Dolphins Re-Sign Marino for $17.72 Million

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.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free-agent cornerback Robert Massey, 29, who played for the Detroit Lions last season.

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Tommie Frazier, the quarterback who led Nebraska to consecutive national titles only to be snubbed in the NFL draft, could be on blood thinning medication for up to a year, his doctor said.

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.

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

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 Philadelphia 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.

Soccer

The Splash took six players in the Continental Indoor Soccer League player draft, including Steve Kuntz, a 6-foot-5 midfielder who scored 84 goals in three seasons with the St. Louis Ambush in the National Professional Soccer League.

Kuntz was the team’s first selection with the fifth pick. The Splash also drafted free-agent forward Paul Agyeman, who played with the Splash last year; defender/midfielder John Bovetas, forward Juan Carlos Sanchez, goalkeeper Mike Ammann and forward Andy Strouse.

The Splash also traded Adel Afkarian to Portland for an additional fifth-round pick and to switch draft positions in the second and third rounds. Shane Hickson, a Splash defender last season but unsigned in the off-season, was drafted by Sacramento.

Miscellany

Former professional golfer Harold “Jug” McSpaden, winner of the 1944 Los Angeles Open and 25 other tour events, and his wife, Betsy, were found dead in what authorities termed an accidental case of carbon monoxide poisoning. The couple apparently had been dead some time. Police found their car in an attached garage with the ignition turned on, at their home in Kansas City, Kan.

Scott Hoch, battling wind, drizzle and fatigue, played 40 holes to win the American title at the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf at Greensboro, Ga. Hoch defeated Lee Janzen, 3 and 1, in the finals of the match-play format, after needing five extra holes to beat defending U.S. champion Mark McCumber in the semifinals earlier in the day.

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.

Mighty Duck center Steve Rucchin underwent surgery on the middle finger of his right hand Tuesday, team officials announced. Rucchin fractured his finger March 19 against the Washington Capitals, but played the rest of the season. He is expected to begin rehabilitation in a week.

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. . . . IBF super-middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr. had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday, the result of playing basketball nearly every day, according to his publicist.