Ex-Dodger Curtis Joins Indians

Chad Curtis, an outfielder who has averaged 32 stolen bases in five seasons, agreed Wednesday to an $850,000, one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians.

With incentives and a club option for the 1998 season, Curtis could make as much as $3.45 million for two years.

Curtis played 104 games for the Detroit Tigers last season before he was traded to the Dodgers. He hit a combined .252 with 18 stolen bases, then refused a minor league assignment after the season and elected to become a free agent.

At Cleveland, Curtis, a right-handed batter, could platoon with left-handed Brian Giles.

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Left-hander Greg Swindell and the Minnesota Twins agreed on a minor league contract that could pay the former all-star up to $1 million if he makes the team and pitches regularly.

Swindell, 31, started the 1996 season with the Houston Astros but was released June 3 and signed with the Indians.

Under the deal, Swindell would get a $500,000, one-year contract if he’s added to the Twins’ major league roster and the chance to make an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses.

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Right-handed pitcher Doug Brocail, 29, acquired by Detroit in a 10-player trade with Houston, agreed to a one-year contract with the Tigers for $425,000 guaranteed. . . . The Baltimore Orioles signed outfielder Jerome Walton and catcher Lenny Webster, both 31, to minor league contracts. Terms were not disclosed.

Track and Field

Michael Johnson, who capped an unprecedented double gold-medal performance at the Atlanta Olympics with a world record in the 200 meters after winning the 400, was selected sportsman of the year by the U.S. Olympic Committee for the second year in a row and the third time in four years. He was the overwhelming choice, with 80 first-place votes and 929 points. Swimmer Jeff Rouse was second, with one first-place vote and 519 points, with volleyballer Karch Kiraly third, archer Justin Huish fourth and wrestler Kurt Angle fifth.

College Basketball

The day after it fired men’s coach Roger Reid, Brigham Young said assistant coach Lynn Archibald is leaving the team because he has prostate cancer. Archibald, 50, is in his third season at BYU and was considered a possible successor to Reid, who was fired after a 1-6 start. Archibald will remain with the school as director of basketball operations.

Winter Sports

Bjorn Daehlie and Trude Dybendahl led Norwegian sweeps of classical cross-country ski races at Oberstdorf, Germany.

Daehlie extended his overall lead in the season standings by winning the 30-kilometer event in 1 hour, 20 minutes, 13.3 seconds. Dybendahl gained her first victory in three years by winning the women’s 10-kilometer event in 29:23.1.

The Czech Republic overcame a 3-0 deficit with a pair of goals by Robert Lang and one by Jiri Dopita with 11 minutes to play to tie Sweden, 3-3, in the Izvestia Cup hockey tournament at Moscow.

Boxing

The Feb. 7 rematch between Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall for the vacant World Boxing Council heavyweight championship will go ahead as planned, according to Dino Duva, promoter of the fight. Some doubts had been expressed in the wake of McCall’s arrest Monday at Nashville, Tenn., on charges of vandalism, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Miscellany

A Korac Cup basketball game between Aris Salonica of Greece and Besiktas Istanbul of Turkey that was called off after 18 minutes last week when rival players brawled will be replayed Jan. 7 without spectators, FIBA, the sport’s international governing body, ruled. FIBA suspended Istanbul’s Gary Alexander, a former NBA player, and Salonica’s Dinos Aggelides, who started the fight.

Ray Tellier, 45, was given a new five-year contract to stay on as Columbia football coach after taking the Lions to their first eight-win season since 1945. Columbia, 8-2 this season, is 24-54-2 since Tellier, 45, took over, making him the first Lion coach with 20 wins since Buff Donelli in the 1960s.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates advanced to the final of the Asian Cup soccer tournament at Adu Dhabi. The Saudis defeated Iran, 4-3, on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie in regulation and overtime, and the UAE beat Kuwait, 1-0, on a goal by Hassal Ahmed in front of 60,000.