Two groups drawn by the Oakland Athletics’...

Two groups drawn by the Oakland Athletics’ price of $85 million submitted competing offers.

Kevin McClatchy, whose family owns a newspaper group that includes the Sacramento Bee, leads one team of investors. Principals of the second group have remained anonymous.

Team owner Walter A. Haas Jr. offered the club at what he said was $15 million-$30 million below market value if buyers keep the club in Oakland.

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The partial ligament tear in pitcher Darren Dreifort’s right elbow showed improvement in an MRI examination by Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers said. Surgery is a possibility, but no decision will be made until their No. 1 draft choice of 1993 begins throwing in about 10 days.

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Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice and Tommy John head 15 first-year eligibles on a list of 39 names on the 1995 baseball Hall of Fame ballot, mailed Friday to more than 400 members of the Baseball Writers Assn. of America.

Winter Sports

American Hilary Lindh, the 1992 Olympic downhill silver medalist, was timed in 1 minute 45 seconds, 0.29 seconds faster than Isolde Kostner of Italy, to win the opening women’s World Cup downhill ski race of the season at Vail, Colo.

American speedskater Bonnie Blair easily won the 500-meter race in the World Cup meet at Obihiro, Japan.

Football

Tommy Tuberville, the Texas A&M; defensive coordinator, was hired as football coach at the University of Mississippi. He replaces Billy Brewer, who was fired in July for NCAA violations that led to the Rebels being put on four years’ probation last month.

Arizona’s Steve McLaughlin has been named winner of the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award. . . . The top three finalists for the 1994 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, given the nation’s outstanding collegiate quarterback on Dec. 8, are Jay Barker of Alabama, Kerry Collins of Penn State and Eric Zeier of Georgia.

USC tackle Tony Boselli has been voted the Pacific 10’s best offensive linemen by the league’s defensive linemen, and Washington State tackle Chad Eaton has been named best defensive lineman by offensive line starters in Morris Trophy balloting.

Golf

The team of Helen Alfredsson and Robert Gamez shot a seven-under-par 64 and share the second-round lead with Beth Daniel and Davis Love III at the J.C. Penney Classic in Tarpon Springs, Fla., at 12-under 130.

Nick Faldo had eight birdies in a record-tying round of 64 for a two-round total of 14 under par 130 and a seven-shot lead over Nick Price and Bernhard Langer in the Million Dollar Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.

The World Golf Tour issued a statement saying it was “continuing to move ahead as planned” with its venture to stage six to eight tournaments in 1995, some of which would conflict with PGA Tour events.

Miscellany

Charles Taylor Jr., 29 and a former youth basketball coach in St. Louis, was sentenced to five years in prison for attacking a referee during a game involving sixth-grade boys earlier this year.

Heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Algerian distance runner Noureddine Morceli were chosen athletes of the year by the International Amateur Athletic Foundation.

Michael Johnson, who has won 26 consecutive races at 400 meters, was given the Jesse Owens Award as U.S. track and field’s top performer for the year.

Greg LeMond, three-time winner of the Tour de France, is expected to announce his retirement because of health reasons today at a news conference in Century City.