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Fratello Leaving NBC to Coach Cavaliers

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<i> From Staff and Wire Reports</i>

Mike Fratello, former coach of the Atlanta Hawks, is giving up his network TV job and returning to the NBA as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fratello signed a five-year deal Thursday with the Cavaliers as the successor to Lenny Wilkens, who resigned on May 24. Wilkens has taken over Fratello’s old team, the Hawks.

After completing the deal in Cleveland, Fratello returned to Chicago, where he is working as an analyst on NBC’s coverage of the NBA finals.

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Boston Celtic center Robert Parish, the NBA’s oldest player at 39, reportedly agreed to a one-year contract for $4 million. Also, the Celtics hired Dennis Johnson as an assistant coach.

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Slobodan Jankovic, the Serbian basketball player who broke his neck in April when he angrily slammed his head into a backboard support, was in serious condition with pneumonia in Athens.

Jankovic, 30, was hospitalized April 28 with spinal cord damage after he had taken out his frustration at fouling out of a game by a hitting a concrete backboard support with his head.

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The woman who says Magic Johnson gave her the AIDS virus says she will not abandon her $2-million lawsuit against the former basketball star to prevent public disclosure of her name.

So U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen in Kalamazoo, Mich., retitled the lawsuit to include Waymer Moore’s name. The pseudonym Jane Doe had been used on court documents since the lawsuit was filed in October.

Enslen initially ordered the woman’s identity withheld to protect her 5-year-old daughter. But Enslen reversed his decision after Johnson’s attorneys argued last month that keeping her name confidential was hindering their case as they tried to learn her sexual history.

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Tennis

Jim Pierce, the father of tennis player Mary Pierce, has been banned from the rest of this year’s women’s tour because of the “inappropriate behavior” that got him kicked out of the French Open. Pierce was ejected for disturbing his daughter’s match against Kimberly Po by shouting during play.

Martina Navratilova won two matches for the second time this week and advanced to the semifinals of a grass-court tournament at Eastbourne, England.

Navratilova overcame Patricia Hy in a third-round match, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, then returned and beat Gigi Fernandez, 6-1, 6-3.

Defending champion Lori McNeil joined the final eight with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 upset of No. 2-seeded Gabriela Sabatini.

German Hendrik Dreekman upset sixth-seeded Brad Gilbert, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals of a grass-court tournament at Halle, Germany.

Top-seeded Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine rallied to beat Patrik Kuehnen of Germany, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and second-seeded Petr Korda defeated Russia’s Andrei Olhovskiy, 6-2, 6-3.

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Wally Masur beat Jeremy Bates, 6-4, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of a men’s grass-court event at Manchester, England.

Australian Jason Stoltenberg upset Jacco Eltingh of the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-4, and France’s Stephane Simian upset third-seeded countryman Cedric Pioline, 6-3, 6-4.

Top-seeded Thomas Muster beat Spain’s Jose Francisco Altur, 6-4, 6-2, and reached the quarterfinals of the IP Cup at Genoa, Italy.

Pete Sampras, the world’s top-ranked player, and defending champion Richard Krajicek highlight the field for the Volvo Los Angeles tournament Aug. 2-8.

Miscellany

Nancy Lopez shot a six-under-par 66 for a one-shot lead over Nancy Scranton and Jenny Lidback in the first round of the LPGA Rochester (N.Y.) International, a tournament Lopez has won three times.

Goaltender Grant Fuhr of the Buffalo Sabres, who had hinted that the Transit Valley Country Club denied him membership because he is black, has agreed to head a charity golf tournament at the Buffalo-area club.

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Cal Poly Pomona is dropping women’s softball, its only Division I sport, for economic reasons.

Defenseman Ray Bourque of the Boston Bruins tied an NHL record when he was named to the all-star team for the 10th time.

Bourque was named along with defenseman Chris Chelios and goaltender Ed Belfour of Chicago, center Mario Lemieux of Pittsburgh, rookie right wing Teemu Selanne of Winnipeg and left wing Luc Robitaille of the Kings.

Lemieux was named the league’s most valuable player, won the scoring championship and was given the Bill Masterton Trophy for dedication and sportsmanship.

Names in the News

Arthur Ashe, the late tennis star, was one of 11 people honored as a 1993 Jefferson Award winner for his human-rights work at home and abroad. . . . New Mexico running back Taihi Jones suffered some temporary numbness after an injury in one of the Lobos’ spring scrimmages, and several doctors have recommended he not play again. . . . Badminton player Bill Tom of Los Angeles won the gold medal in men’s 70-74 competition in the U.S. National Senior Sports Classic at Baton Rouge, La.

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