No Longer a Raven, Rison Now a Jaguar

Wide receiver Andre Rison, released by Baltimore on July 9 because the Ravens couldn’t afford him, signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday.

Terms were not disclosed.

Rison comes off a troubled season in which he was criticized for being late to team meetings and failed to catch at least 50 passes for the first time in his seven-year career.

Baltimore, which last year signed him to a five-year, $17-million contract, paying him a $5-million bonus, released him to free up room under the salary cap.

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With fallen star Michael Irvin conspicuously absent, the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys reported to training camp.

But leave it to Deion Sanders, attending the first NFL camp of his career, to fill the void.

Sanders, who is expected to play receiver and defensive back, showed up with a custom-made Mercedes golf cart that included a stereo system and vanity license plates that read “Full Time.”

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The Washington Redskins re-signed free-agent running back Terry Allen to a one-year contract worth $1 million, plus a $1-million signing bonus, and first-round draft pick Andre Johnson, an offensive lineman out of Penn State, to a four-year deal worth nearly $3.6 million. . . . Tight end Johnny Mitchell, released by the New York Jets, signed with the Miami Dolphins. Terms were not disclosed. . . . The Pittsburgh Steelers reached a verbal agreement on a five-year, $4.6-million contract with their No. 1 draft pick, Jamain Stephens, an offensive tackle from North Carolina A&T.;

Tennis

Days before his Olympic debut, Andre Agassi is a nervous wreck, his game and confidence completely shot.

After another embarrassing performance, the top-seeded Agassi chewed his nails and answered questions with vacant eyes as he tried to explain the latest episode in a 3 1/2-month free fall--a 6-7 (7-2), 6-0, 6-2 loss to 15th-seeded Patrick Rafter in the Legg Mason Classic at Washington.

“He picked it up, and I didn’t answer,” the defending champion said.

Another American enduring lean times is Jim Courier, who followed a first-round Wimbledon loss with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat against South African qualifier Neville Godwin.

Michael Chang, making his season debut on a hard court, defeated Geoff Grant, 6-1, 6-3.

Defending champion and top-seeded Thomas Muster struggled through two tiebreakers to defeat little-known Spaniard Marcos Gorriz, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2), at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. . . . Third-seeded Silvia Farini of Italy defeated Corinne Morariu, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0, at the Palermo Grand Prix WTA tournament in Sicily.

Boris Becker of Germany, who has withdrawn from the last two Grand Slam events because of injuries, walked away uninjured from an automobile accident in Stuttgart.

Becker was a passenger in a Mercedes-Benz race car when it crashed at the company’s test track. He was one of three passengers in the vehicle and was at the Mercedes headquarters to sign a sponsorship deal.

Justin Gimelstob, who starred at UCLA last season, has been awarded singles and doubles wild-card entries into the main draw of the Infiniti Open July 29-Aug. 4 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA. Gimelstob will be paired with former Bruin teammate Srdjan Muskatirovic of Yugoslavia in the doubles.

Boxing

The New York State Athletic Commission rejected a protest by handlers for heavyweight boxer Andrew Golota, seeking to overturn his disqualification in last Thursday’s bout with Riddick Bowe.

Golota appeared to be on his way to a major upset when he was disqualified in the seventh round for hitting Bowe below the belt for the fourth time.

Afterward, members of Bowe’s camp attacked Golota, and a melee ensued in the ring and in the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

Three Brooklyn men filed a $4.5-million lawsuit against the arena, Bowe and manager Rock Newman as a result of the brawl. Louis Calemine, Alex Vodofsky and Mitchell Sterlacci say in court papers that they were trampled, punched and stomped when fighting broke out after Golota was disqualified.

Mike Tyson’s heavyweight title fight with World Boxing Assn. champion Bruce Seldon has been rescheduled for Sept. 7.

College Baseball

Cliff Gustafson of Texas, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history, retired after questions were raised about the finances of the school’s summer baseball camp.

The university said an internal auditor’s report revealed an unauthorized outside bank account, maintained in connection with the university summer baseball camp, into which some camp-related revenues were deposited and used for both camp and non-camp purposes.

Gustafson coached Texas to national championships in 1975 and 1983 while compiling a record of 1,466-377-2.

Cal State Northridge Coach Mike Batesole had the interim removed from his title. The Matadors had a 52-18 record and were runners-up in the West Regional last season.

Names in the News

The NHL’s Washington Capitals re-signed right wing Keith Jones to a one-year contract. . . . Former Colorado athletic director Bill Marolt was named president and chief executive officer of U.S. Skiing, replacing Tim Leiweke, who left in April to become president of the Kings. . . . Bud Foster, who coached Wisconsin to its only NCAA basketball championship, died in Wisconsin of natural causes at age 90. . . . Boxer Ferd Hernandez, ranked second to middleweight Nino Benvenuti in the 1960s, died in after a long illness in Omaha. He was 57.