Indy Driver Fox Regains Consciousness

Race car driver Stan Fox regained consciousness Friday, five days after suffering a brain injury in a first-lap crash in the Indianapolis 500 and going into a coma.

Doctors said Fox, who underwent surgery to remove a blood clot, has been upgraded from critical to fair condition.

“He’s making some improvements clinically,” said neurosurgeon Kenneth L. Renkens. “He will now follow some commands with his left hand, so it seems as if he’s processing some of the information.

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After spending a day touring their headquarters 50 miles away, Jeff Gordon delighted his DuPont sponsors with a 153.669-m.p.h. lap over the Dover Downs International Speedway in Delaware that gave him the pole for Sunday’s Miller Genuine Draft 500.

Administration

The University of Alabama has rebuked football Coach Gene Stallings and Athletic Director Hootie Ingram in response to an alleged major NCAA rule violation involving former All-American defensive back Antonio Langham, who signed with a sports agent in January, 1993, changed his mind about going to the NFL early and played 11 games that fall before being declared ineligible.

Alabama representatives will appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions today for the first time ever.

Football

Defensive end Scott Davis, plagued by a lingering foot injury, appears to have played his final game with the Raiders. Davis, who ended a two-year retirement and signed a four-year, $5.3-million contract before last season, lost his starting job. “We’re not counting on him,” said Raider Coach Mike White. . . . Raider fullback Tom Rathman has informed the team that he is contemplating retirement. If he does return, it will probably be with another team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed former Houston Oiler receiver Ernest Givins, an unrestricted free agent, and announced new contracts for linebacker Santo Stephens and offensive lineman Jeff Novak. . . . Mike Brown, president of the Cincinnati Bengals, says he will meet with Baltimore officials trying to lure an NFL team.

Jurisprudence

A federal jury in Ft. Lauderdale is being asked to determine whether a Central Florida student manager, Kelly Hunter, and his father, Larry Hunter, tried and failed to engineer a point-shaving fix in a 1990 basketball game against Stanford. Defense attorneys maintain that the 70-61 Stanford victory was less than the 15-point spread, proving there was no fix.

Boxing

Hector Acero-Sanchez of the Dominican Republic retained the World Boxing Council super-bantamweight title with a majority draw against Daniel Zaragoza at Ledyard, Conn. . . . International Boxing Federation officials will meet today in Atlanta to decide whether to order heavyweight champion George Foreman to fight Axel Schulz again. Foreman has opposed a rematch with Schulz, whom Foreman beat in a controversial decision on April 12.

Basketball

The NBA expansion Toronto Raptors named former Detroit Piston assistant Brendan Malone as their first coach. . . . The Portland Trail Blazers said they have obtained a first-round draft pick from the Houston Rockets under the terms of a February trade that sent Clyde Drexler to Houston.

Hockey

Cap Raeder, who spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Kings, has been hired as an assistant by the Boston Bruins. . . . The uncertain future of the Winnipeg Jets grew more clouded when a group went to court to try to block construction of a $110-million arena.

Names in the News

William Hackett, a former Ohio State All-American and a co-founder of the Cincinnati Bengals, died at 71 in London, Ohio, after a brief illness. . . . Carlos Alberto Parreira, who coached Brazil to the World Cup soccer title last summer, was fired by Valencia of the Spanish first division and is a favorite to take over the U.S. team.