Free agent Dave Righetti, whose 252 saves...

Free agent Dave Righetti, whose 252 saves are a major league record for a left-hander, agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Oakland. . . . Mookie Wilson, who played for the New York Mets from 1980-89 and is the team’s all-time leader in stolen bases, was hired by the club as a minor league instructor and community liaison. . . . Infielder Jim Tatum and the Colorado Rockies agreed to a minor league contract.

College Football

California Coach Keith Gilbertson, whose team pulled out of a midseason slide to earn a berth in the Alamo Bowl, was rewarded with a two-year contract extension through the 1998 season.

Tennis

The tennis season is so long and grueling that many players need drugs to get through it, according to Boris Becker, who said authorities in the sport have been able to keep it quiet. Becker made his allegation in the Christmas issue of Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Becker said it was a joke that no tennis player had been punished for drug abuse by the Assn. of Tennis Professionals.

Jurisprudence

A woman who claims she was injured by the explosive Vince Coleman dropped out of a car near a crowd of fans at Dodger Stadium last summer sued the former Met, and former Dodger Eric Davis, who was driving.

Cynthia Mayhew alleges in her Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that she suffered ringing and painful pressure in her ears immediately after the blast. Her husband, Steve, and the couple’s 7-year-old son, Jeremy, claim they suffered emotional distress when she fell to the ground in pain.

The state Appeals Court in Massachusetts upheld the conviction of former Boston Celtic Charles Smith, who was sentenced to prison for a hit-and-run crash that killed two university students.

Smith was convicted of vehicular homicide last year and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. Boston University students An Trinh, 21, of Placentia and Michelle Dartley, 20, of Ridgewood, N.J., were killed in the crash March 22, 1991. . . . Kevin Mitchell of the Cincinnati Reds won a civil lawsuit filed by a former girlfriend who claimed he raped her.

Pro Basketball

An NBA arbitrator has ruled that Tracy Murray and Dave Johnson must pay the fines levied against them by the Portland Trail Blazers as a result of a sex scandal last season in Salt Lake City.

Murray, a former UCLA star, and Johnson were accused along with two other Trail Blazers of having sexual contact with two underage girls in Salt Lake City last January.

Washington Bullet forward Larry Stewart, whose playing time has been restricted this season because of an injured right foot, will undergo surgery next week, team officials said. . . . Rod Higgins, a 6-foot-7 forward, was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers, his seventh NBA club in 12 seasons.

NHL

Several Russian players in the NHL have had to pay the Moscow underworld protection money for their families back home, Montreal La Presse reported. Players denied the report, but the newspaper said those who have refused to cooperate have been threatened with having their legs broken or having their families harmed.

The New York Times, citing an NHL executive who requested anonymity, said the league is aware of the situation and the LAPD is investigating at least one suspected case of intimidation.

Boston Bruin defenseman Ray Bourque was the leading vote-getter for the NHL Eastern Conference all-star team for the third time in his career, and Philadelphia’s Eric Lindros beat Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux for the starting center job. Joining Bourque and Lindros on the starting team will be goaltender Patrick Roy of the Montreal Canadiens, defenseman Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers and wings Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres.

Miscellany

Japanese challenger Yasuei Yakushiji won a split decision over South Korean champion Byun Jung-Il for the World Boxing Council bantamweight title at Nagoya, Japan. . . . The historic grandstands at the Fair Grounds race track in New Orleans might have been saved if employees who saw smoke had immediately called firefighters and if a sprinkler system had been in place, Fire Supt. Warren McDaniels said. . . . The Pro Stakes Golf Championship scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 in Honolulu has been canceled for financial reasons.