Hurtado Is Questionable for Galaxy Against the Wiz
Eduardo Hurtado, the leading scorer for the Los Angeles Galaxy, will not start in Thursday night’s Major League Soccer Western Conference finals opener against the Kansas City Wiz, Coach Lothar Osiander said Tuesday.
Hurtado will play for Ecuador in a World Cup qualifying match against Colombia in Quito, Ecuador, today. He is not scheduled to return to Los Angeles until Thursday afternoon, Osiander said.
“He should be here by the time the game starts, but I think he’ll be totally beat up,” Osiander said. “He travels like 14 hours and played the night before against a good team, so he’ll have to run a bit. We’ll see how it goes for us. If we need him desperately, then we’ll push him in there somehow.”
Hurtado, who has scored 23 goals in 29 regular-season and playoff games, will be replaced by Harut Karapetyan in the Galaxy’s starting lineup against the Wiz.
Boxing
U.S. Olympic boxer Fernando Vargas of Oxnard, who signed a multiyear promotional contract in August with Main Events Productions, will make his professional debut in his hometown in late November.
Vargas, 19, will fight at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center against an opponent to be determined, Main Events president Dino Duva said. A date for the fight has not been set.
Tennis
Steffi Graf, forced by a knee injury to pull out of the Leipzig Open tournament last week, will also sit out the European Indoors in Zurich, Switzerland, next week.
Graf said the problem is a flare-up of a knee injury that has bothered her since Wimbledon in June, forcing her to withdraw from the Olympics in July.
It is the fourth year in a row injuries have forced Graf to miss the European Indoors.
Antonio Marques of Portugal was umpiring the match. Austrian tennis officials have quoted him as admitting that Muster was frightened by aggressive fan behavior, but Marques publicly defended the Brazilians.
Muster broke Davis Cup rules with his walkout.
Jennifer Capriati, continuing her comeback from drug problems, beat a tiring Natasha Zvereva, 7-6 (10-8), 6-3, in the first round of the $450,000 Porsche Grand Prix tournament at Filderstadt, Germany.
In other matches, Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina was upset by Asa Carlsson of Sweden, 7-5, 6-4, despite leading, 5-2, during the first set. Judith Weisner of Austria defeated France’s Nathalie Tauziat, 7-5, 7-5, and Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic beat Samantha Smith of England, 6-1, 6-2.
Miscellany
Jay Lucas, director of publicity for the Dodgers since 1991, is resigning to become the director of public relations for Penske Motor Sports and the California Speedway, the team announced. Lucas, 39, will be replaced by Derrick Hall, Lucas’ assistant for 2 1/2 years.
Hall, 28, has been a Dodger employee for four years. For his first 18 months, he worked at the team’s spring training facility in Vero Beach, Fla.
Georgetown basketball Coach John Thompson’s application to operate an airport slot machine concession remains active despite earlier statements that he would withdraw his bid for a state gaming license.
Thompson is scheduled to go before Nevada state gaming regulators today to be licensed as vice president of a company that operates the lucrative concession at the Las Vegas airport.
Thompson, who said in March that he was withdrawing the application amid opposition from the university and the NCAA, never asked Nevada authorities to stop their investigation of his suitability to hold a gaming license.
Mike Hohensee, a former Rowland High and Mt. San Antonio junior college star quarterback, was named coach of the Anaheim Piranhas of the Arena Football League. He replaces Babe Parilli, who is expected to join the Piranhas’ front office.
