Sampras Delighted by Return to Grass

Pete Sampras played a near flawless power game on grass Wednesday to defeat fellow American Jonathan Stark, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, in the second round of the Queen’s Club tennis tournament in London.

It was Sampras’ first victory in a month, following a clay-court season in which he lost his opening match in four of five tournaments.

“The red stuff is in the history books,” Sampras said.

*

Second-seeded Bernd Karbacher of Germany lost to Spain’s Jordi Arrese, 6-1, 6-3, in second-round play at the $328,000 Maia Open in Oporto, Portugal. . . . Zina Garrison-Jackson survived a first-set scare from Dutch qualifier Carolin Vis before advancing, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, to the third round of the $161,250 DFS Classic women’s grass-court tournament in Birmingham, England. . . . Third-seeded Dutchman Paul Haarhuis defeated veteran Frenchman Henri Leconte, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2, in the Ordina Open grass-court tournament in Rosmalen, Netherlands.

Hockey

A group of local businessmen, Spirit of Manitoba Inc., agreed to pay $24 million to buy out the majority owners of the Winnipeg Jets in a conditional deal aimed at keeping the NHL club from moving. The deal, if it goes through, will end the involvement in the club of Jet President Barry Shenkarow and his partners.

A Friday arbitration hearing to determine Mighty Duck forward Todd Ewen’s salary retroactive to last season has been postponed. It will be rescheduled before the June 30 deadline.

Jurisprudence

Mighty Duck defenseman Bobby Dollas has reached an out-of-court settlement in a paternity suit filed by a woman in Oakland County, Mich., last December. . . . The teen-ager who accused Dallas Cowboy offensive tackle Erik Williams of sexually assaulting her says she wants to drop the whole thing, but the Collin County, Tex., prosecutor handling the case said the grand jury will decide if it goes to trial. . . . Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips, the nation’s third-leading rusher as a sophomore last season, faces a court appearance later this month after being arrested for allegedly disturbing the peace in Lincoln.

Miscellany

Russian swimmer Denis Pankratov broke the world record in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1 minute 55.22 seconds at Canet-En-Roussillon, France. He bettered the mark of 1:55.69, set by American Mel Stewart at Perth, Australia, on Jan. 12, 1991. . . . Humberto Gonzalez of Mexico, the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation light-flyweight champion, will defend his titles against Saman Sorjaturong of Thailand on July 13 at the Forum.

The Mid-American Conference has added Marshall, Northern Illinois and the State University of New York at Buffalo to give the league 13 members. . . . Arizona State will add women’s soccer to its list of varsity sports for the fall of 1996. . . . Guard Giovanni Calcagnini of Montecchio was suspended for the rest of the year by the Italian Basketball Federation for making anti-Semitic remarks to a player on a rival team.

Names in the News

Running back Terry Allen, twice a 1,000-yard rusher with Minnesota, has agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Redskins, the Washington Times reported. Allen, a five-year veteran, rushed for 1,031 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He holds Viking record for rushing yards in a season, 1,201 in 1992, but he missed 1993 because of a knee injury and the Vikings released him this spring rather than pay the $1.5 million called for in his contract this year.

Baseball legend Mickey Mantle’s transplanted liver is functioning well with no sign of rejection, hospital officials said. . . . University of Cincinnati basketball Coach Bob Huggins is being offered a four-year contract worth $1.2 million a year to coach the Miami Heat, the Miami Herald and Cincinnati Enquirer reported. . . . Mario Andretti, along with Frenchmen Bob Wollek and Eric Helary, led the first-day’s trials for the Le Mans 24 Hours race in France. Andretti is making a return to Le Mans in an effort to become the second driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the World Formula One Championship and the Le Mans 24 hours. The late Graham Hill was the first. The race begins Saturday afternoon.