Well-Rested Walsh Signs to Compete for Rams’ Job
Steve Walsh, who didn’t throw a pass for the Chicago Bears last season after carrying 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.
They Rams are seeking a replacement for Chris Miller, whose career has been cut short after a series of concussions. Mark Rypien also will compete for the job.
Walsh, a 29-year-old, 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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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.
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.
Several Jackson, Tenn., groups obtained a temporary restraining order that bars the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame from spending any more money pending further review. The board of directors of the hall of fame recently voted to build the facility in Knoxville, Tenn., instead of Jackson.
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.
California reportedly will announce former USC coach Marianne Stanley as its basketball coach today.
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 basketball club, Fenerbahce, for leaving his hotel during an away game. Comegys is recovering from lung surgery. The amount of Comegys’ fine was not disclosed.
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.
Appalachian State University named Buzz Peterson, 32, as its basketball 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 United States Basketball League’s draft.
Tennis
Top-seeded Pete Sampras defeated Canadian Sebastian Lareau, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in their opening-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.
Third-seeded Alberto Costa was eliminated by fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the Estoril Open in Portugal.
Top-seeded Thomas Enqvist of Sweden coasted past India’s Mahesh Bhupathi, 6-3, 6-0, and into the quarterfinals of the India Open at New Delhi, the first major ATP tour event ever played in that country.
Alberto Mancini of Argentina, back after a two-year retirement, beat Spain’s Emilio Sanchez, 6-1, 7-5, in a first-round match at the Naples Internationals in Italy.
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.
Names in the News
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.