Eagleson Will Plead Guilty to Mail Fraud

Former NHL union boss Alan Eagleson, charged in two countries with betraying the players he represented, agreed in Boston on Monday to a plea bargain that will keep him out of a U.S. prison so he can serve at least 18 months in Canada.

Eagleson, 64, is scheduled to plead guilty today to three counts of mail fraud in U.S. District Court.

According to the agreement, Eagleson will be sentenced to probation so that he can return to Toronto, where he has agreed to plead guilty on Wednesday to related charges in his homeland. Eagleson has agreed to a sentence of at least 18 months in prison in Canada.

Eagleson, who had been indicted on 34 charges that included racketeering, embezzlement, fraud and obstruction of justice, has also agreed to a U.S. fine of about $700,000. His attorney, Brian Greenspan, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Baseball

Toronto Blue Jay catcher Benito Santiago expects to recover in time for next season following a head injury in which his speeding car smashed into a tree.

Santiago is listed in fair condition at Miami’s Broward General Medical Center. He was admitted Sunday with blunt head trauma and cuts to his head and face after hitting a tree while in his Ferrari.

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Esteban Loaiza, 11-11 with a 4.13 ERA for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, agreed to a two-year contract with the Pirates worth $1,925,000.

Winter Sports

The U.S. Olympic speedskating trials concluded at West Allis, Wis., with races to select three team members for both the women’s 5,000 meters and the men’s 10,000 meters.

Kirstin Holum, Jennifer Rodriguez and Becky Sundstrom made the team in the 5,000.

Making the team in the 10,000: David Tamburrino, KC Boutiette and Jondon Trevena.

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At Bormio, Italy, Ylva Nowen won her fourth consecutive slalom, defeating Germany’s Hilde Gerg and Slovenia’s Spela Pretnar, with rising U.S. slalom star Kristina Koznick sharing fourth with Switzerland’s Karin Roten.

Soccer

Goalkeeper Tony Meola returned to the U.S. national team for the first time in 3 1/2 years as the Americans announced they will play the Netherlands in Miami on Feb. 21.

Coach Steve Sampson added Meola to his training camp in Orlando because his top three goalkeepers are with English teams: Kasey Keller (Leicester City), Brad Friedel (Liverpool) and Juergen Sommer (Queens Park Rangers).

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International Olympic Committee vice president Anita DeFrantz was named to the board of directors of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

College Football

One of the NCAA’s most prestigious awards will be presented posthumously next month to Shannon Smith of the University of Hawaii.

During an outing on the island of Kauai last March, Smith died while saving the life of Cody vonAppen, the 6-year-old son of Hawaii Coach Fred vonAppen.

The Award of Valor is presented to a coach or administrator or to a current or former athlete who, when confronted with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery.

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Utah running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala intends to forgo his senior year and make himself eligible for the NFL draft, a Salt Lake City television station reported.

Miscellany

Kickboxer Redone Bougara, 23, pummeled with four kicks to the head during a weekend middleweight martial arts bout at the Great Western Forum, remained in very critical condition, two days after surgery for bleeding in the brain. “His condition hasn’t changed,” said Lori Brandt, spokeswoman for Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood.

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The International Amateur Athletic Federation said it was impossible under its rules to scrap performances from East Germany’s heyday in the 1970s and 1980s even if athletes admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs.

“The rule is quite clear,” IAAF spokesman Georgio Reineri said in London. “After six years it is not possible to cancel any results. It is too late. At this stage there are no plans [to change the results].”

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Jockey Katherine Mayo was recovering after 12 hours of surgery to repair a broken pelvis and separated spine following a horse racing accident last week at Portland, Ore. . . . Mihaly Igloi, an outstanding distance runner who was also a prominent coach in Hungary, the United States and Greece, died in Budapest, Hungary. He was 89. . . . W. Harcourt Woods, a tennis promoter who ran the tournament later known as the U.S. Open and several Davis Cup tournaments during his 40-year career, died at age 85 in Short Hills, N.J.