Bowman Wants to Be Heard on Personnel or He Won’t Return

Detroit Red Wing Coach Scotty Bowman says he must continue to have a say on trades and other personnel decisions if he is to return to coach the defending Stanley Cup champions for another season.

Bowman told the Detroit News for Tuesday’s editions that he will make his decision after another meeting with owner Mike Ilitch.

“I want to make sure what’s happening,” Bowman said from his Buffalo home. “I need to know what my options are.”

Last weekend, Jimmy Devellano, the Red Wing senior vice president, said the team would not offer forward Tomas Sandstrom a new contract. Bowman had no input in that decision.

Several key players, including Sergei Fedorov, also have said they may look to the free agent market if Bowman does not return.

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The process of weaning Red Wing defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov from a ventilator has begun. Konstantinov has been on a ventilator since he and two other members of the Red Wing organization were injured when the limousine they were riding in struck a tree on June 13.

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New York Ranger Coach Colin Campbell is expected to sign a contract extension before the end of the week.

Newsday reported that Campbell has agreed to a two-year contract extension that will earn him nearly $1.5 million. Campbell reportedly will earn $700,000 and $750,000 for the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons, respectively. Campbell’s contract was to have expired after this coming season, in which he will earn a reported $500,000.

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Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek, the NHL’s most valuable player, said he has no respect for Ted Nolan, the NHL’s coach of the year, and hopes that Nolan is not back with the Sabres for another season.

Hasek has two years remaining on a no-trade contract. Nolan’s contract expires Monday.

The struggle between Nolan and Hasek started midway through last season, but neither has said what caused their conflict. Hasek was told by management not to reveal his reason.

Hasek was a supporter of John Muckler, who was fired as general manager after the season because he did not get along with Nolan and President Larry Quinn.

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A $300-million plan by the Toronto Maple Leafs to build a new arena atop the city’s historic Union Station died when the city council rejected the club’s offer for taxpayer-owned rail lands.

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The NHL Board of Governors is expected to approve plans to expand into Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul by 2000 and realign the league to accommodate the new clubs.

A dispute over the Columbus franchise is in court, where Lamar Hunt, part of the original ownership group in that city, sued the new group. Hunt said he should be part of the group that includes businessman John McConnell, Wolfe Enterprises Inc. and developer Ron Pizzuti.

In his lawsuit, Hunt said each of the original group’s members committed about $4.5 million to the $80-million NHL expansion fee and $10 million in capital needed to start the franchise.

Jurisprudence

A Dallas television station reported that Johnny Hernandez, the former Dallas police officer who pleaded guilty to a charge that he tried to have Cowboy wide receiver Michael Irvin killed, is now claiming entrapment in an effort to be released from a six-year prison sentence.

Michael Hagstrom, 31, was sentenced to 14 years of prison after pleading guilty to burglary and petty theft in scamming Olympic donors in San Diego by carrying a javelin and soliciting door-to-door for a bogus athletic foundation. He was also ordered to pay more than $1,500 in restitution.

Sportscaster Marv Albert, charged with biting a woman and sexually assaulting her in an Arlington, Va., hotel room, has changed lawyers, retaining Roy Black, who has represented William Kennedy Smith and Kelsey Grammer, among others.

Football

With neither fanfare nor discussion, Harris County commissioners unanimously accepted $3.5 million from the Houston Oilers, who need only the city of Houston’s approval to leave Texas for Tennessee.

Soccer

International rules might prevent Brazilian striker Ronaldo’s move from Barcelona to Inter Milan, a FIFA legal expert said in Geneva. Ronaldo, FIFA’s player of the year, reportedly paid $27 million to the Spanish federation to free himself from his contract with Barcelona.

Under Spanish Federation rules, a player may buy his way out of a contract and join another Spanish club. But FIFA rules state that a player cannot buy out his contract in order to obtain an international transfer.

Former U.S. national team midfielder Brian Quinn is expected to be named coach of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Clash, replacing Laurie Calloway, who was fired Monday. Quinn had been a candidate for the Galaxy job. . . . The Galaxy released defender Arash Noamouz, 30, a starter in 1996 but sidelined since then while recovering from surgery on his right knee.

Television

The CBS lineup for the coming football season includes two Notre Dame games, allowing former Irish coach Lou Holtz to second-guess his successor, Bob Davie, in a role as studio analyst.

The network also said it was expanding its coverage by one game to 25 over 13 weekends and adding a new half-hour pregame show, “College Football Today.”

Holtz will work with Jim Nantz and former NFL running back Craig James in the studio.

The lead broadcasting team for games is expected to be Sean McDonough and former UCLA coach Terry Donahue.

Interleague baseball, which boosted attendance 35%, increased Nielsen ratings more than 19%, when compared with the same week (June 12-18) last year. Cable ratings rose 16%.

Trevor Matich, long snapper for the Washington Redskins, retired to work as an analyst for the Fox network.

Miscellany

Olympic gold medal skater Scott Hamilton, 38, underwent successful surgery for testicular cancer at the Cleveland Clinic.

Marion Jones, a double winner at the USA Championships, won the women’s 100 meters at a meet in Turin, Italy, in her European debut. Dennis Mitchell won the men’s 100.

Jones, who attended Thousand Oaks High, got off to a slow start, but went on to win in 11.08 seconds. Mitchell won in 10.20.

Names in the News

University of San Francisco assistant basketball coach Larry Reynolds, a UC Riverside alumnus, has been named head coach at Cal State San Bernardino.