Belichick to Join Parcells at New England

Bill Belichick was hired by the New England Patriots on Friday as assistant head coach, reuniting the fired Cleveland coach with Bill Parcells.

Parcells and Belichick were assistants with the New York Giants from 1981 to ’82. When Parcells was hired as Giant coach in 1983, he chose Belichick as his defensive coordinator and the two won two Super Bowls together.

“Bill Belichick is one of the most respected defensive coaches in the game today,” Parcells said. “He was an instrumental part of my staff for eight seasons in New York and helped build one of the premier defenses in the league at that time.”

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NFL free agency began with Neil O’Donnell, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to the AFC championship, and Larry Brown, who was the Super Bowl most valuable player for the Dallas Cowboys, available. So were Marcus Allen, one of the game’s greatest running backs, and wide receiver Art Monk.

The bidding wars are expected to be for San Francisco 49er cornerback Eric Davis and Arizona Cardinal cornerback Aeneas Williams, Steeler tackle Leon Searcy, Chicago Bear receiver Jeff Graham and New Orleans Saint receiver Quinn Early.

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The Oakland Raiders re-signed tailback Harvey Williams to a contract he says will allow him to retire with the Raiders. . . . The 49ers extended the contract of safety Tim McDonald through 1999. . . . The St. Louis Rams, who have been after cornerback Maurice Hurst for months, finally signed the former Patriot. . . . The Atlanta Falcons released three aging defensive players--linebacker Darryl Talley, safety Kevin Ross and tackle Jumpy Geathers. . . . Six-time Pro Bowl tackle Gary Zimmerman has signed a one-year $2.4-million contract with the Denver Broncos, ending speculation that the 34-year-old veteran would retire.

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The city council has given Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White three weeks to secure financing for a proposed domed stadium and convention center. If White fails to meet the deadline, several council members said, the agreement with the NFL to restore football in Cleveland may be in jeopardy. To persuade city officials to let Brown owner Art Modell move his team to Baltimore, the NFL pledged up to $48 million to bolster an existing stadium financing package.

Winter Sports

Picabo Street won the downhill portion of the women’s combined at the World Alpine Skiing Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, but she is expected to falter in Monday’s slalom. The same goes for Americans Megan Gerety, who was fourth, and Hilary Lindh, who was seventh.

The combined is expected to be won by a strong slalom racer such as Austria’s Renate Goetschl (sixth in the downhill) or teammate Anita Wachter (12th).

Golf

With the wind bending the flagsticks for the second consecutive day, left-hander Russ Cochran shot a six-under-par 66 to join three other players atop the leaderboard after 36 holes of the $1.2-million Hawaiian Open at Honolulu.

Brad Fabel and Steve Stricker, with 70s, and Jim Furyk, with a 71, were also at five-under 139 for two rounds of the 6,975-yard Waialae Country Club course.

Al Geiberger shot an even-par 71 on a cold, windy day for a one-stroke lead over Buddy Allin and Calvin Peete in the opening round of the Suncoast Classic senior tournament at Tampa, Fla. . . . The LPGA Tour has chosen Judy Rankin to be captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team after JoAnne Carner stepped down because of her husband’s health.

Tennis

Pete Sampras took another step in his quest to regain the No. 1 ranking, rallying to defeat Greg Rusedski, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the Sybase Open at San Jose. Third-ranked Andre Agassi kept pace by defeating stubborn Richey Reneberg, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. He will face Michael Chang, who breezed past Jason Stoltenberg, 6-1, 6-0.

Next up for Sampras is 119th-ranked Jan Kroslak, who defeated Vince Spadea, 6-7 (4-6), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2).

Jennifer Capriati, whose comeback was aborted by injury last week, has accepted a wild-card entry to the event in Essen, Germany, next week. Capriati, 19, hasn’t played on the women’s tour since November 1994. She announced her comeback at last week’s Paris Open but strained a hip muscle while practicing on the day of the match and withdrew from the tournament.

Julie Halard of France handed Anke Huber her first loss before a final since November, beating the German, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8), in the quarterfinals of the Paris Open. Top-seeded Iva Majoli of Croatia survived a first-set scare to advance to the semifinals by defeating Nathalie Dechy, a 16-year-old French qualifier, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Boxing

Hector Camacho Jr., 17-year-old son of pro boxing’s colorful and controversial Macho Man, won the 139-pound U.S. Amateur title by outpointing Ishe Smith in a battle of high school students at Colorado Springs, Colo.

Albert Guardado, formerly of Colton High, had too much savvy for Sean Johnson of Washington and pounded out a 17-9 decision in the 106-pound final.

College Basketball

Sheri Sam scored a career-high 32 points to lead No. 13 Vanderbilt to a 71-66 upset victory over the top-ranked Georgia women’s team at Nashville, Tenn.

The Western Athletic Conference penalized a Wyoming player and coach and a Texas El Paso player and coach for their participation in an altercation during Thursday night’s game at El Paso. The WAC office said Wyoming freshman center Derek Washington and UTEP assistant coach Luster Goodwin would be suspended for half a game and UTEP freshman Sharif Fajardo and Wyoming assistant coach Reggie Rankin must serve one-game suspensions.

Louisville center Samaki Walker violated no NCAA rules by using a car purchased by his father, a university report said. . . . Louisiana State guard Randy Livingston, hobbled by recurring injuries to his knees and legs, has withdrawn from school to give full attention to rehabilitation. . . . Jesse Pate, Arkansas’ leading scorer, and Sunday Adebayo, the club’s leading rebounder, will be held out of today’s game against Auburn because of eligibility questions.

Jurisprudence

Steffi Graf’s father, taken into custody six months ago to keep him from fleeing a tax evasion investigation, will remain jailed, a court in Karlsruhe, Germany, ruled. . . . Warren Moon’s wife testified in Richmond, Texas, that the Minnesota Viking quarterback grabbed and choked her during a bedroom fight that began in an argument over credit cards and money. . . . Tommy Barnhardt, formerly a punter for the Saints, must pay 17% of his income in child support, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled.

Names in the News

Jessica Foschi, the 15-year-old Long Island swimmer fighting a two-year suspension for testing positive for a steroid, filed a petition with the American Arbitration Assn. to overturn the ban. . . . Dirk Koetter, a Boston College assistant, was hired as offensive coordinator at Oregon. . . . Carl Maddox, a longtime Louisiana State and Mississippi State athletic director, died at 82.