enough to play. I’ve been able to run a little bit, and I’ve played racquetball a few times, but I can’t push off on it. And if you can’t push off, you can’t push off on blockers and make tackles. . . . I’m simply physically unable to play.”

Lambert played on Super Bowl championship teams in 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1979 and was voted to the Pro Bowl for nine years in a row through 1983.

The International Football Federation lifted its five-week ban on English soccer clubs playing foreign teams outside of Europe. The decision does not affect a separate ban on English-European matches, imposed after 38 people were killed in a May 29 riot started by English fans at the Brussels European Cup final.

In Luxembourg, the European Parliament recommended a series of measures it said must be enacted to curb violence at soccer matches. A ban on the sale of alcohol, the frisking of spectators, identification cards for well-behaved fans, electronic surveillance of stands and even compulsory entertainment before and after matches are among the proposals.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Australia, two soccer players were fined $680 and suspended for two games after engaging in a fight that incited spectators. Players and officials were punched and kicked when about 500 spectators ran onto the field.

Buddy Bell, the Texas Rangers third baseman who is demanding to be traded, will get his wish before the end of next week. He will go to one of three clubs--the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets or Cincinnati Reds.

The Orioles apparently have the inside track. They are said to have offered the Rangers right-handed reliever Sammy Stewart and left-handed-hitting infielder Wayne Gross.

Curtis Strange, the leading money-winner on the PGA Tour, has pulled out of next week’s British Open. Strange told officials that he was withdrawing because of “pressure of leading the U.S. Order of Merit (the money standings) these past few months, plus the desire to spend some much needed time with my family.”

A three-day meeting of the International Amateur Athletics Federation Council, opening today at Vouliagmeni, Greece, will focus on television coverage problems at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, and a long-running dispute over the status of hurdler-turned-football-player Renaldo Nehemiah.

The Games’ organizers want to reverse normal procedure and stage key track finals in the morning to ensure that they appear live on American television during prime-time viewing hours. But the IAAF is opposed to upsetting the athletes’ routine and endangering their chances for record performances just to suit the television networks. The federation doesn’t want to reduce the lucrative television revenues, which make up a sizable chunk of total income from the Olympics, of which it gets a share.

Nehemiah’s bid to recover his amateur status after three years of playing pro football will also be reviewed. The federation has twice rejected the former hurdler’s efforts for reinstatement.

The Washington Redskins have given former All-Pro safety Mark Murphy permission to make a deal for himself with another NFL team. A nine-year veteran, Murphy reportedly sought a portion of his salary guaranteed before coming to camp.

A vice president of the players’ association and a member of union’s executive committee during the 1982 players’ strike, Murphy has accused the Redskins of using his injury as an alibi to end his career prematurely in retaliation for his union activities. The Redskins have denied the charge.

The Major League Players Assn. will meet Monday in Chicago to set a strike date, and then its representatives will meet with representatives of baseball management next Thursday. The two sides met briefly Thursday, then canceled a session scheduled for today.

Oscar Williams Jr., a former Utah State basketball player, was sentenced to two life prison terms without the possibility of parole for the 1982 shooting death of his wife.

District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski formally imposed the sentence on Williams, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of Toy Williams.

Prosecutors contended during the trial that Williams, a guard at Utah State in the mid-70s, killed his wife to collect $220,000 worth of life insurance benefits after he failed in an effort to hire a contract killer.

Toy Williams, a 24-year-old model, was shot at least five times in an alley near the couple’s apartment after returning from her job at a nearby shopping mall.

Names in the News

Defenseman Dave Maloney, traded to the Buffalo Sabres by the New York Rangers last season, is retiring to work full-time for a New York stockbrokerage firm.

Herschel Walker was named the United States Football League Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

The Chicago White Sox traded left-handed pitcher Tim Lollar to the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Reid Nichols and a player to be named later.

Michael Harrigan resigned as chief administrator of the U.S. Ski Team, effective next Monday, after serving as its executive director for less than one year. Former Olympic Alpine racer Chuck Ferries will be interim director until a permanent successor can be named.

Levy Middlebrooks, a center on the Pepperdine volleyball team, has been selected to play for the West team during the National Sports Festival July 24-Aug. 4 at Baton Rouge, La.

Joline Matsunami, an assistant coach at the University of Washington the past two seasons, was named women’s basketball coach at Tulane. Matsunami has coached at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Laguna High School.

Olympic boxing champion Paul Gonzales was presented the Southland Corp. Olympia Award at a luncheon at the Hollenbeck Youth Center. The award recognizes athletes who have shown outstanding achievement in sport, scholarship, leadership and contribution to their community.