Sampras Wins Quietly, Ivanisevic Erupts

Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic won quarterfinal tennis matches Thursday in the $6-million Grand Slam Cup at Munich, Germany, and Ivanisevic had another temper tantrum.

Top-ranked Sampras defeated Michael Chang, 6-4, 6-3, and Ivanisevic rolled over Boris Becker, 6-4, 6-1, in only 58 minutes.

The winners will meet in the semifinals, as will the winners of today’s concluding quarterfinals in which Todd Martin plays Sergi Bruguera and Andre Agassi faces Magnus Larsson.

Ivanisevic is serving a two-month suspension from the ATP Tour for accumulating too many conduct violations. He became the first to be banned after an outburst at last month’s ATP Tour World Championship in Frankfurt.

He was allowed to play the Grand Slam Cup because the ATP considers it an exhibition. The tournament is the most lucrative in the world, and Ivanisevic earned $425,000 for reaching the semifinals.

He lost his temper and was warned by umpire Bruno Rebeuh in the fourth game. After a linesman failed to call a shot by Becker that seemed clearly out, Ivanisevic smashed his racket to the ground and raced toward the umpire, swearing.

Ivanisevic still managed to save three break points in that game.

“I said something bad and I deserved the warning,” he said. “But that ball wasn’t even close. I lost my temper a bit, but I played better and better after that.”

Baseball

The Boston Red Sox reportedly are on the verge of acquiring Jose Canseco from the Texas Rangers. The Boston Globe reported that the Red Sox have agreed to send outfielder Otis Nixon and pitcher Ken Ryan to the Rangers for Canseco. A high-ranking Ranger official told the Globe that only a technicality needed to be resolved before the trade was made. There is believed to be a question as to which team is responsible for the $400,000 buyout in Nixon’s contract.

Toby Harrah was hired as manager of the New York Mets’ triple-A International League farm club in Norfolk, Va., succeeding Bobby Valentine, who will manage in Japan next season.

Children 12 and younger will receive free admission to top deck and pavilion seats on game days during the Dodgers’ opening six-game home stand next season, the team said.

The Long Beach Barracuda of the new Western Baseball League will hold tryouts Saturday and Sunday at Long Beach State. Information: (310) 436-2525.

Boxing

International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Rafael Ruelas of Sylmar improved to 43-1 with a third-round knockout of Mexico’s Omar Pacheco (17-3-1) in a nontitle bout at Albuquerque.

Johnny Tapia knocked out Rolando Bohol in the second around of a nontitle super-flyweight bout, and Danny Romero knocked out Andres Cazares at 1:25 of the first round in another nontitle super-flyweight fight.

College Athletics

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said that Colorado’s decision to promote a white assistant football coach over a more qualified black typifies hiring practices at schools nationwide.

Jackson, speaking during a conference call, called the practice “white male affirmative action.”

Jackson is protesting the appointment of Rick Neuheisel, who is white, over assistant head coach Bob Simmons, who is black, to replace the retiring Bill McCartney as head coach.

Colorado President Judith Albino has defended the decision and the university’s efforts toward diversity. She will meet with Chet Whey, Colorado Rainbow Coalition coordinator, today in Denver to discuss the issue.

University of Idaho President Elisabeth Zinser’s remark that Idaho’s acceptance of an invitation to join the Big West Conference was null and void left university officials scrambling to clarify the Vandals’ position Hal Godwin, director of student affairs and university relations, said the university’s position has not changed since it accepted the Big West’s invitation in October.

Miscellany

The Golden State Warriors hired Andy Dolich, the Oakland Athletics’ executive vice president, as their president and chief operating officer. . . . Two British journalists were convicted of libeling International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch and were given five-day suspended jail sentences in Lausanne, Switzerland. Vyv Simson and Andrew Jennings, who had refused to attend the criminal proceedings, wrote “Lords of the Rings,” which attacked Samaranch and his leadership of the IOC, which is based in Lausanne.

Nick Price was selected PGA Tour player of the year for the second consecutive year. . . . Bonnie Blair won the women’s 500- and 1,000-meter races, giving her six gold medals and a sweep of the four 500s in the two-stage World Cup speedskating competition at Obihiro, Japan. . . . Former Ohio State and Indianapolis Colt quarterback Art Schlichter was indicted again by a Hamilton (Ohio) County grand jury, on charges of theft and grand theft. Schlichter already faces one charge of grand theft in Hamilton County. The latest charges allege that he stole nearly $20,000 between 1992 and 1994.