Belfour Turns Down Sharks for Chance to Be a Star

The Dallas Stars signed goaltender Ed Belfour on Wednesday, saying they hope the three-time all-star can take them where veteran Andy Moog couldn’t--the Stanley Cup finals.

Belfour signed a three-year contract. The club didn’t disclose details, but the Dallas Morning News reported that Belfour agreed to play for $2.5 million this year with a deferred bonus of $750,000. He will earn $3.25 million and $3.5 million the following seasons.

Last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, Belfour was the NHL’s fourth highest-paid goaltender with a base salary of $2.75 million. He rejected a better offer from San Jose to join the Stars.

He has lofty credentials with a goals-against average that never crept above 2.64 until last year, when he was 2.89 in 46 games. He twice won the Vezina Trophy and earned the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1990-91 with Chicago.

And more important to the Stars, Belfour can take a team to the NHL championship as he proved in 1992 in Chicago by winning 11 consecutive postseason games.

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The Detroit Red Wings took their first step toward keeping their Stanley Cup champion nucleus intact by resigning restricted free-agent right winger Martin Lapointe to a four-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lapointe, 23, was an instrumental part of the Red Wings’ first Stanley Cup in 42 years. He established career highs of 16 goals and 17 assists in the regular season, then stepped it up in the playoffs with four goals and eight assists in 20 games.

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The Calgary Flames reportedly will name Brian Sutter their new coach today, according to a Calgary radio station. Sutter would replace Pierre Page, who resigned June 18.

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The New York Islanders continued their free-agent signing blitz by agreeing to terms with center Sergei Nemchinov, who finished the 1996-97 season with the Vancouver Canucks.

Meanwhile, owner John Spano has agreed not to be involved in the operation of the Islanders and is not authorized to take any action on behalf of the team, according to league officials. Spano reportedly has made no payments to former owner John Pickett since the sale of the franchise was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors more than four months ago.

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Bob Berry was fired as assistant general manager of the St. Louis Blues, becoming a casualty of the new regime of General Manager Larry Pleau.

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The Boston Bruins signed free-agent defenseman Dave Ellett to a three-year contract. Terms were not released. Ellett played 76 games with Toronto and New Jersey last season, recording six goals and 15 assists.

Track and Field

Under a steady rain and facing the toughest field this year, American Maurice Greene beat the world’s best sprinters and won the 100 meters at the Atletissima Grand Prix meet at Lausanne, Switzerland.

Olympic champion Donovan Bailey, two-time Olympic silver-medal winner Frankie Fredericks of Namibia and Olympic bronze medalist Ato Bolton of Trinidad were among those beaten by Greene, who matched his best clocking of 9.90.

U.S. veteran Butch Reynolds took advantage of the absence of double world champion Michael Johnson and Olympic silver medalist Roger Black of Britain to win the 400 meters.

Jurisprudence

A University of Miami booster and sports agent has been charged with felony conspiracy for his role in providing a free limousine ride for three football players.

Jim Ferraro, an agent who represents former Hurricanes now in the NFL and contributes $10,000 a year to the university’s athletic department, was charged with conspiracy to commit unlicensed athlete-agent activity.

His unlicensed assistant, Eugene Mato, also was charged.

The five counts filed Monday in state Circuit Court accuse Ferraro, Mato and former Miami player Wesley Carroll of trying to recruit running back Danyell Ferguson as a client.

Junior-lightweight champion Arturo Gatti is accused of punching and threatening to kill a police officer after leading authorities on a wild chase at Union City, N.J., police said.

Gatti, the International Boxing Federation title-holder, was arrested shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday. Police said he initially refused to stop when Officer Omar Hernandez tried to pull him over for speeding and running two red lights.

As Hernandez followed Gatti with his lights and sirens on, Gatti continued on, running two more red lights, police said.

Former Miami Dolphin receiver Duriel Harris is facing assault charges after being arrested for allegedly attacking an escort-service employee in a hotel.

Former Nebraska football player Abdul Muhammad has been arrested again in Omaha. The Nebraska State Patrol said that Muhammad was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon.

Miscellany

Olympic gold medalists Amy Van Dyken, Amanda Beard, Brad Bridgewater and Kristine Quance--as well as international stars Samantha Riley and Susan O’Neill--will be competing at the Janet Evans Invitational swim meet at USC, starting today through Sunday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers traded running back Erric Pegram to San Diego for a seventh-round draft choice in 1999, freeing up money to sign some of their top rookie picks.

Athletic Director Dan Fitzgerald was placed on administrative leave as Gonzaga University officials conducted an investigation of possible NCAA violations. The probe centered on management of funds that bypassed the university’s control and accounting procedures, the school said.

School officials said there is no evidence the money was used for activities prohibited by the NCAA. The school also said there is no evidence the basketball program or any other team sport was implicated.

Fitzgerald was also the men’s basketball coach until he stepped down after last season to concentrate on the athletic director post he has held since 1978. The probe by the school focuses on Fitzgerald’s actions as athletic director.