Capriati Begins Her Comeback

Jennifer Capriati returns to tennis in Paris today for only her second match in 2 1/2 years. And it will be a lot different from the first time she played in Paris, six years ago.

She will face Belgium’s Sabine Appelmans at the Paris Open indoor tournament.

At 14, Capriati made the French Open semifinals in 1990, becoming the youngest semifinalist in Grand Slam tournament history. She was ranked as high as sixth in 1991. Now, Capriati is back at 19 after a troubled exile from the game that included arrests for shoplifting and marijuana possession and tours in drug rehab.

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An impatient Andre Agassi, who twice complained about his opponent stalling between serves, breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Stanford freshman Ryan Wolters in the Sybase Open at San Jose.

Pro Football

Don Shula, the all-time winningest coach in NFL history, has spurned an opportunity to come out of retirement and join the new Baltimore franchise as a coach or a member of the front office, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Baltimore owner Art Modell spoke with Shula briefly Monday morning, and Modell said Shula, 66, gave him no indication he was about to leave South Florida. Shula resigned from the Miami Dolphins last month after a 33-year coaching career.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired former Dolphin running back coach Tony Nathan to coach their running backs. . . . The Dolphins were denied permission by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue to talk to Dallas Cowboy offensive line coach Hudson Houck.

Track and Field

Frankie Fredericks of Namibia set a world indoor record of 10.05 seconds in the 100 meters at Tampere, Finland. He broke the record, 10.13, set last year by Olapade Adeniken of Nigeria.

Donovan Bailey’s record time of 5.56 seconds for the 50-meter dash, set Friday at Reno, was questioned by a U.S. Track and Field official, who said the start might have been illegal.

Basketball

Veteran guard Jeff Malone signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat. Malone, 34, was released by the Philadelphia 76ers Jan. 4. He averaged 6.2 points in 25 games this season.

The Charlotte Hornets activated guard Muggsy Bogues, who has sat out all 46 games this season because of knee surgery last summer. The Hornets put guard Michael Adams on the injured list because of a pulled right groin.

Former NBA players Alex English, Len Elmore and Paul Silas are no longer in the running to become head of the NBA Players Assn. The finalists: Charles Bennett, former financial advisor to the union; William Hunter, former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California; and Bill Strickland, a Washington sports attorney.

Boxing

Fernando Vargas of Oxnard, 1994 U.S. champion at 132 pounds and a Pan American bronze medalist at 139 last year, won his 147-pound bout against Gary Jones of Washington at the U.S. Amateur Boxing Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. Hector Camacho Jr., the 17-year-old son of the former world champion, defeated Billy Johnson of San Diego at 139 pounds.

Jesse Magana of Hanford, Calif., twice knocked down Freddie Cruz of the Dominican Republic and won a unanimous 12-round decision at the Forum to retain his North American Boxing Organization junior-featherweight title.

Miscellany

The Boston Red Sox avoided arbitration with reliever Heathcliff Slocumb by agreeing to a $1.4-million, one-year contract. . . . Pitcher Bob Wickman and the New York Yankees also avoided arbitration when they agreed to an $800,000, one-year contract, nearly four times his 1995 salary. . . . Former major leaguer Darnell Coles signed a one-year contract to play in Japan for the Chunichi Dragons.

Jack Nicklaus apparently will end his streak of major championship tournaments at 138 with this year’s U.S. Open. He said he won’t compete in the British Open in July unless he achieves a top-20 finish in both the Masters and U.S. Open.

Defending champion Boston University earned its 19th Beanpot hockey title with an 11-4 victory over Northeastern at Boston.