Chargers Give Up a Bunch to Get No. 2 Pick in Draft
Desperate for a starting quarterback, the San Diego Chargers made a big trade with Arizona to move up one spot to No. 2 in the April draft, sending the Cardinals two first-round draft picks and two players, including star kick returner Eric Metcalf.
The Chargers now could draft either Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf. Indianapolis, which traded quarterback Jim Harbaugh to Baltimore last month, has the first pick.
Arizona will get San Diego’s 1998 first-round pick, the third overall, plus its second-round pick, as well as the Chargers’ first-round selection in the 1999 draft. The Cardinals also got linebacker Patrick Sapp.
“There are two quarterbacks in this draft and I think the consensus of opinion is that two guys like that don’t come along very often,” Charger General Manager Bobby Beathard said.
Stan Humphries, San Diego’s starting quarterback since 1992, retired Feb. 27 because of the effects of concussions.
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The NFL said it may put an expansion team in Cleveland without an owner, then sell the franchise later, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Under the plan--one of several discussed at a meeting of the NFL’s finance committee--the league would select someone to build the team, scheduled to begin play in 1999, and run it independently, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in Cleveland, where Commissioner Paul Tagliabue toured the $240-million stadium site.
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New York Jet quarterback Glenn Foley, who won the starting job from Neil O’Donnell last season, signed a contract extension with the team through 1999. Terms were not disclosed.
The Jets also announced the signing of unrestricted free-agent defensive end Anthony Pleasant, and traded fullback Lorenzo Neal to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for an undisclosed draft pick.
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Carolina Panther safety Chad Cota reportedly signed an offer sheet with the New Orleans Saints worth $5.4 million over three years.
Jurisprudence
California Highway Patrol investigators will recommend a charge of misdemeanor reckless driving for suspended Golden State Warrior guard Latrell Sprewell in a March 1 accident in Pleasant Hill, Calif., that left two people injured after he allegedly drove 90 mph and slammed his car into another vehicle, CHP spokesman Cliff Kroeger said.
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New England Patriot running back Dave Meggett is trying to settle yet another paternity claim in West Palm Beach, Fla. April Estabrook, 21, the fourth woman to have one of Meggett’s five children, sued Meggett, the NFL’s career punt return leader, in September for support of her son, Nathanael Lee, who was born Jan. 1. “We’re working closely with the other side to try to resolve things amicably,” Meggett’s attorney, David Riggs said. . . . Cincinnati Bengal running back Corey Dillon was charged with drunk driving in Seattle, but Dillon, who denies the charge, claimed he was harassed by police.
Miscellany
Oklahoma State football Coach Bob Simmons is doing well after surgery, a spokesman for University Hospital said in Oklahoma City. But Allen Poston would not specify the type of surgery.
Germany’s David Prinosil defeated top-seeded Thomas Johansson of Sweden, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the third round of the $210,000 Copenhagen Open.
Britain’s Naseem Hamed will defend his World Boxing Organization featherweight title against Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Vazquez on April 18 in Manchester, England.
France’s Luc Pillot won all four of his races in light winds to pull even with the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Peter Holmberg with 12 wins and six losses each and six match races remaining in the 34th Congressional Cup at Long Beach.
Australian swimmer Richard Upton, a leading critic of alleged drug use by Chinese swimmers, tested positive in Sydney for banned masking agent probenecid, which he said was given to him by his doctor to help fight a chest infection.
Purdue baseball Coach Steve Green was suspended indefinitely after a report that he struck a player Tuesday during a tournament in Fresno. The university said no one was injured and declined to release the player’s name.
A thick fog forced postponement of the final men’s and women’s downhill World Cup races in Crans Montana, Switzerland. An attempt will be made to squeeze in both events today before the men’s and women’s super Gs.