Hurricane Receiver Arrested for Assault

Wide receiver Jammi German of the University of Miami was arrested Thursday and at least two other top players were implicated in the beating of a Hurricane track athlete.

On Wednesday night, German and several others entered the apartment of Maxwell Voce, the captain of Miami’s track and field team, according to a police report.

Voce said German asked him if had been spreading rumors that German was a homosexual. The group then chased Voce, 23, into a corner and began beating him, causing his eye to swell and cutting his nose, according to the report.

German, 22, was charged with burglary and assault and was being held without bail. Also mentioned in the police report, but not charged, were linebackers James Burgess and Jeff Taylor.

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Lawrence Phillips, the St. Louis Rams’ top draft pick, has retained O.J. Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro to represent him on a drunk-driving charge.

Phillips was arrested last week in Rosemead after authorities said his blood-alcohol level was found to be about twice California’s legal limit. He had been stopped for speeding in a car with a flat tire.

Arraignment is set for July 5 at Rio Hondo Municipal Court in El Monte.

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Former pro basketball player Charles “Hawkeye” Whitney was sentenced to 69 months in prison for the kidnapping and robbery of White House counsel Mark D. Fabiani in January.

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The woman who bore the twin sons of Miami Heat forward Chris Gatling has asked a judge in Oakland to make him pay court-ordered child support.

Allison Massey said she dated Gatling in 1994, while he played for the Golden State Warriors. After she told him she was pregnant, he stopped all contact with her, she said.

A judge in April ordered Gatling to pay $10,000 a month in support for the twins, who were born last year.

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A judge dismissed gun-possession and drunk-driving charges against Vanderbilt basketball player Pax Whitehead and former team member Malik Evans because he said the Tennessee Highway Patrol did not follow its own guidelines at the DUI checkpoint.

Coaches

USC lost two assistant baseball coaches when Frank Sanchez, a 10-year aide to Mike Gillespie, left to become head coach at Pepperdine, and Frank Cruz, a four-year Trojan assistant, accepted the head coaching position at Loyola Marymount.

Olympic volleyball gold medalist Pat Powers, who led USC to an NCAA championship in 1980 as a player, will return to the Trojans as volleyball coach. He replaces Jim McLaughlin, who resigned last month.

Skip Bertman, who guided Louisiana State to the College World Series title, was selected Baseball America’s college coach of the year for a second time. He was a co-winner in 1986. Bertman will coach the U.S. baseball team at the Olympics.

Football

The Philadelphia Eagles signed free-agent receiver Mark Ingram to a one-year contract. Ingram, 31, had 39 catches for 469 yards and three touchdowns for Green Bay last season. . . . The Buffalo Bills solidified their offensive line by signing left tackle John Fina to a five-year contract. . . . Arizona has decided to drop out of the bidding for the 1999 Super Bowl to concentrate on trying to get the 2000 game.

Miscellany

Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak has withdrawn from consideration for the same job with the New Jersey Nets.

Kupchak remains a candidate to become head of basketball operations with the Dallas Mavericks, along with John Nash and Steve Patterson.

Cigar will pursue his 16th consecutive victory in three weeks in a special $1-million race created for him at Arlington International Race Course outside Chicago, the New York Times reported.

Giovanni Parisi of Italy retained his World Boxing Organization super-lightweight title, coming back from two early knockdowns to forge a draw with Mexican challenger Carlos “Bolillo” Gonzalez in Milan, Italy.

Pasadena City College will continue its baseball program for the 1997 season.

Renault, the dominant engine in Formula One racing this decade, said it is quitting the circuit at the end of next season.

Two-time Olympic runner Doug Padilla was injured when he was struck by a car while running in Orem, Utah. Padilla, 39, apparently had run through a red light when he was hit. He suffered a broken leg, and head and back injuries.

The International Ski Federation canceled women’s World Cup races set for December in Aspen, Colo., saying the course isn’t safe without major modifications.