Bahamas Puts Cuba Baseball Players, Coach in Detention

Nine Cuban defectors, including four baseball players and a coach, were taken to a detention center in Nassau, the Bahamas, Sunday as an agent tried to ensure they would not be sent back to their communist homeland.

Joe Cubas, a Cuban-American baseball agent, arrived in the Bahamas with money, clothes and food for the defectors. He said he planned to talk to Costa Rican officials about obtaining visas for the nine defectors, who were rescued from Bahamian waters Friday by the crew of a fishing boat.

They had been missing since March 10, but Cubas said the defectors told him they hid in Cuba for 10 days, left March 20 and were found after spending less than a day in the open waters. Cubas said the men were all in good condition.

The Bahamas has an agreement with the Cuban government to return all refugees who turn up on its shores, although it is not always enforced.

After a similar escape from Cuba three months ago, Cuban pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez was allowed to leave the detention center quickly for Costa Rica and given a $6-million contract to pitch for the New York Yankees.

“The first thing we’re trying to do is make sure that as they did in the past, the Bahamian officials give due process,” Cubas said. “They have been very helpful, and if the players so choose to go to a third country, whether it be the United States, Costa Rica, or the Dominican or [anywhere], that they be allowed to.”

Protesters, many of them from Florida, gathered outside the detention center to complain that their jailed Cuban relatives have not been given the preferential treatment accorded baseball players.

Detainees, many of whom took the same risky boat trip that the players did, chanted “We are all equal” in Spanish as Cubas arrived at the detention center, which houses more than 100 refugees in a converted schoolhouse and trailers.

In addition to pitching coach Enrique Chinea, 41, the baseball players rescued were Jorge Luis Toca, 23; Angel Lopez, 25; Jorge Diaz, 23, and Michael Jova, a 17-year-old player from Cuba’s junior Olympic team. All five were banned from baseball in July because Cuban authorities suspected they were planning to defect.

Running

Kenya’s Paul Tergat won his record-tying fourth consecutive title at the World Cross Country Championships at Marrakech, Morocco, while Ireland’s Sonia O’Sullivan won her second race in two days.

Tergat, holder of the 10,000-meter world record, was timed in 34 minutes, 1 second for the 12,000-meter race. He matched compatriot John Ngugi’s four victories in a row from 1986-89.

O’Sullivan won her second gold medal in less than 24 hours, taking the women’s 4,000-meter in 12:20 after winning the 8,000-meters on Saturday.

The championships were marred by Morocco’s refusal to grant visas to the Israeli team, despite earlier pledges to allow entry. The Israelis were stranded in Paris on Friday.

Tennis

Andre Agassi, seeking a breakthrough victory in a major tournament, defeated Vincent Spadea, 6-4, 7-5, in the third round victory of the Lipton Championships at Key Biscayne, Fla.

In another third-round match, third-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile, fresh from a tournament victory at the Champions Cup last week, was a convincing 6-4, 6-3 winner over Tommy Haas of Germany.

In women’s play, it only took world No. 1 Martina Hingis, the defending champion, a mere 35 minutes to rout 23rd-ranked Joanette Kruger of South Africa, 6-0, 6-0, in their third-round match.

Kruger committed 35 unforced errors to Hingis’ 15. Hingis won 51 of the 72 points played--25 of the 33 in the first set and 26 of the 39 in the second.

In another third-round women’s match, second-seeded Lindsay Davenport of the United States struggled to a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win over Fang Li of China.

Both Williams sisters were successful in third-round matches.

Venus Williams quickly dispatched of Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus, 6-4, 6-3, and Serena Williams scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over Barbara Paulus of Austria.

The featured night match between Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova was postponed until today because of rain.

The WTA Tour’s new chief executive officer opposes more joint tournaments for men and women unless prize money, television exposure and facilities are equitable.

“It may make sense to create additional combined events,” said Bart McGuire, who became CEO for the women’s tour two months ago. “But only on terms that are fair to the women, and only if we are careful not to jeopardize the uniqueness of the existing events.”

The men’s ATP Tour has proposed combining both tours at all “super series” tournaments, one tier below Grand Slam status. There are now nine tournaments in the super series, but the number might be reduced to seven in 2000.

Winter Sports

Todd Lodwick, who Friday won his third national nordic combined championship in front of his family and hometown fans, won the large hill ski-jumping title at Steamboat Springs, Colo.

World record holder and Olympic silver medalist Chris Witty won her second consecutive World Cup Final 1,000-meter speedskating race before her hometown fans at West Allis, Wis. with a winning time of 1 minute, 17.08 seconds.

Rain and low-lying clouds forced cancellation of men’s and women’s super-G races at the U.S. Alpine Ski Championships at Jackson Hole, Wy.

Miscellany

Stanford won the Pacific 10 Conference women’s gymnastics team title, becoming the first school other than UCLA or Oregon State to win the championship. The Bruins’ Stella Umeh won the all-around title as well as the floor exercises and balance beam events.

Sophomore catcher Eric Munson drove in five runs with two doubles and a home run as USC (23-5) swept a three-game series from Arizona (25-10) with a 10-6 victory in Tucson.