Mediate, Back After Back Surgery, Shoots a 66 to Tie for Lead

Rocco Mediate shot a four-under-par 66 Friday and caught Wayne Levi at the midway point of the MasterCard Colonial at Fort Worth.

“I’ve got a new body and a new swing and . . . I’m ecstatic,” said Mediate, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who is rebounding from back surgery. “I enjoy the game more now than I ever did.”

Levi, the 1990 PGA player of the year but a non-winner since, had a 68 and shared the lead at 134.

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Bob Murphy birdied the first five holes en route to a course-record 10-under 62 and a five-stroke lead after the opening round of the $950,000 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J. The 62 matched the lowest score on the Senior PGA Tour this year, and the 10-under was the lowest below-par figure this year. The five-shot lead over Lee Trevino and Tommy Aaron was also the largest after an opening round this year.

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Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain kept his lead after two rounds of the wind-chilled Benson and Hedges International at Thame, England, shooting a two-under 70 for a 138 total. Two shots behind were Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Jon Robson.

Tennis

Stefan Edberg, playing his 14th and final year on the tour, received an emotional farewell after losing, 6-3, 6-3, to Richard Krajicek in the Italian Open quarterfinals.

In a serve-and-volley match on clay, Krajicek had the second-fastest serve ever recorded on the ATP Tour when he was timed at 136.4 mph.

Top-seeded Steffi Graf advanced to the semifinals of the German Open with an easy win over 10th-seeded Nathalie Tauziat, but second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and No. 5 Anke Huber were upset by Elena Likhovtseva of Russia and Karina Habsudova of Slovakia, respectively.

After being sidelined because of a shoulder injury for three months, Monica Seles will play in next week’s Madrid Open, and she has asked for wild-card entry to the Eastbourne tournament in England next month.

The Madrid Open will mark Seles’ first competition since February. Seles is co-ranked No. 1 with Graf by the WTA computer.

Football

Terry Bradshaw and Walter Payton will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame’s inaugural class of former players and coaches from NCAA Division I-AA, II and III schools. Previous inductees had to have been selected as a first-team member of a major All-American team. Players from smaller schools are now eligible if they were selected as a first-team All-American at any level.

Joining Payton, who played at Jackson State, and Bradshaw, who played at Louisiana Tech, were Buck Buchanan of Grambling State, Vern Den Herder of Central College of Iowa, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson of Widener, Neil Lomax of Portland State, Tyrone McGriff of Florida A&M;, Wilbert Montgomery of Abilene Christian, Gary Reasons of Northwestern State and linebacker Jim Youngblood of Tennessee Tech.

Jim Miller, who drew New Orleans Saint fans’ wrath for losing longtime favorites Morten Andersen and Rickey Jackson, was fired as the team’s vice president for administration.

The Montreal Alouettes traded linebacker Reggie Givens to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the Canadian Football League rights to former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier, who was bypassed in the NFL draft, in part, because of blood clots in his leg.

Jurisprudence

Seattle Seahawk receiver Brian Blades pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges, changing his no-contest plea in the July slaying of his cousin, Charles Blades, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. . . . Former all-pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor was cited for three motor vehicle violations after a single auto accident.

Miscellany

The Spartanburg (S.C) County Council voted, 4-1, to rescind its anti-gay resolution, probably preserving the county’s participation in this summer’s Olympic Games. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games pulled the torch route from a Georgia County that passed an identical resolution. The U.S. men’s gymnastics team also was considering not training in Spartanburg. . . . West Coast trials for Olympic dressage competition will continue this afternoon at the Griffith Park Equestrian Center in Burbank. . . . The Los Angeles Wings cycling team will race the Texas Outlaws and Portland Thunder today in Chinatown beginning at 10:15 a.m. . . . Romania’s women defeated Russia by half a point to retain their European gymnastics team title in England. Romania finished with 116.161 points, Russia with 115.659. Ukraine, led by overall world champion Lilia Podkopayeva, finished third with 114.722.

Names in the News

Steve McKenna, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound defenseman, signed a two-year contract with the Kings. McKennahad had 27 points and 211 penalty minutes over three seasons playing at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. . . . Jim Millinder was named head coach of the USC women’s soccer team after coaching the last two seasons at Loyola Marymount. . . . Joe Cortez of Nevada was named referee and Anek Hongtongkam of Thailand, Larry O’Connell of England and Daniel Van De Wiele of Belgium were named judges for the Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Oscar De La Hoya World Boxing Council super-lightweight championship fight June 7.