Maxwell, Walker Awards Go to Wisconsin’s Dayne

Ron Dayne, Wisconsin’s record-setting tailback and the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, received the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards Thursday night.

Dayne, college football’s career rushing leader, received the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player and the Doak Walker Award as the outstanding running back during the College Football Awards at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Dayne’s career totals are 1,115 carries for 6,397 yards and 63 touchdowns. For the season, Dayne was the nation’s second-leading rusher with 1,834 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry with 19 touchdowns.

Joe Hamilton became the first Georgia Tech player to win a national award in getting the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the top quarterback.

Penn State linebacker LaVar Arrington received the Chuck Bednarik Trophy as the defensive player of the year, and Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels was awarded the Outland Trophy as the outstanding interior lineman.

Stanford’s Troy Walters won the Biletnikoff Award as the outstanding wide receiver and Minnesota’s Tyrone Carter won the Jim Thorpe Award as the top defensive back.

*

USC’s Travis Claridge won the Pacific 10’s Morris Trophy as the conference’s best offensive lineman. Tailback Chad Morton was chosen USC’s most valuable player.

*

Michael Jordan was named basketball player of the century by a six-member panel assembled by The Associated Press. Oscar Robertson was second, followed by Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Magic Johnson. Russell was one of the panelists who included Laker announcer Chick Hearn and NBC broadcaster Marv Albert.

The Associated Press’ football player of the century was Jim Brown, who was followed by receiver Don Hutson, Sammy Baugh, Red Grange and--in a tie in the voting--Dick Butkus and Lawrence Taylor. Walter Payton, who died last month of cancer at 45, was eighth.

*

Off-road racer Walker Evans, 60, and sports car driver Elliott Forbes-Robinson, 56, were named to the All-America auto racing team, selected by the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Assn. Drag racer John Force was selected for the ninth time, the last seven years in a row. The team: Open-wheel--Juan Montoya, Greg Ray. Stock car--Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart. Road racing--Paul Gentilozzi, Forbes-Robinson. Drag racing--Force, Tony Schumacher. Short track--Mark Kinser, Dale Earnhardt Jr. At large--Evans, Anthony Lazzaro.

Jurisprudence

A teenage hockey player says he asked officials to stop the taunting and body slams he was getting from opposing players in an Illinois high school game before a hit sent him crashing into the boards and left him paralyzed.

Neal Goss, 15, alleges in a lawsuit filed in Chicago that officials at the Nov. 3 game “did nothing to cool down the ever increasing emotional intensity.”

A teenager was charged Tuesday with aggravated battery for the hit from behind that sent Goss headfirst into the boards and broke his spinal cord. Hockey officials nationwide said they could think of no other instance of criminal charges being filed against high school players.

Miscellany

Texas Tech named Mike Leach, offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, as its coach. Leach agreed to a five-year, $2.75-million contract. He replaces Spike Dykes, who announced his retirement Nov. 20 after 13 seasons. . . . Bob Pruett, who guided Marshall to an undefeated regular season this year and a Division I-AA national title in 1996, is leaving to become coach at Houston, according to a broadcast report. Houston’s Kim Helton was fired two weeks ago.

Cyclists and triathletes at the Sydney Olympics will undergo the first pre-event blood testing in the Summer Games. The blood tests, to be carried out only hours before competition, are in addition to the traditional urine controls carried out on Olympic athletes immediately after their events. . . . Sydney organizers have scrapped a controversial ticketing plan in a move to calm sponsors. Plans have been dropped for 200,000 tickets to be set aside for sales and hospitality packages at prices above face value. Paul Reading, considered responsible for the ticketing controversy, left the organization Wednesday.

Oscar De La Hoya has signed to fight in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 26 against a fighter to be determined. He is expected to fight No. 1 World Boxing Council welterweight contender Darrell Coley, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Ahmed Kotiev, or welterweight Shannon Taylor. . . . Australian swimmer Michael Klim broke his 100-meter butterfly world record with a time of 52.03 seconds at Canberra. . . . Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria won a women’s giant slalom in Val d’Isere, France, her second World Cup victory in less than a week. . . . Ronny Ackermann of Germany won the season’s first World Cup Nordic combined at Vuokatti, Finland.