Former Archrival to Lead Blackhawks

A former Chicago Blackhawk hater became the ultimate Blackhawk on Thursday when Craig Hartsburg, a former NHL defenseman, was hired to coach the team.

“It’s ironic,” Hartsburg said of receiving a three-year contract on his 36th birthday. “Ten years ago in old Chicago Stadium, the team I probably hated the most was the Chicago Blackhawks when I played for Minnesota.”

Hartsburg, a former member of the North Stars and the 30th coach in Chicago history, replaces Darryl Sutter, who resigned last week.

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The Kings signed goaltender Frederick Beaubien to a three-year contract. Beaubien, 20, was the Kings’ fifth-round pick in the 1993 NHL entry draft.

Stadiums

The Cincinnati City Council voted to go along with Hamilton County’s $540-million plan to build separate stadiums for football’s Bengals and baseball’s Reds by 2000. The vote came minutes before a deadline set by Bengal President Mike Brown.

In a step aimed at keeping the Cleveland Browns from leaving town, the City Council approved a $154-million tax package to help finance the renovation of Cleveland Stadium.

Football

Wide receiver John Taylor, waived Wednesday by the San Francisco 49ers, rejoined the team by signing a less lucrative two-year contract with a base salary of $300,000 this season and the potential to earn up to $1.7 million with incentives and a base of $1.3 million in 1996.

The Pittsburgh Steelers reached a three-year, $1.26-million agreement with veteran kicker Dean Biasucci, probably ending the Steelers’ recently stormy relationship with Gary Anderson, the team’s kicker since 1982.

Basketball

Dennis Rodman must pay for his irresponsibility in infecting a former Atlanta Hawk cheerleader Lisa Beth Judd, 24, with herpes, a disease she will have for the rest of her life, her attorney Mark Trigg said in seeking an award of $1.25 million in punitive damages, an additional $580,000 in compensatory damages and more than $191,000 in attorney’s fees in Atlanta. Defense attorney Richard Hines reminded the jury that there was no conclusive medical evidence Rodman had herpes.

The 1996 Big West Conference tournament will be held March 7-10 in Reno.

George Washington ended its efforts to recruit Rich Parker, a 6-foot-5 Manhattan Center (N.Y.) High standout who pleaded guilty to felony charges of sexual abuse earlier this year.

For the first time since Proposition 48 established stricter academic standards for freshman athletes, graduation rates declined in men’s basketball. The rate for Division I players who entered college in 1988 was 42%, a drop from 46% for the previous class, an NCAA study shows.

An internal investigation into the Louisville program uncovered one minor violation involving a coach playing a pickup game with three players but none involving more serious allegations made by former volunteer strength coach Jimmy Thompson, Athletic Director Bill Olsen said.

Miscellany

A California woman has been arrested in New York for allegedly threatening to reveal embarrassing information about Darryl Strawberry if the outfielder didn’t pay her $300,000.

The owner of the Western Baseball League’s Long Beach Barracuda filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11, according to team president Chris Gibbs. Bruce Engel, president of the independent league, postponed a decision on the club’s future until Monday.

Dale Earnhardt, showing he has recovered from a crash two weeks ago, earned the pole at 191.355 m.p.h. for Saturday’s Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Howard Davis, the 1976 Olympic gold medalist coming back from a six-year retirement, won a unanimous 10-round decision over Humberto Aranda in a middleweight bout at Somerset, N.J.