Three Share Bay Hill Golf Lead

Mark O’Meara, Paul Goydos and Glen Day shot five-under-par 67s Thursday at Orlando, Fla., to share the lead after the first round of the Bay Hill Invitational, where play got slower as the greens dried and got faster.

Day’s threesome finished in a little more than five hours, and it wasn’t uncommon for two groups to be waiting on Nos. 14 and 17, the par-threes on the back nine. Play was delayed even more when a sprinkler began gushing water on the 18th hole as Curtis Strange prepared to putt.

“The par-threes are long. That may be why it’s taking so long,” said Bob Lohr, one stroke behind after a 68 that also took five hours.

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Pat Bradley, Liselotte Neumann and Trish Johnson shot four-under-par 68s to share the lead after one round of the Ping-Welch’s Championship LPGA event at Tucson.

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Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a nine-under-par 63, one shot off the course record, in taking the first-round lead in the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates. American Jay Townsend is one shot behind. Defending champion Fred Couples shot a 69.

Football

The New York Jets signed free-agent receiver Jeff Graham from the Chicago Bears, giving him a multiyear contract. . . . The Philadelphia Eagles re-signed free-agent quarterback Rodney Peete to a two-year contract. . . . The Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys and AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs will meet in Monterrey, Mexico, on Aug. 5 as part of the American Bowl exhibition game. . . . Division II Emporia State, Kan., has restricted its football program after finding travel and other violations of NCAA rules.

Jurisprudence

Tennessee freshman wide receiver Greg Kyler and sophomore linebacker Antony Hampton were to perform 100 hours of community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault for beating up Brian Forrest, a university trainer, on Feb. 17.

Mats Wilander and Karel Novacek will learn Tuesday if a court in London will issue an injunction to halt the International Tennis Federation from investigating their alleged use of cocaine.

Alberto Tarantini, a member of Argentina’s 1978 World Cup-winning soccer team, was arrested for drug possession as he left a nightclub in Buenos Aires.

Miscellany

Russian weightlifter Alexei Petrov, a triple gold-medalist in the 91-kilogram division at the world championships, faces a possible lifetime suspension for failing a test for anabolic steroids. . . . Australia got a five-run victory over two-time world champion West Indies in their semifinal match at the World Cup Cricket Championship in Lahore, Pakistan, and will play Sri Lanka for the title on Sunday.

Peter Holmberg of the Virgin Islands defeated New Zealand’s Gavin Brady by 24 seconds in the last race at Long Beach to sail into a tie with Brady and France’s Thierry Peponnet for first place in the 32nd Congressional Cup match-racing regatta after 12 of 18 rounds. Each has won 10 of 12 races in the series, which continues through Saturday. . . . Tim Henman beat eighth-seeded Marc Goellner, 6-3, 6-3, and Filip Dewulf beat Sandor Noszaly, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the quarterfinals of the Copenhagen Open indoor tennis tournament.

Names in the News

Gerald Brown, the leading scorer in the West Coast Conference this basketball season for Pepperdine, had reconstructive surgery on his right knee.

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd was the first player signed by the Bangor Blue Ox of the independent Northeast League.