Freedom Bowl Gets Three-Year Agreement With WAC

A new three-year contract between the Freedom Bowl and the Western Athletic Conference was announced Wednesday by Orange County Sports Assn. and Freedom Bowl Executive Director Don Andersen and WAC Commissioner Karl Benson.

The agreement places the WAC’s second-place team against the Pacific 10 Conference’s third-place team this season and in 1996; the WAC’s third-place team will participate in 1995.

“We’re delighted with the new arrangement,” Andersen said. “The WAC plays the most entertaining football in America and the Pac-10 is traditionally one of the strongest conferences ever formed.”

The WAC has been represented in seven of the 10 Freedom Bowls and the Pac-10 has been in four.

USC, which lost to Fresno State in 1992 and beat WAC opponent Utah in 1993, will not appear in the 1994 game because of a new no-repeat arrangement with the Pac-10.

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The ASICS Summer Pro Basketball League showcases the first James Worthy Celebrity Classic at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

The game features Worthy, the Laker forward, as well as Woodbridge graduate Adam Keefe, Gary Grant, Chris Mills and Bo Kimble.

The second Magic Johnson All-Star Classic takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Kurt Rambis, Mark Aguirre and Reggie Theus will join Johnson against a team of NBA pros that includes Mark Jackson, Tracy Murray, Cedric Ceballos, John Williams, Lester Conner and Lamond Murray.

Tickets for the Worthy game are $15 for adults and $6 for children under 12; a VIP package for $95 includes a postgame reception with Worthy.

Tickets for the Johnson game are $20 and $6.

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Bantamweights Sammy Stewart of Los Angeles and Jose Luis Peralta of San Diego headline tonight’s six-fight card at the Irvine Marriott Ballroom. Stewart (7-1) was originally scheduled to fight Joe Manzavo, who is sick, in the 10-round main event. But Stewart was replaced by Peralta (10-9) at the last minute.

The best undercard bout figures to be a four-rounder between heavyweight Jason Williams of Long Beach and Reginal Blackmon of Los Angeles. Williams is the younger brother of top-10 heavyweight Jeremy Williams. In another heavyweight fight, Youshian Nishimjima (6-0) of Tokyo will face Kenny McCullough (5-2) of Las Vegas.

Tickets for the show, which begins at 7:30 p.m., are on sale today at the Irvine Marriott Ballroom for $25, $30 and $35.

A silent auction, autograph session and reception featuring former boxing greats Ken Norton and Danny (Little Red) Lopez will be held from 5-7 p.m. Tickets for the entire program, including boxing, are $50. Proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. For information, call (714) 752-0441.