Seattle Gives Karl One-Year Extension

Coach George Karl agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Seattle SuperSonics that will give him the highest coaching salary in the NBA, Karl’s representative said Friday.

Price Johnson, a family friend who has helped represent Karl in negotiations this summer, said Karl called him Friday morning and said he would accept the offer, worth about $3 million, for the 1997-98 season.

The SuperSonics guaranteed Karl’s $1-million salary for the coming season during the NBA playoffs last spring.

This season, Phil Jackson of the champion Chicago Bulls will make the highest salary for a coaching-only job, $2.7 million. John Calipari of New Jersey, Pat Riley of Miami and Bernie Bickerstaff of Denver will be paid more than the salary Karl has been offered, but all three also have front-office duties.

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The Lakers signed rookie free agent David Booth, 26. Booth, a 6-foot-6 forward, was not drafted by an NBA team after he left DePaul in 1992. Last season, he led the French league in scoring. In 1994-95, he led the Italian league.

College Basketball

Tom Asbury, who coached Kansas State back into the NCAA tournament last year in only his second season, said he would stay with the Wildcats after interviewing for a similar post at California.

Asbury traveled to Cal on Wednesday to interview for the job with the Golden Bears, which opened when Todd Bozeman resigned Aug. 28. California is under investigation for NCAA violations regarding illegal recruiting inducements under Bozeman.

Asbury, who went to Kansas State from Pepperdine, has a 29-27 record in two seasons with the Wildcats.

Kansas point guard Jacque Vaughn underwent successful wrist surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Coach Roy Williams said Vaughn will be out at least three months.

Motor Sports

Miss Budweiser led first-day qualifying for Sunday’s 30th Bill Muncey Cup unlimited hydroplane race on Mission Bay at San Diego, averaging 164.465 mph over the 2.5-mile course.

Stock car driver Bobby Labonte qualified his Chevrolet at 155.086 mph to win the pole for Sunday’s MBNA 500 at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Del. That easily broke the record of 154.784, set last spring by Jeff Gordon.

Jurisprudence

Mississippi State basketball standout Marcus Bullard, who helped lead the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four last season, was sentenced to three years in prison for violating his probation on drug charges. One year of the prison term was suspended for the point guard from Long Beach.

In Mannheim, Germany, the presiding judge at the tax evasion trial of Steffi Graf’s father lifted the arrest warrant that has kept Peter Graf in prison for 13 months. The elder Graf remained in custody while a higher state court considers the prosecutors’ objections to the judge’s ruling.

Also, Steffi Graf was quoted by the Bild newspaper as saying she had severed her ties with long-time manager Phil de Picciotto of Advantage International.

Former NFL offensive lineman Carlton Haselrig was arrested in Topeka, Kan., as a fugitive from justice. Haselrig was to be extradited to Pennsylvania to face charges of drunk driving and violating probation.

Haselrig, a former Pro Bowl guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers who played for the New York Jets last season, was serving probation on a previous drunk-driving charge from Allegheny County when Johnstown police saw him July 6, riding a motorcycle with his helmet on backward. They stopped him and charged him again with drunk driving.

As a condition of bond, he was ordered to attend a substance-abuse program near Johnstown. He disappeared from that program in early August, and his bail was revoked Aug. 6.

Tennis

Sergi Bruguera of Spain dropped the last five games of his match against Sweden’s Magnus Norman and lost in the quarterfinals of a clay court tournament at Bournemouth, England, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. In today’s semifinals, Norman plays Alberto Costa of Spain and Australia’s Jason Stoltenberg faces Marc-Kevin Goellner of Germany.

Spaniards Carlos Moya and Alberto Berasategui scored straight-set victories and advanced to the semifinals of the Romanian Open at Bucharest.

Horse Racing

Trainer Bill Mott doesn’t think a losing streak is in the cards for Cigar. “He’s as good right now as he’s been in a long time,” Mott said. “If Cigar runs his race--no, they can’t beat him.”

The 6-year-old horse was the 2-5 favorite over five rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Woodward today at Belmont Park in his first start since a 16-race winning streak was ended.

Names in the News

Ted Smits, 91, who served as sports editor of the Associated Press for 23 years--longer than anyone else--and also appeared as an old-time reporter in the Woody Allen film “Zelig,” died at White Plains, N.Y.

John Pramesa, 72, who caught for the Cincinnati Reds from 1949-51, died of cancer at Simi Valley Hospital. A memorial service is planned Wednesday at St. Dominic Church in the Cincinnati suburb of Delhi Township. Pramesa was selected for the National League all-rookie team in 1950. He batted .307 that year, tying his roommate, Ted Kluszewski, for team batting honors.

Sandy Barbour was named Tulane’s athletic director, becoming the first woman to hold the job in the school’s history. Barbour, 36, is one of five women serving as athletic directors at the nation’s 111 NCAA Division I-A schools. The others are Barbara Hedges of Washington, Deborah Yow of Maryland, Cary Groth of Northern Illinois and Andrea Seger of Ball State.

Double Olympic swimming champion Alexander Popov, who was stabbed in a Moscow street last month, said he would resume training in October and planned to race at the 2000 Sydney Games.