Court Upholds Dudley’s Deal

A federal judge in New Jersey Wednesday upheld Chris Dudley’s seven-year contract with the Portland Trail Blazers that the NBA claimed subverted the salary cap.

A one-year escape clause in the contract allows Dudley to become a free agent again next year and renegotiate the deal.

U.S. District Judge Dickinson Debevoise said that although “one-year out provisions in multiyear contracts may have a presently unascertainable adverse effect on the very legitimate objectives of the salary cap,” Dudley’s contract doesn’t violate the pact between the league and the NBA Players Assn.

The judge agreed with the NBA that the salary cap, by limiting the amount a team can spend on players, helps financially weaker teams compete and thus “preserves the health of the entire system for the ultimate benefit of all teams and all players.”

The “concept of a cap on wages has clearly outlived its usefulness,” said Charles Grantham, executive director of the NBA Players Assn. Grantham said it will be a “major topic” during next year’s contract negotiations.

Dudley is expected to start at center for the Trail Blazers. He has been in training camp since it opened Oct. 8 because the NBA conditionally approved his contract pending the judge’s decision.

“We are disappointed by the judge’s decision, but do not plan to appeal,” said Russ Granik, NBA deputy commissioner.

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Isaiah (J.R.) Rider, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ No. 1 draft choice, signed a seven-year, $25.5-million contract with the team.

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Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf urged the Miami Heat to revoke a $25,000 fine against center Manute Bol, who missed two exhibition games to attend a conference concerning his native Sudan.

Tennis

Carlos Costa of Spain surprised Pete Sampras, the No. 1 player in the world, 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 6-1, in the second round of the $1.65-million Swedish Indoor Championship at Stockholm.

Sampras had a first-round bye and was playing his first match of the tournament.

College Basketball

The Black Coaches Assn. will not boycott the first day of college basketball practice this weekend, but might consider a walkout later in the season, said Drake Coach Rudy Washington, director of the organization.

Although the association boycotted a major basketball issues forum in North Carolina last week, Washington said rumors that members contemplated skipping the opening of practice Saturday were not true.

A grand jury in Muncie, Ind., has found no evidence that former Ball State basketball players knew they were not authorized to use university credit cards to make more than 3,000 long-distance phone calls, a prosecutor said.

Soccer

The team from former Czechoslovakia kept its World Cup hopes alive with a 3-0 victory over Cyprus, preventing Belgium from clinching a spot among the final 24.

Boxing

Darryl Tyson used an effective inside attack to win the vacant U.S. Boxing Assn. junior welterweight title with a split decision over Roger Mayweather at Atlantic City, N.J. Tyson improved to 41-6-1. Mayweather is 44-10.

Miscellany

Angel outfielder Luis Polonia, Chicago White Sox outfielder Ellis Burks and Texas second baseman Julio Franco filed for free agency. . . . The Angels made infielder Rene Gonzales eligible to file for free agency by deciding to give him a $150,000 buyout instead of exercising a $900,000 option.

The Buffalo Sabres traded defenseman Keith Carney to the Chicago Blackhawks for defenseman Craig Muni. . . . Scott Davis of the United States won the men’s technical program at the pre-Olympic Piruetten figure skating meet at Lillehammer, Norway.

Neil Bonnett, who suffered a serious head injury in a 1990 wreck and then crashed again in a comeback bid this year, plans to drive in five races during the 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup season.