LaFontaine, Sabres Agree on Contract Terms

Center Pat LaFontaine of the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL’s No. 2 scorer two seasons ago but injured most of last season, has agreed to a contract that will reportedly make him one of the highest-paid players in the sport.

Executive Vice President Gerry Meehan said the Sabres have agreed in principle with LaFontaine on a contract extension, but the team is trying to insure the deal in case he is hurt again.

The Buffalo News reported that the Sabres will pay LaFontaine $22.5 million over five years, making him the fourth highest-paid player in the league behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Eric Lindros.

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Goaltender Manon Rheaume, the first woman to compete in professional hockey, signed a contract with the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League. Last season, Rheaume played with both Knoxville and Nashville in the East Coast Hockey League, finishing with a 5-1 record.

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Cam Neely, one of the NHL’s top goal-scorers despite a succession of serious injuries, ended his holdout by agreeing to a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. . . . Mark Osborne, who played for the New York Rangers for 3 1/2 seasons in the mid-1980s, has re-signed with the Stanley Cup champions as an unrestricted free agent. Osborne, 33, played for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. . . . Defenseman Yan Golubovsky, the Detroit Red Wings’ top draft pick in the June NHL draft, signed a multiyear contract.

Jurisprudence

Police in Puerto Rico searched for former major leaguer Ivan Calderon, charged with hitting his pregnant girlfriend in the face and choking her. Calderon, 32, was charged with counts of domestic violence against 20-year-old Elizabeth Figueroa-Allende. She is three months pregnant and expecting twins.

Former Pro Bowl guard Carlton Haselrig of the Pittsburgh Steelers was located in a budget motel in suburban Pittsburgh as police acted on a missing person’s report filed by his wife.

Haselrig appeared to be in good health and good spirits and agreed to meet with his wife after he was discovered, police said.

Tempe, Ariz., police are planning to interview boxer Michael Carbajal about his alleged involvement in weekend gunfire, but were downplaying speculation that he’s a gang member. Police said the interview was delayed because Carbajal, a former WBC and IBF flyweight champion, didn’t have a criminal attorney.

Miscellany

Britain’s Colin Jackson won the 110-meter hurdles in 12.99 seconds, the fastest time of the year, to highlight the Community of Madrid track meet. Jackson, unbeaten this season, easily beat Austria’s Mark McKoy, who finished in 13.22 seconds. Michael Johnson won the the 400 in 43.90.

The French Cycling Federation said it will not punish four-time Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain for a positive drug test. Indurain tested positive in May for taking salbutamol--banned by the French federation but allowed by the governing body--during the Tour of Oise.

Former Clipper coach Mike Schuler was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves to be an assistant to newly hired Bill Blair. . . . Former Southwest Conference commissioner and Oklahoma State football coach Cliff Speegle died in Dallas after a series of lengthy illnesses. He was 75. . . . Former Winston Cup champion Bill Elliott made his split with Junior Johnson official and said he’s forming his own racing team for 1995 with his brothers, Ernie and Dan.

National amateur golf champion Tiger Woods of Cypress was one of four players chosen to represent the United States in next month’s World Amateur Team Championship, to be played in Versailles, France. Also named was Todd Dempsey of Rancho Santa Fe.