College FootballA former Notre Dame assistant football...

College Football

A former Notre Dame assistant football coach filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Coach Bob Davie and the university of age discrimination.

Joe Moore, 65, claims that on Dec. 2, Davie told him he was “too old to coach.”

Moore was hired in 1988 as offensive line coach by Lou Holtz. Davie fired him after taking the top spot following Holtz’s resignation last season.

UCLA and Washington State have rescheduled their football game next season from Nov. 8. to Aug. 30 at Pullman, Wash. That means UCLA will open against a Pacific 10 opponent for the first time since the Bruins played California in their 1993 opener. It is only the second time UCLA has opened with a conference game since 1981.

The move gives the Bruins a game before they face national powerhouses Tennessee and Texas, a week off before they play Arizona and the meat of the conference schedule, then another week off before they finish against Washington and USC.

Pro Football

The New Orleans Saints reportedly are pursuing quarterback Doug Flutie, but the Toronto Argonauts have refused to allow them to talk to the five-time CFL player of the year, according to Flutie’s attorney, Jack Mula.

Mula told the Toronto Globe and Mail that the Saints want to bring Flutie to New Orleans, where he would be reunited with his former Chicago Bear coach, Mike Ditka, but that both the Argonaut president, Bob Nicholson, and coach, Don Matthews, denied Flutie permission to negotiate.

The Washington Redskins signed six free agents, among them veteran quarterback Donald Hollas, who will compete for the backup job, behind Gus Frerotte. Also signed were receivers Brannon Kennedy and Bobby Olive, tight end Christopher Sanders, lineman Michael Batiste and defensive back Melvin Crawford.

The Atlanta Falcons agreed on contract terms with guard Gene Williams and released veteran cornerback Tim McKyer.

Golf

LPGA rookie Charlotta Sorenstam shot a six-under-par 66 to share the first-round lead in the Alpine Australian Ladies Masters at Gold Coast, Australia. Canadian Gail Graham also shot a 66.

Jose Maria Olazabal, playing as if he’d never been away, shot a three-under-par 69 in the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab Emirates.

Olazabal, unable to play for 18 months because of problems with his feet, trailed leaders Domingo Hospital of Spain and defending champion Colin Montgomerie of Scotland by four strokes.

Miscellany

Elena Valbe apologized before the race for the failed drug test of her star teammate, then anchored Russia to a cross-country relay victory, her record-tying fourth gold medal at the World Nordic Ski Championships at Trondheim, Norway.

Valbe grabbed the microphone before the start of the 20-kilometer relay to address the crowd and television viewers a day after six-time Olympic champion Lyubov Egorova tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Valbe skied the last few hundred yards inside the stadium with a big Russian flag. She is in position to become the first skier, male or female, to sweep all five races in major competition.

Petr Korda, his game returning to form after two groin operations, ended Tim Henman’s string of tennis victories with a 6-4, 6-4 win in the second round of the Italian Indoors Championships at Milan.