Irvan Back on Track With Weekend Race

Sidelined for 13 months because of head injuries suffered in an accident at Michigan International Speedway, Ernie Irvan will return to racing Saturday, hopeful he can again succeed in the sport that nearly cost him his life.

“My whole life’s been pushing my luck. I’m just faithful that God’s looking over me,” he said after revealing that he will make his debut in a 150-lap NASCAR SuperTruck race at Martinsville, Va. Doctors gave him only a 10% chance of surviving, much less racing, after his crash into a concrete wall on Aug. 20, 1994.

Obstacles between him and complete recovery are his droopy left eyelid and the double vision that the eye creates. Doctors have told him they expect both problems to eventually subside. In the interim, he plans to wear a patch over the eye while he’s driving.

“I have a goal, and the goal is to win the race,” said Irvan, who also is entered in the truck circuit’s event the following Saturday in North Wilkesboro, N.C. He plans a return to Winston Cup racing Sunday, Oct. 1, in North Wilkesboro.

Irvan was injured when his Ford Thunderbird slammed into the retaining wall during a practice run at an estimated 165 miles per hour. It left him with numerous serious injuries, including massive head and chest trauma. There initially was concern that Irvan might not survive. But once his condition stabilized, he began a recovery that proceeded at a rate that doctors described as unprecedented.

Basketball

Baylor’s basketball team was cleared for postseason play after the NCAA determined the school had taken sufficient steps to discipline itself. The university had helped uncover schemes by former coaches to provide players with phony academic credit.

Because of the school’s aggressiveness in addressing infractions, the NCAA granted a request from Baylor that the original two-year probation on postseason play be cut to one year. The ban was served last season.

Rob Standifer, Mesa Community College basketball coach, resigned over his role in the recruitment of Richie Parker, a New York prep star who pleaded guilty to sexual assault. Standifer, 28, told the Tribune Newspapers of Arizona that he stands by his decision to offer Parker an opportunity to play, though the offer was later rejected by the school’s administration. Mesa President Larry Christiansen said Standifer’s resignation takes effect immediately. Basketball practice opens Oct. 2.

Jurisprudence

Former Florida State and Denver Bronco tight end Orson Mobley was in jail in Jacksonville, Fla., on $125,000 bond, charged with sexually assaulting two women. Mobley was arrested after two women reported being sexually assaulted by the 6-foot-5, 260-pound ex-player about six hours apart in separate incidents. Mobley denied the charges, saying he paid the women for sex.

Miscellany

In the second doping case at the All Africa Games in Zimbabwe, a Nigerian tested positive for a banned drug, causing the team to forfeit its gold medal in the men’s 400-meter relay. Officials refused to identify the runner, saying a formal announcement would be made today.

Names in the News

Detroit Red Wing forward Ray Sheppard lost his arbitration case and said he wanted out of the Red Wing organization. Arbitrator George Nicolau awarded Sheppard a one-year contract for $1.55 million, which was $400,000 short of Sheppard’s submission and $200,000 more than the Red Wings had offered.

The Los Angeles Blade roller hockey team will not renew the contract of Coach Bobby Hull Jr., owner-president Jeanie Buss said. Hull led the Blades to a 9-10-5 season last year after a first year of 18-4. No replacement was named.

Monica Seles, co-ranked No. 1 in the world, will play in the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, a tennis tournament she has won twice, Oct. 30-Nov. 5.

Golfer Dave Stockton won $130,000 in the Merrill Lynch Senior Shoot-Out Championship by beating Larry Laoretti in a closest-to-the-pin playoff. He hit an eight-iron shot six feet from the cup on a 133-yard playoff hole. Laoretti’s shot was 12 feet away.

Steve Wisnewski, Oakland Raider guard, will receive an “Unsung Hero” award from the Playoff Corp., in conjunction with the NFL Players Assn. He will receive a super-size version of his trading card in ceremonies at 11:30 a.m. today at the Raider training camp in El Segundo.

Frank James Mahony , who sang the Star Spangled Banner for more than 20 years at the Forum before Laker and King games, died of a heart attack Monday in Karlsruhe, Germany. Mahony, 63, was working there as a physical therapist.

European hurdles champion Oleg Tverdokhleb of the Ukraine was electrocuted while fixing wiring in his parents’ house in Dnipropetrovsk. Tverdokhleb, 25, won the European 400-meter hurdles in Helsinki last year after finishing seventh in the 1992 Summer Olympics.