Men’s, Women’s Tennis Events to Merge

Two of the biggest men’s and women’s tennis events in Southern California will be combined under a new format next year.

The Newsweek Champions Cup and the Evert Cup will become a 10-day men’s and women’s tournament, to be held March 8-17 at Hyatt Grand Champions resort in Indian Wells.

The new format is the creation of Charlie Pasarell, who will be the director of the as-yet unsponsored tournament. Aside from the four Grand Slam events, the only other tournament in which the men and women compete together is the Lipton Championships at Key Biscayne, Fla.

The men’s portion of the 56-player draw tournament will still have a qualifying event, which will begin March 4. The men’s finals are scheduled for March 17. The women will open play on March 8, with the finals on March 16.

NCAA champions Keri Phebus of Newport Beach and Sargis Sargsian of Armenia have been named 1995 Tennis Magazine-Rolex college players of the year.

The players were selected by Tennis Magazine and the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn.

Phebus, a junior at UCLA who went to Corona del Mar High, is only the second woman to win the singles and the doubles championships in the same year. After being ranked No. 1 in the nation in the 12s, 14s and 16s, at 16 she considered turning professional. Now 21, Phebus has decided to finish school and will join the pro tour next summer.

Sargsian, an Arizona State senior, won three of the four college Grand Slam tournaments, gaining the singles title and becoming the first male to win four Grand Slam titles in his collegiate career.

Both champions have been awarded wild-card berths into the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 28.

Hockey

The Florida Panthers named Doug MacLean, player development director, to succeed Roger Nielson as coach. Nielson was fired last month after compiling a 53-56-23 record in two seasons.

MacLean, 41, was an assistant coach under Panther General Manager Bryan Murray in Detroit during the 1990-91 season.

Soccer

Diego Maradona, whose worldwide soccer ban for drug abuse expires in September, signed an $8-million, 2 1/2-year contract with his former Argentine club, Boca Juniors.

The 34-year-old former star, who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, will be eligible to play Sept. 28. He was banned from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The club also signed Claudio Caniggia, Maradona’s former international teammate, to a $1-million, one-year deal.

English Premier League players Bruce Grobbelaar, John Fashanu and Hans Segers will be charged with conspiracy in connection with match-fixing allegations, police in Southampton, England, said.

Detective Superintendent Peter Long said the three players, along with Malaysian businessman Heng Suan Lim and Fashanu’s girlfriend, Melissa Kassampasi, are accused of receiving or paying money to influence the outcome of matches.

The investigations followed a report last fall in a British tabloid that alleged Southampton goalkeeper Grobbelaar had received $60,000 to allow goals while playing for Liverpool against Newcastle in 1993.

According to the Sun, a betting syndicate, believed to be based in Malaysia, made $4.5 million on the match, won by Newcastle, 3-0.

It was also alleged that Wimbledon goalkeeper Segers allowed goals in Everton’s 3-2 comeback victory at the end of the 1993-94 season. Fashanu, now playing for Aston Villa but a teammate of Segers at the time, was alleged to have given away a penalty in a game against Sheffield United that cost Wimbledon victory.

Friendship Cup ‘95, a tournament developed by former FIFA referee Toros Kibritjian and featuring professional teams from Armenia, El Salvador, Israel and Mexico, will begin with a doubleheader tonight at the Coliseum.

El Firpo of El Salvador will play Maccabi Haifa of Israel at 6:30, with UNAM of Mexico playing Shirag Kumri of Armenia at 8:30. The losers will meet Thursday at 6:30 p.m., followed by the championship game at 8:30.

College Football

Notre Dame officials announced plans to expand Notre Dame Stadium to 80,990 seats from its current capacity of 59,075 fans by 1997.

The $50-million, 21,915-seat expansion program will also include a new three-level press box, new locker rooms and additional restrooms and concession facilities.

Olympics

The Olympic torch run leading to next year’s Atlanta Games will start in Los Angeles, site of the 1984 and 1932 Games.

The relay is expected to begin on April 27 and is due in Atlanta 84 days later. The Opening Ceremony is scheduled for July 19.

Miscellany

Citing poor community support, the Riverside Pilots of the California League announced that they will relocate to Lancaster at the end of the 1995 season. Lancaster has promised the team a 4,500-seat baseball stadium in time for the 1996 season. . . . Tennessee promoted assistant Bill Webb to head track coach, replacing Doug Brown, who left Tennessee for Florida.

Eddie Brown, former wide receiver for the University of Miami and the Cincinnati Bengals, was shot in the shoulder in an apparent drive-by shooting outside his home in Hollywood, Fla. The injury is not life-threatening. . . . Junior forward Henry Madden was dismissed from the Oregon basketball team for failing to meet academic requirements, Coach Jerry Green said. He averaged 8.3 points and five rebounds last year and had a team-high 22 blocked shots.