Source Says ‘Walls Are Closing In’ on Harding

Tonya Harding’s former husband talked to investigators for the first time for nearly six hours Wednesday, and a source said he was working out a plea bargain in exchange for testimony against the figure skater.

Asked if Jeff Gillooly was there to implicate Harding in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, FBI spokesman Bart Gori said: “They’re asking the appropriate questions.”

Gillooly is expected to return to FBI headquarters for additional questioning today.

A law enforcement source told the Associated Press, “The walls are really closing in on that girl.”

Brian Burton, an attorney for Harding, again said she had nothing to do with the alleged plot to knock Kerrigan out of the national figure skating championships, won by Harding.

NBC News reported on the show “Now” Wednesday night that Harding might be charged as soon as today.

The U.S. Figure Skating Assn. and U.S. Olympic Committee have indicated that Harding will remain on the Olympic team unless she is charged. Team rosters must be filed with international Olympic officials by Monday.

Baseball

The Boston Red Sox and Expos are expected to announce that Montreal General Manager Dan Duquette is switching teams. The Red Sox have been negotiating with Expo President Claude Brochu to have Duquette released from a contract that runs through this season.

Michael Jordan took 75 pitches of batting practice against Chicago White Sox General Manager Ron Schueler, who said he will decide by next week if Jordan will be invited to spring training.

Right-hander Andy Benes avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres worth $3,005,000, a raise of $955,000. . . . First baseman Sid Bream and the Houston Astros agreed to a $300,000, one-year contract. . . . Reserve first baseman Ricky Jordan and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a $1.1-million, one-year contract.

Miscellany

The Black Coaches Assn. is leaning toward accepting an offer from the federal government to mediate its dispute with the NCAA over basketball scholarships and other matters. Rudy Washington, BCA director, met with a mediation team from the Justice Department to discuss the process.

The NCAA, to reduce fighting in college football, has recommended that substitutes and coaches who leave the bench to participate in a fight, or join a fight that starts in the bench area, would be ejected and suspended for the next game. Players who get into a fight while in the game would be ineligible for the rest of the half in which the fight occurs and for the next half of competition.

Utah Jazz rookie center Luther Wright suffers from attention deficit disorder and was experiencing a reaction to Ritalin when he was arrested at a Utah rest stop, his agent said. Wright, 22, was arrested for disorderly conduct early Monday and was jailed for 12 hours before the club posted a $100 bond.

Names in the News

The Houston Oilers fired General Manager Mike Holovak and replaced him with Floyd Reese, his assistant since 1990. Holovak will assume the new position of vice president for player personnel and scouting. . . . Chris Yard, Cal State Northridge’s top rebounder, has either torn cartilage or a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and arthroscopic surgery is scheduled for Friday. . . . The last of baseball’s “Gashouse Gang,” Pat Crawford, died Tuesday at 91. Crawford was an infielder on the St. Louis Cardinals team that won the 1934 World Series.