Rangers’ Angry Keenan Is Hired by the Blues

Mike Keenan, who coached the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years and then vacated his job unexpectedly last Friday, became coach and general manager of the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.

In the latest in a series of surprising announcements concerning Keenan, the Blues confirmed the five-year deal while still meeting with Keenan at a restaurant in suburban St. Louis.

“This has come around very quickly. I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity,” Keenan said.

Keenan turned down a more lucrative offer from the Detroit Red Wings, a source close to Keenan said. He was in Detroit on Saturday negotiating with the Red Wings.

Terms of the Blue deal were not released, but team chairman Mike Shanahan said it was “comparable” to the $4.9-million, five-year deal Keenan had with New York.

Keenan will replace coach Bob Berry, who coached the Blues for two seasons. As general manager, Keenan will replace Ron Caron, who was due to retire after this season.

It will be Keenan’s fourth NHL coaching job in a nine-year career that has been marked as much by clashes as by success. His departure last week over what he called a breach of his contract--the team’s failure to pay him his playoff bonus within 30 days of the end of the postseason--caught Ranger officials by surprise.

The Rangers responded by saying they still considered Keenan an employee and would fight any attempt by another NHL team to sign him.

Auto Racing

Michael Andretti ended Team Penske’s seven-race winning streak and earned his fourth Toronto Molson-Indy victory.

Andretti took control after bumping and passing Nigel Mansell for the lead on Lap 26. Andretti was virtually unchallenged the rest of the 98-lap, 174.44-mile race, beating Bobby Rahal to the finish by 6.8 seconds.

Geoff Bodine led 156 of 200 laps and beat Ward Burton by 1.26 seconds in the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.

Miscellany

Miguel Indurain of Spain maintained his commanding lead in the Tour de France, as Rolf Sorensen of Denmark won the 14th stage. Indurain leads Richard Virenque of France by 7:56.

Top-seeded Ivan Lendl won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championship with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) victory over MaliVai Washington in Brookline, Mass.

The Raiders re-signed strong safety Derrick Hoskins and offensive tackle Ken Lanier, leaving only first-round draft choice Rob Fredrickson unsigned.

Jean Borotra, one of France’s legendary “Four Musketeers” tennis champions who dominated the sport in the 1920s and ‘30s, died in Biarritz, France. He was 95. The death leaves 90-year-old Rene Lacoste as the sole survivor of the foursome. Jacques Brunon died in 1978 and Henri Cochet in 1987. . . . World and Olympic 100-meter champion Linford Christie has withdrawn from the Goodwill Games because of a hamstring injury. . . . Trent Diguro, an offensive guard for Kentucky, was fatally shot in the head near the campus.