Bulls Sign Jackson for One Year

Phil Jackson agreed Wednesday to coach the Chicago Bulls for one last season for $6 million, clearing the way for the re-signing of Michael Jordan, who threatened to leave if Jackson wasn’t back on the job.

Jordan effectively strong-armed owner Jerry Reinsdorf with the warning. Several times down the stretch run to the Bulls’ fifth championship, Jordan said he had no interest in breaking in a new coach or being part of a rebuilding program.

Jackson is still earning less than the Boston Celtics’ Rick Pitino, who is getting $7 million a year over 10 years. Pitino also is the team’s president.

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Johnny Taylor, a rookie forward from Tennessee-Chattanooga who was the 17th pick in last month’s NBA draft, signed a three-year contract with the Orlando Magic. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Magic also re-signed forward Amal McCaskill. . . . Forward Carlos Rogers, a free agent, re-signed with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors for a reported $2 million a season.

Motor Sports

In the latest round of track takeovers, Penske and International Speedway Corp. each paid $11.8 million cash for 40% ownership of a group formed to operate the 344-acre Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex 25 miles south of downtown Miami.

Founder Ralph Sanchez and partner H. Wayne Huizenga will each keep a 10% interest.

Jurisprudence

Olympic organizer Thomas Welch faces a charge of domestic battery and a possible challenge to his 2002 Winter Games leadership upon his return to Utah from an African safari.

Welch, president and chief executive officer of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, is expected to return Friday.

Welch’s lawyer, Max Wheeler, said he had contacted Welch in Africa to tell him of the misdemeanor battery charge filed Monday by the Salt Lake City attorney’s office.

Welch faces up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 if convicted.

Businessman John Spano returned to Long Island from a Cayman Islands vacation to face fraud charges stemming from his failed attempt to buy the NHL New York Islanders.

Spano was arraigned on charges of wire fraud and bank fraud in U.S. District Court in Uniondale and was ordered released on his own recognizance pending the posting of a $3-million bond.

If convicted on all counts, Spano faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Marathoner Pablo Sierra was suspended by the Spanish federation for six months after accusing his teammates, including world champion Martin Fiz, of using banned drugs.

Sierra, winner of the 1994 Twin Cities Marathon, accused Fiz and other members of the Spanish team of regularly taking EPO (Erythropoietin), which boosts an athlete’s endurance by producing oxygen-rich red blood cells.

Miscellany

Carl Lewis, winner of nine Olympic gold medals and a record eight world championship golds, will run his last competitive race Aug. 26 at Berlin. The race, a 400-meter relay with Santa Monica Track Club teammates Leroy Burrell, Mike Marsh and Floyd Heard, will be part of an International Amateur Athletic Federation Grand Prix meet.

New York Ranger captain Mark Messier, an unrestricted free agent, is considering a three-year, $18-million offer from the Vancouver Canucks, according to published reports.

Marie-Jose Perec, winner of the 200- and 400-meter races at the 1996 Olympics, has changed her mind and will run in next month’s world championships at Athens. After suffering a stress fracture of her foot early in the season, Perec said last month she would skip the world championships.

Denver Broncos General Manager John Beake escaped serious injury after wrecking his car while driving to the team’s training camp in Greeley, Colo.

Beake apparently fell asleep behind the wheel of his 1997 BMW at about 1:45 a.m., lost control and drove off U.S. 85 four miles north of Fort Lupton, the Colorado State Patrol reported. He was ticketed for careless driving.

The Las Vegas Bowl has dropped its affiliation with the Big West and Mid-American conferences and will instead feature a team from the Western Athletic Conference against an at-large school from another major conference.

Partizan Belgrade beat Croatia Zagreb, 1-0, in the first official soccer match between Serbian and Croatian clubs since war in Yugoslavia broke out in 1991.

French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten and defending champion Alberto Berasetagui lost in the second round of the $535,000 Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.