Nieuwendyk Is Traded to Stars

Joe Nieuwendyk of the Calgary Flames was traded to the Dallas Stars late Tuesday, and the team gave him a five-year contract to go along with his $1.8-million salary.

Dallas sent Calgary center Corey Millen, the former King who had played in only 13 of 29 games, and the rights to top 1995 draft pick Jarome Iginla.

The Stars are hoping Nieuwendyk improves the offense. Dallas’ 82 goals are the third fewest in the NHL. Nieuwendyk, 29, has been in a season-long holdout with the Flames. He had 21 goals and 29 assists in 46 games for the Flames last season.

*

The Hartford Whalers traded right wing Jocelyn Lemieux to New Jersey and acquired defenseman Jeff Brown from Vancouver in a three-team deal.

Hartford sent Lemieux and its second-round pick in 1998 to the Devils for center Jim Dowd and a second-round choice in 1997. The Whalers then sent Dowd, defenseman Fran Kucera and their second-round pick in 1997 to the Canucks for Brown and a third-round choice in 1998.

*

Moments after Kirk Muller told the New York Islanders he won’t report to the team, he was removed from the payroll, cutting off his $1.9-million salary.

Tennis

Jeff Tarango will play in the Australian Open next month after he apologized for his notorious Wimbledon outburst, tournament organizers said.

He was originally fined nearly $45,000 and banned from next year’s Wimbledon and one other major tournament. The Wimbledon ban is still in effect but his fine has been halved and the suspension from the second tournament was dropped.

Miscellany

American Kris Feddersen stayed atop the men’s World Cup standings by placing second in the aerials event of the freestyle ski competition at Piancavallo, Italy. In women’s competition, Canadian Veronica Brenner won the aerials event with 173.01 points. Nikki Stone of the United States edged Canadian Caroline Olivier for second place.

Jari Mantila of Finland won the third event of the Nordic combined season at Predazzo, Italy, and climbed into second place in the World Cup standings. Norway’s Knut-Tore Apeland, who finished second, remained the overall leader.

The presidents of Big 12 Conference schools, resolving an issue that threatened the new league’s stability, voted to admit up to four partial academic qualifiers each year, two men and two women.

Names in the News

Shawn Eckardt, the former bodyguard of figure skater Tonya Harding, has filed a $6-million lawsuit against a minister he claims heard his confession in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan and turned it over to police. . . . USA Softball selected former UCLA player Jennifer Brundage as an alternate for the U.S. Olympic team. . . . Don Porter, the head of the International Softball Federation, said he will remain on a nominating panel for the next U.S. Olympic Committee president despite an ethics board recommendation that he resign.