Bruguera, Sharp Indoors, Defeats Chang

Sergi Bruguera, playing tennis with newfound confidence on indoor surfaces, opened the IBM/ATP Tour World Championship with a 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 victory over Michael Chang on Tuesday at Frankfurt, Germany.

Bruguera is the French Open champion and No. 3 in the world, mainly because of his skill on slow clay. Unlike previous years, however, he has been enjoying some success indoors as well this season.

Also Tuesday, Boris Becker of Germany defeated Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), and Andre Agassi breezed past Alberto Berasategui of Spain, 6-2, 6-0.

Baseball

John Rigas a cable TV executive from Coudersport, Pa., has gained city approval to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates and keep them from moving. He must now get approval from major league baseball, which might frown upon more cross-ties between baseball and television.

Jeff Burroughs has been named manager of the Long Beach Barracuda of the new Western Baseball League. Burroughs, who lives in Long Beach, was the American League MVP in 1974 when he was with the Texas Rangers. In 1992 and ‘93, Burroughs managed the two-time Long Beach Little League world champions, led by his son, Sean. The WBL’s inaugural season begins in May.

The amount of money paid to major league players would have gone up less than 3% this year without a strike, according to figures compiled by management’s player relations committee. The payrolls of the 28 clubs, without a strike, would have been $908,477,950. That’s up from $905,104,594 last year.

College Basketball

John Wooden will be awarded the first Frank G. Wells Award at the “American Teacher Awards” show on the Disney Channel tonight at 7. The award is named in honor of the Disney president who was killed in a helicopter crash near Elko, Nev., last April.

Damon Stoudamire of Arizona was named to the Associated Press preseason All-American team, joining Corliss Williamson of Arkansas, Joe Smith of Maryland, Michael Finley of Wisconsin and Shawn Respert of Michigan State. Williamson was the leading vote-getter.

The Loyola Marymount men’s basketball team will play a team from Cairns, Australia, in an exhibition game tonight at 7 at Loyola.

Hockey

General managers were briefed on the NHL’s next proposal to the players’ union and also discussed procedural matters during meetings in Toronto.

“The best thing to do at this point . . . is to have a deadline, pick a date and if there’s no season, there’s no season,” Edmonton General Manager Glen Sather said. “I’m of the firm belief (union head) Bob Goodenow will not make a deal unless there’s a concrete date for canceling the season.”

Commissioner Gary Bettman met briefly with Goodenow at Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and they discussed meeting later this week. Players made several concessions on entry-level salaries in their last offer, but the league considered them minor moves.

Inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in Toronto were Lionel Conacher, Harry Watson and Brian O’Neill in the veteran players category and Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Ted Darling.

Boxing

John David Jackson, a middleweight who sued the World Boxing Assn. to regain his title, will get a title fight Dec. 10 as part of an agreement settling the lawsuit.

Jackson, of Newark, N.J., will also get $110,000 and a guarantee of neutral officials at his bout with Jorge Castro, said his lawyer, Patrick C. English.

The fight will be on the undercard at Monterrey, Mexico, featuring Julio Cesar Chavez against Tony Lopez for Chavez’s World Boxing Council super-lightweight title.

Jackson went to federal court after the WBA stripped him of his title because he had fought a non-title bout May 6 in Atlantic City, N.J., without getting it sanctioned.

Names in the News

Speedskaters Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen, sprinter Michael Johnson and figure skater Nancy Kerrigan were among 106 athletes of the year for Olympic sports announced by the U.S. Olympic Committee.