Signings Include Zeile by Phils

The Florida Marlins and the Boston Red Sox added pitching, and the Philadelphia Phillies added punch in baseball free-agent signings Friday.

The Phillies got the right-handed hitter they needed by signing third baseman Todd Zeile to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million.

Zeile, who missed most of last September because of an injured thumb, hit .246 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

The Marlins, meanwhile, signed right-hander Kevin Brown to a three-year contract worth $12.9 million. Brown, 30, was 10-9 with a 3.60 earned-run average in 26 starts for the Baltimore Orioles last season.

The Red Sox, who added right-hander Tom Gordon to their pitching staff Thursday, signed left-hander Jamie Moyer to a one-year deal.

Other key transactions:

--The Toronto Blue Jays and right-hander Erik Hanson, who became a free agent after going 15-5 with the Boston Red Sox last season, agreed to a three-year, $9.5-million contract.

--The Texas Rangers and pitcher Ken Hill agreed to a two-year, $8.1-million contract. Texas also agreed to a one-year, $1-million deal with reliever Mike Henneman.

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Anheuser-Busch has agreed to sell the St. Louis Cardinals to a group of investors for $150 million, a deal that will keep the team in its home city. The sale by the brewery must be approved by baseball and is expected to be completed on Feb. 15.

Skiing

Italian star Alberto Tomba, who withdrew from the giant slalom at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Thursday because of poor course conditions and flew home to Italy, was back Friday and apparently found the snow to his liking.

The defending World Cup champion was clocked in 47.46 seconds for the first run, half a second faster than any other skier. Starting in 15th place in the second run, he attacked the course, and his time of 49.38 gave him an overall clocking of 1:36.84--an impressive 1.21 seconds ahead of runner-up Jure Kosir of Slovenia.

Ending a streak of bad luck and poor performances, Sweden’s Pernilla Wiberg won a World Cup slalom at Veysonnaz, Switzerland.

Speedskating

Sylvain Bouchard of Canada set a world record in the men’s 1,000 meters of 1:12.27 in the Canadian long-track championships at Calgary, Alberta.

American skaters Christine Witty and Casey FitzRandolph swept the 500- and 1,000-meter races on the first day of the U.S. sprint championships at Milwaukee.

Witty, of West Allis, Wis., took the women’s 500 in 40.47 and the 1,000 in 1:20.97 in the competition at the Pettit National Ice Center. FitzRandolph, of Verona, Wis., won the men’s 500 in 36.96 and the 1,000 in 1:14.53.

Miscellany

The committee staging the Olympic torch run next year expects logistic challenges but agreed to change the route to pass through former Olympian Jim Thorpe’s birthplace, Prague, Okla.

Attorneys in Lumberton, N.C., finished jury selection for the murder trial of a North Carolina man accused of killing the father of basketball star Michael Jordan. Lawyers selected a third alternate, completing the panel of 12 jurors and three alternates for the trial of Lord D.A.A.S. U’allah, formerly known as Daniel Green. Opening statements are expected Jan. 3.

An athlete and his mother have told the NCAA that he agreed to play basketball at Texas Tech after Red Raider Coach James Dickey promised to arrange a job for the player’s pregnant girlfriend, the Houston Chronicle reported. The newspaper identified the athlete as Damon Ashley, who played for the Red Raiders during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons after transferring from Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kan. Dickey denied that there was any impropriety in his recruiting of Ashley.

Names in the News

Jockey Nick Santagata was in critical condition in a New York hospital after a three-horse spill in the first race at Aqueduct. An emergency room doctor said Santagata had suffered “closed head injuries, chest trauma and multiple rib fractures.” Riders Rafael Mojica and Filiberto Leon suffered only minor injuries. . . . Hank Aaron has reached a settlement with three sportswear manufacturers who claimed he broke exclusive contracts with them, avoiding a trial.