Carr Replaces Gavitt in Celtic Front Office

The Boston Celtics on Tuesday fired Dave Gavitt as senior executive vice president and replaced him with former Celtic player M.L. Carr, who will decide whether former teammate Chris Ford remains as coach.

Gavitt will be a vice chairman of the Celtic board with unspecified responsibilities but no longer will be in charge of basketball operations.

Carr, who had been director of community relations, conceded the decision was based partly on a season in which the Celtics failed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 1979.

“It’s been slipping over the last few months,” Carr said. “Is this a reaction to that? Maybe to a certain degree. But I think they’ve picked the best guy for the job.”

He said the fate of Ford remains in limbo.

Hockey

Bob Clarke will return to the Philadelphia Flyers as president, leaving the Florida Panthers with two years remaining on his contract as general manager.

Clark, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987, was the captain of the “Broad Street Bullies” when the Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and ‘75, and was general manager from 1984 until 1990, when he was fired.

Football

The Rams announced the signing of draft choices Chris Brantley and Ron Edwards and the re-signing of free-agent linebacker Chris Martin.

Brantley, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound wide receiver from Rutgers, was taken in the fourth round. Edwards, a 6-5, 311-pound tackle from North Carolina A&T;, was selected in the sixth. The Rams have signed four of their 10 draft picks.

Martin, a 12-year veteran, played in 16 games in 1993, starting four. He finished with 32 tackles (25 solo) and was fourth on the team with eight solo special-team tackles.

Lou Saban, 71, was fired as coach of the Milwaukee Mustangs after the first-year Arena Football League team’s 0-4 start.

Motor sports

British motorcycle racer Simon Prior, 40, died in Berlin after doctors pronounced him brain dead and removed him from life-support systems. He had suffered massive head injuries in a crash two days earlier during the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheim circuit.

The NASCAR Winston Cup team formed by Michael Kranefuss and Carl Haas will make its debut at Michigan International Speedway with Indy car racer Robby Gordon of Orange driving in Sunday’s Miller Genuine Draft 400.

Track and Field

Dan O’Brien set a world best for the first day of the decathlon with 4,738 points through five events in the USA-Mobil Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Knoxville, Tenn.

O’Brien, the world record-holder, two-time world champion and defending national champion, broke the previous record of 4,720 points he set en route to his world record of 8,891 points at Talence, France, in 1992.

Tennis

Marc Goellner of Germany upset last year’s finalist, Ukraine’s Andrei Medvedev, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8), in the opening round of the Halle Grand Prix in Germany. Jonathan Stark ousted Karsten Braasch, 6-3, 6-2, and Bernd Karbacher upset Guy Forget, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

Miscellany

One of English soccer’s proudest clubs, Tottenham, was banned from next year’s FA Cup and had 12 points deducted from the start of the season after being found guilty of financial irregularities that involved 40 charges relating to loans to leading players.