Wells, Yankees Have Agreement on a 3-Year, $13.5-million Deal

After a week of negotiations, David Wells and the New YorkYankees agreed Tuesday to a $13.5-million, three-year contract with a team option for 2000.

Wells, who takes the spot in the starting rotation vacated when Jimmy Key signed with Baltimore, was 11-14 with a 5.14 earned-run average for the Orioles last season. He had a career-high 15 victories for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991.

New York turned to Wells after Roger Clemens rejected the Yankees and agreed to a $24.75-million, three-year contract with the Blue Jays. The Yankees were interested in Wells partly because of his success in New York: His record at Yankee Stadium is 10-1 with a 2.93 ERA.

“Hopefully, David Wells will pitch against everybody else the way he pitched against us,” Manager Joe Torre said.

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Former Red Sox outfielder Mike Greenwell said he will play in Japan next season. He reached agreement with the Hanshin Tigers, and said he planned to sign today.

Greenwell, 33, was a starter for most of his 10 seasons with the Red Sox. The multiyear contract allows him to return to the major leagues in 1998, if he has the chance.

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With Clemens gone, the Red Sox began rebuilding their undermanned pitching staff by signing left-hander Chris Hammond to a one-year deal.

Hammond, who will be 31 when the season starts, was guaranteed $700,000. He could make an extra $375,000 in performance bonuses.

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The Padres sent catcher Brian Johnson and reliever Willie Blair to the Detroit Tigers for reliever Joey Eischen and minor league pitcher Cam Smith. . . . The Chicago Cubs waived infielder Leo Gomez, who plans to play for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League. The Cubs also claimed pitcher Miguel Batista on waivers from the Florida Marlins and re-signed pitcher Larry Casian to a one-year contract.

Winter Sports

Skiing with one hand bandaged and serenaded by his horn-blowing fans, Alberto Tomba returned to the World Cup skiing circuit and finished second in the slalom to Austria’s Thomas Sykora at Madonna Di Campiglio, Italy.

Tomba, the world and Olympic champion, had bruised his knee and right wrist in a fall Oct. 22. He had been practicing for only three weeks before this race, his first since March.

“I’m overjoyed,” he said. “I could hardly expect it. I’m not yet in top form following the recent problems, and I could not push the ski pole properly because my wrist was hurting.”

Two judges injured when wind blew over their reviewing stand during a NorAm freestyle ski competition at Deer Valley, Utah, have been released from hospitals.

Six judges were injured Monday when the 12-foot-high stand was blown over and tumbled another four feet down the slope.

Two remained in serious but stable condition, one was in fair condition and another was scheduled for surgery.

Jurisprudence

The photographer who says Albert Belle threw a baseball at him has sued the slugger for unspecified damages.

“It’s something I just agonized over a long time,” said Tony Tomsic, who was taking pictures of Belle for Sports Illustrated during a workout April 6 in Cleveland when the player got angry and fired a baseball at him.

The incident prompted American League President Gene Budig to order Belle to undergo anger counseling and perform community service.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages for a bloody knuckle suffered by the photographer, as well as punitive damages.

A University of Michigan football player, accused of beating his mother’s former husband with a baseball bat, was ordered to stand trial on charges of assault with intent to murder.

Charles Winters originally was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. But District Judge Deborah Lewis Langston ordered that Winters stand trial on the more serious charge, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Two Virginia Tech football players charged with raping a female student were suspended from the team and will not play in the Orange Bowl.

Senior fullback Brian Edmonds and reserve sophomore wide receiver James Crawford also filed a $32-million slander and extortion lawsuit against the woman who said they raped her.

The players were arrested Monday and each was charged with one count of rape and attempted sodomy. They were released on $45,000 bond apiece and denied raping the woman.

A lawyer and business partner of former NFL star Lawrence Taylor was arrested and charged with embezzlement, money laundering, bank fraud and tax evasion.

Several of the charges against Alfred Porro Jr. and his wife, Joan Atkins Porro, also a lawyer, involve businesses that used the name of the former New York Giant linebacker. Authorities would not comment on what involvement, if any, Taylor had in the alleged schemes.

Racing

Championship Auto Racing Teams will drop the “IndyCar” designation from its racing series next season. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway sued last spring, claiming CART had violated a 1992 license agreement that allowed it to use that name to market its series.

Under a settlement announced Tuesday, the license agreement has been canceled and CART will adopt another trade name and logo.

Tony George’s fledgling Indy Racing League reached into the heart of NASCAR country as the Indianapolis Speedway owner announced a three-year deal to hold IRL races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, beginning this summer.

The agreement is the latest in a series of aggressive moves by George to provide a lower-cost alternative to the CART Indy car circuit.

Names in the News

Tiger Woods, who made a spectacular transition from amateur golf to the PGA Tour, was designated sportsman of the year by Sports Illustrated.

Even though his team missed a bowl for the second consecutive year, South Carolina Coach Brad Scott got a raise and two more years to turn the Gamecocks into a power in the Southeastern Conference.

Miscellany

Britain’s sports world was shaken by an appeals court’s decision to hold a referee liable for the paralyzing injury suffered by a young rugby player.

The ruling upheld a lower court judge’s finding that the referee in the amateur match could be ordered to pay damages for failure to competently control the game.