Marino Gets 3-Year Deal From Dolphins

With all of the changes being made by the Miami Dolphins, one thing will stay the same, and nobody is happier about it than the biggest change of all: new Coach Jimmy Johnson.

On Tuesday, the Dolphins re-signed the most prolific passer in NFL history, Dan Marino, to a three-year contract reportedly worth $17.72 million.

“As important a contract as this is for Dan and the Dolphins, it’s just as important for me,” Johnson said. “One of my reasons for accepting the job as coach of the Dolphins was Dan Marino. Because of his talents, we have the ability to win it all.”

Marino, 34, who holds league lifetime passing records for touchdowns, yardage and completions, has yet to win a championship.

“I felt very comfortable with my performance over the last few years and felt I have a lot of good years left,” Marino said.

The deal through 1998 will pay Marino an average of about $5.91 million per season. Denver quarterback John Elway last week signed a five-year, $29.5-million contract, $5.9 million per season.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free-agent cornerback Robert Massey, 29, who played for the Detroit Lions last season. They also released tight end Craig Keith.

Tennis

Steffi Graf, whose father Peter is jailed on tax evasion charges, also remains under investigation and may miss the U.S. Open, plus another tournament in New York, according to Der Spiegel magazine.

The Hamburg, Germany, weekly said that after 50 weeks of investigation, prosecutors are renewing efforts to determine if there are grounds to charge Steffi Graf, 26.

At least $26.6 million of her earnings were slipped out of Germany and deposited in foreign accounts to avoid taxes, according to the report. Insiders estimate that another $13.3 million are still hidden in undisclosed deposits and that Steffi Graf faces money problems if it isn’t found.

Andre Agassi won his first match in the Monte Carlo Open, beating Jan Siemerink, 6-2, 6-3, in the second round on a rainy day on the French Riviera clay.

Two-time Monte Carlo winner Sergi Bruguera, ninth-seeded this year, beat Italian Andrea Gaudenzi, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3).

Jurisprudence

Manslaughter charges against skiing officials Kurt Hoch and Jan Tischhauser in the death of Austrian skiing star Ulrike Maier were effectively dropped after the International Ski Federation agreed to pay $496,000 to Maier’s daughter. Maier broke her neck in a crash at 65-mph during a World Cup downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 1994.

Heavyweight boxer Peter McNeeley, 27, pleaded guilty in Boston Municipal Court to a charge of hitting a man in the face with a beer bottle at a night spot and was put on probation for a year.

A federal court in Phildelphia refused to hear an appeal from Francois Botha, who lost his International Boxing Federation heavyweight belt in March after being disqualified for steroid use.

The ruling removes the final legal obstacle to a heavyweight title bout between Michael Moorer and Axel Schulz, who lost to Botha.

Miscellany

Two goals from Chris Tancill of the San Jose Sharks, one from Kevin Stevens of the Kings and the strong goaltending of minor leaguer Parris Duffus led the United States to a 4-2 victory over Germany in the World Ice Hockey Championships in Vienna.

The United States, 2-0 in the tournament, will face its first real test Thursday against Russia.

Also in Pool A, Canada defeated Austria, 4-0, on two goals by Jason Dawe of the Buffalo Sabres and one each from Travis Green of the New York Islanders and Yanic Perreault of the Kings.

Spain’s Real Madrid team was fined $90,500 by European soccer’s governing body because of the behavior of some of its fans at a Champions League match against Juventus in Turin, Italy, last month.

Jockey Craig Perret, who rode Unbridled to victory in the 1990 Kentucky Derby, will ride Halo Sunshine in this year’s race.

Names in the News

Ben Wright, the CBS commentator removed from golf coverage after reported disparaging remarks about women golfers and lesbians, entered an alcohol rehabilitation program earlier this month. . . . Garland Rose, former sports editor of the Riverside Press-Enterprise who spent 50 years at the newspaper, died at 73 after a series of heart attacks. Services are pending.