Indians’ Vizquel Signs Rich Contract Extension

Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel signed a five-year, $15.35-million contract extension Tuesday, giving the Cleveland Indians of 1996 a similar look to the club that won the American League pennant last season.

“I’m one of the most excited people in the world right now,” he said. “Six years seems to me to be a really long time to be on a team. But I was looking for a family, for a home.”

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The Chicago White Sox hired Bill Buckner as their hitting coach and agreed to a $2.8-million, two-year contract with center fielder Darren Lewis.

College Football

Jim Brown, who starred at Syracuse before becoming an NFL great, and 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims were honored along with other new members of the College Football Hall of Fame in New York.

The other 1995 inductees are Chris Burford of Stanford, Tommy Casanova of Louisiana State, Jake Gibbs of Mississippi, Rich Glover of Nebraska, Jim Grabowski of Illinois, Jim Martin of Notre Dame, Dennis Onkotz of Penn State, Rick Redman of Washington, Mike Singletary of Baylor and Frank Kush of Arizona State.

The other member of this year’s class, Paul Robeson, died in 1976.

Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier has been chosen college football’s player of the year and Gary Barnett coach of the year by the Sporting News.

Jim Leavitt, defensive coordinator at Kansas State since 1991, was introduced as South Florida’s first football coach. The Bulls won’t start play on the NCAA Division I-AA level until September 1997.

Virginia Tech suspended football players Tony Morrison and James Crawford from the team, and neither will travel with the Hokies to the Sugar Bowl. Coach Frank Beamer said Morrison, a linebacker, and Crawford, a receiver, were indefinitely suspended “for failure to live up to the standards set for Virginia Tech football players.”

College Basketball

The Pacific 10 Conference reprimanded Arizona State after determining a basketball player received money from a friend of an assistant basketball coach five years ago. Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen said the conference accepted Arizona State’s decision to “disassociate the representative from its athletic program.” The conference did not identify the player, the assistant coach or the friend.

Miscellany

The city of Anaheim has paid $13 million to retrieve its rights to build an entertainment and recreation sports complex in the 68-acre Anaheim Stadium parking lot. The city also announced it agreed to dismiss three lawsuits seeking $100 million in damages against Anaheim Stadium Associates, which leased portions of the parking lot in 1978 for development of commercial office buildings in conjunction with the agreement that brought the Los Angeles Rams to Anaheim.

Former heavyweight champion Buster Douglas and his brokerage company have settled their dispute with John Johnson, Douglas’ former manager, who said he deserved a $250,000 pre-fight payment given to Douglas.

World track’s governing body lifted drug-related suspensions against two female athletes, Russian hurdler Lyudmila Narozhilenko and German distance runner Iris Biba.

Mika Laitinen won his third World Cup ski jumping event of the season in Predazzo, Italy.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, will bid for the 2004 Olympic Games next week, the head of the local Olympic commission said. Also bidding are Buenos Aires; Cape Town, South Africa; Istanbul, Turkey; Rio de Janeiro; Seville, Spain; Rome; Lille, France; Copenhagen, and St. Petersburg, Russia. The bidding deadline is Jan. 10.