The Cleveland Browns said they are close...

The Cleveland Browns said they are close to signing Phil Simms to back up quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Simms, 39, the most valuable player in the 1987 Super Bowl for the New York Giants, was released by the Giants before last season for salary-cap reasons and spent last season as an ESPN analyst for NFL games. . . .

Basketball

. . . . Wake Forest (24-5), which beat North Carolina in overtime Sunday for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title, jumped from seventh to third. North Carolina (24-5) held fourth, its lowest ranking of the season. Kansas (23-5) was fifth, dropping from second after losing in the semifinals of the Big Eight tournament.

Magic Johnson’s All-Stars made it five victories in as many games over the Australian national team, winning a 117-109 decision in overtime at Perth.

Winter Sports

. . . . Swedish skier Thomas Fogdoe, whose career was ended by a skiing accident a month ago that left him paralyzed from the 12th vertebra down, told reporters in Umea, Sweden, that his goal now is to walk again, although he realizes he will have to beat heavy odds to do it.

Names in the News

Former National League slugger Kevin Mitchell signed a one-year, estimated $3.9-million contract to play in Japan for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. . . . The CFL team moving to San Antonio will be known as the San Antonio Texans, the league said.