Patriots Expected to Sign Bledsoe Today

Drew Bledsoe, the No. 1 pick in the draft by the New England Patriots, is set to sign a contract today that will reportedly pay the Washington State quarterback $14.5 million over six years.

“I think he’s pretty happy. His major thing is he wanted to get signed before training camp,” Bledsoe’s father said Monday from his home in Yakima, Wash.

Mac Bledsoe said his son was driving across the country with some friends, but planned to leave them and catch a flight to Boston on Monday night.

ESPN reported that the contract was probably worth $14.5 million, including a $4.5-million signing bonus and additional incentives starting in the third year of the pact.

The reported deal would be among the biggest ever signed by a rookie. In 1990, Jeff George signed with the Indianapolis Colts for $15 million over six years.

A Patriot spokesman would not comment on the report or on whether a news conference was scheduled. Bledsoe’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, was not immediately available for comment.

Bledsoe’s father added that his son’s negotiations with the Patriots were “very congenial,” but said he was not familiar with the terms of the deal.

Bledsoe passed up his final year of eligibility at Washington State and made himself available for the draft in April. The Patriots chose Bledsoe with the first overall pick, earned as a result of the team’s 2-14 finish in 1992.

Soccer

Croatia will enter its first European Cup soccer tournament as an independent state next season, according to a preliminary decision announced by UEFA, the sport’s European governing body.

FC Croatia Zagreb, one of former Yugoslavia’s top clubs under the name Dinamo Zagreb, was tentatively admitted to the 1993-94 European Champions’ Cup on a trial basis.

A special working group of UEFA’s executive committee also recommended readmitting Albania to the European Cup.

Croatia, which declared independence in 1991, gained UEFA membership last year. UEFA barred Croatian and Albanian clubs from the 1992-93 season because of safety concerns.

Auto Racing

Dale Earnhardt’s victory in Saturday’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway has put the five-time national champion 251 points ahead of his nearest competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup standings.

The margin is wide enough that Earnhardt could finish last in Sunday’s Slick 50 300 at Loudon, N.H., and still be assured of no less than a 103-point lead in the standings.

The 251 points is also the difference between second-place Dale Jarrett and 11th-place Geoff Bodine after the first 15 races of the 30-event season.

Miscellany

Ian Woosnam, the 1991 Masters champion, was fined $3,320 and banned from driving for one year after a court ruled his blood-alcohol level was more than double the legal limit when he crashed his car last month.

Woosnam, 35, drove through a row of hedges and into a field in the western English county of Shropshire, not far from his home in Wales. Woosnam’s wife suffered minor injuries in the June 24 crash.

Name in the News

Dan Radison, first base coach for the San Diego Padres, was hired as manager of the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League.