Running back Mark Higgs took a pay...

Running back Mark Higgs took a pay cut from $810,000 to $450,000 plus incentives to remain with the Miami Dolphins, and if linebacker John Offerdahl doesn’t retire because of injuries, he is leaning toward accepting a similar deal because of pressures to get the team under the NFL salary cap. . . . The Washington Redskins released defensive end Al Noga and signed free-agent center Trevor Matich, formerly of the Indianapolis Colts, to a two-year, $700,000 contract to be their long snapper.

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Former Alabama football player Gene Jelks, whose allegations of receiving money and other illegal benefits sparked an NCAA investigation into the Crimson Tide’s athletic program, was arrested in Gadsden, Ala., and charged with writing bad checks.

Basketball

Oliver Purnell, who guided Old Dominion to postseason tournaments in each of his three seasons, was hired as coach at Dayton, replacing Jim O’Brien, who was fired last month. . . . Tubby Smith, whose stock as a coach rose sharply when he led Tulsa to victories over UCLA and Oklahoma State in the NCAA tournament, signed a new five-year contract. . . . The Chicago Bulls activated guard John Paxson from the injured list and replaced him with center Bill Cartwright.

A grand jury in Lubbock, Tex., recommended that a misdemeanor charge be filed against Texas A&M; forward Joe Wilbert for assaulting a Texas Tech basketball fan during a fight after a game in February.

Auto Racing

Mark Smith was listed in good condition in a Phoenix hospital after suffering a head injury in a crash during practice for Sunday’s Slick 50 200 Indy car race. . . . Chuck Bown, driving an unsponsored Ford Thunderbird for Bobby Allison, won the pole position for Sunday’s Food City 500 Winston Cup race at Bristol International Raceway with a record 124.946-m.p.h. lap on the 0.533-mile track.

Tennis

Top-seeded Pete Sampras, seeking his sixth victory of the season, outlasted seventh-seeded Patrick Rafter, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, in the quarterfinals of the Japan Open in Tokyo. Henrik Holm used 15 aces to upset fourth-seeded Ivan Lendl, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Martina Navratilova continued her impressive showing in the Bausch & Lomb Championships, beating Chanda Rubin in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the clay-court tournament at Amelia Island, Fla. . . . Richard Krajicek defeated second-seeded Sergi Bruguera, 7-5, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the ATP Conde de Godo tournament on clay at Barcelona.

Miscellany

Zhang Hao, deputy director of the Chinese Olympic Committee’s planning and financial department, acknowledged in Colorado Springs, Colo., that tests found 33 instances of performance-enhancing drug use by Chinese athletes between 1987 and this year.

Meanwhile, China’s record-breaking women distance runners withdrew from the April 17 London Marathon, citing unspecified health problems and injuries. . . . Former world record-holder Roger Kingdom continued a comeback from a knee injury with a narrow victory in the 110-meter high hurdles in the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. Kingdom, an Olympic gold medalist in 1984 and 1988, won in 13.80 seconds to edge Duane Ross of Clemson, who ran 13.81.

Florida officials argued in court in Tallahassee that National League owners shouldn’t be able to use baseball’s antitrust exemption to stop an investigation into the defeated proposal to move the Giants from San Francisco to St. Petersburg.

Quebec will come to the financial rescue of the Nordiques to keep the NHL team from moving. The most likely option is a low-interest loan, similar to the $18 million given to the Montreal Expos in 1991. . . . Julio Cesar Vasquez of Argentina scored a unanimous decision over Ricardo Nunez to retain his World Boxing Assn. junior middleweight title.