Trail Blazers Pick Carlesimo

P.J. Carlesimo, who transformed Seton Hall from a college basketball also-ran into a Big East Conference powerhouse, was named coach of the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Carlesimo, 45, reportedly will be paid $1.5 million a year in the five-year deal, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA.

“This was not something that I applied for,” Carlesimo said. “This was just something that came to me as a dream. It was a very easy decision.”

Carlesimo replaces Rick Adelman, who was fired after 5 1/2 seasons with the club. The new coach inherits an aging team that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the last two years after making it to the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992.

College Basketball

The NCAA put Ohio State on a year’s probation and penalized Coach Randy Ayers for “a series of serious violations” in the recruitment of a former Ohio prep star.

The program will lose one scholarship but will be permitted to appear on live television and participate in postseason play.

Ayers’ salary will be frozen and he is prohibited from leaving campus during the July and September recruiting periods.

USC will be among four teams competing in the first Martin Luther King Classic doubleheader Nov. 27 at the Pyramid in Memphis, the Black Coaches Assn. said. The Trojans will be joined by defending NCAA champion Arkansas, Georgetown and Temple.

Auto Racing

Speculation that former world champion Nigel Mansell will return to Formula One racing increased with reports that he has signed a $1-million deal with the Williams-Renault team.

English newspapers said the British driver will test-drive for Williams at the Brands Hatch circuit on Tuesday, then travel to Magny-Cours to drive in the French Grand Prix on July 3.

A spokeswoman for Williams confirmed that the team would be testing at Brands Hatch, but would not reveal the drivers’ names.

A report in the London Times said that Williams’ engine supplier, Renault, pushed for the deal to entice Mansell from the Indy car circuit, where he drives for the Newman-Haas team.

Pro Football

The Rams signed rookie defensive end Brad Ottis to a three-year contract worth $1.045 million, including a $370,000 signing bonus. Ottis, of Wayne State College in Nebraska, was the Rams’ third pick of the second round of the NFL draft. He will earn $185,000 this season, $225,000 next season and $265,000 in 1996.

The Houston Oilers signed two linemen, unrestricted free agent Todd Peat from the Raiders and free agent Shawn Harper from the Rams. Peat, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound guard, spent the last four years with the Raiders. Harper, 6-4 and 290 pounds, plays tackle and guard. The Rams selected him in the fourth round of the 1992 draft from Indiana.

Mike Ditka, a former coach of the Chicago Bears who had chest pains earlier in the week, was resting comfortably at a hospital although his release date still isn’t known. Ditka’s condition was upgraded from fair to good.

Roller Hockey

In a Roller Hockey International game that featured 20 penalties, the L.A. Blades defeated the Oakland Skates, 8-3, at Oakland. Mike Callahan scored twice for the Blades (4-1). The Skates are 1-5.

At Anaheim, the Bullfrogs (5-0) defeated San Jose, 7-6. San Jose is 3-1.

Miscellany

The St. Louis Blues signed left wing Brendan Shanahan to a five-year contract reportedly worth $15 million. . . . The Kings and the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League announced a partial affiliation for the 1994-95 season. Under the agreement, the Kings will supply 10 players to the Roadrunners. Ron Laird was named the Phoenix club’s coach.

More than 52,000 Houston Rocket fans jammed the Astrodome to cheer the new NBA champions.

Georgia Tech catcher Jason Varitek, who broke school batting records while leading the Yellow Jackets to the final game of the College World Series, was chosen as college baseball player of the year.

A Cincinnati judge sentenced former Louisville basketball player Troy Smith to five to 25 years in prison Thursday for killing his girlfriend during an argument. Police said Kelly Dwyer, 20, the mother of Smith’s infant son, suffered severe head injuries when Smith threw her to the floor Feb. 18 in their Cincinnati apartment. She died later that day without regaining consciousness. Smith played for the Cardinals from 1989 to 1993.

More than 140 sailboats on the high-performance end of the weekend sailors’ scale will compete in the 10th annual Trimble Navigation-North Sails Race Week today through Sunday at Long Beach. There will be 10 classes, including five one-design groups for J-35s, Schock 35s, Melges 24s, J-24s and the Catalina 37 match-racing boats chartered from the Long Beach Yacht Club.

Tim Ellerbee, sports managing editor of the New Orleans Times Picayune, and Slim Smith, sports editor of the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald, were elected as third and fourth vice presidents, respectively, of the Associated Press Sports Editors group.