Well-Rested Walsh Signs to Compete for Rams’ Job

Steve Walsh, who didn’t throw a pass for the Chicago Bears last season after leading them to the playoffs in 1994, will get a chance to throw for the St. Louis Rams, who signed him Wednesday after looking at such free agents as Steve Beuerlein, Randall Cunningham and David Klingler.

The Rams are seeking a replacement for Chris Miller, who will sit out the 1996 season after a series of concussions. Mark Rypien also will compete for the job.

Walsh, 29, an eight-year veteran from Miami, had an 8-3 record as a starter for Chicago in 1994. He lost the starting job to Erik Kramer last season.

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Wide receiver Brian Blades, who is charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cousin, has reached agreement on a three-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks. . . . Offensive lineman Reggie McElroy was re-signed by the Denver Broncos, who also signed safety Erik McMillan and wide receivers Sanjay Beach and David Gamble. . . . The NFL’s Pro Bowl will be televised on network television in prime time for the first time, on Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. on ABC.

Boxing

Julio Cesar Chavez will leave his training camp in Toluca, Mexico, after his sparring partner and friend, Jesus “Baby” Gallardo, was shot to death there Tuesday night.

Chavez was training in Toluca for his June 7 fight against Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas.

Jurisprudence

A Blacksburg, Va., grand jury decided that there was insufficient evidence to indict Antonio Morrison and James Crawford, Virginia Tech football players accused of raping a woman in their dormitory room. Both remain defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by Christy Brzonkala, the alleged victim.

Former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Oliver McCall, 30, was arrested in Winston-Salem, N.C., and charged with possession of about $10 worth of marijuana.

Basketball

The search committee at Long Beach State, looking for a coach since Seth Greenberg resigned to take the job at South Florida, will talk with 49er assistant Clyde Vaughan, Long Beach City Coach Gary Anderson, Oregon assistant Bobby Braswell and Cal State Bakersfield Coach Pat Douglass. Three other candidates were not named.

Dallas Comegys, a 31-year-old former NBA player who was shot outside a nightclub in Turkey on April 4, has been fined by his Istanbul club, Fenerbahce, for leaving his hotel during a road trip. Comegys is recovering from lung surgery.

Chris Washburn, the No. 1 draft pick of the Golden State Warriors in 1986 who was later kicked out of the NBA for substance abuse, has been shot in the foot in Hickory, N.C., in an area known for drug activity.

The NBA took a step closer to big-time involvement in women’s basketball when Commissioner David Stern said it would examine whether the time was right for another shot at a national league.

California will announce former USC coach Marianne Stanley as its women’s basketball coach today.

Appalachian State named Buzz Peterson, 32, as its coach. . . . Stephon Marbury, who has said he is leaving Georgia Tech after one year for the NBA, was selected first by the Long Island Surf in the U.S. Basketball League’s draft.

Tennis

Top-seeded Pete Sampras defeated Canadian Sebastian Lareau, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in their first-round match at the Salem Open in Hong Kong. Also advancing was second-seeded Michael Chang, who beat South African Marcos Ondruska, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario continued her quest for a third Bausch and Lomb Championship, turning back Christina Papadaki of Greece, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3), in the second round at Amelia Island, Fla.

Miscellany

Rancho Cucamonga Quake pitcher Matt LaChappa, who collapsed in the bullpen at the Epicenter on Saturday night, remains in critical condition and on a respirator. He has been transferred from San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland to Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. . . . ESPN President Steve Bornstein, 43, replaced Dennis Swanson, 58, as head of ABC Sports. . . . The English soccer federation banned Huddersfield forward Craig Whitington for seven months after he tested positive for marijuana for the second time in 10 months.