Armed Men Nab Campos’ Father in Acapulco

Men armed with rifles kidnapped the father of Mexican soccer star Jorge Campos on Wednesday at a sports field in Acapulco named for his son.

Two relatives confirmed the kidnapping on condition of anonymity, saying they feared for the life of Alvaro Campos.

“There were six or eight people with their faces uncovered . . . but nobody recognized them,” said one relative. “They took out their guns and took him aboard a pickup truck to an unknown place.”

The kidnapping also was reported by the Mexico City radio station Formato 21, which said the truck had been discovered a few miles away.

Jorge Campos, a flamboyant goalkeeper who once played for the Galaxy, rushed home from Hong Kong, where he was with the national team.

*

Former player Kevin Keegan was hired to coach England’s national soccer team for four games but said he is not a candidate to be the permanent successor to Glenn Hoddle, who was fired Feb. 2. . . . Lynne Meterparel, who helped make the New England Revolution one of Major League Soccer’s attendance leaders, was named general manager of the San Jose Clash.

Football

Doug Pederson, a 31-year-old free agent, signed a $4.5-million, three-year contract to be the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback. . . . Defensive end Clyde Simmons, whose 114 sacks are 10th-best in NFL history, signed a two-year, $4-million contract with the Chicago Bears. . . . Cornelius Bennett, a five-time all-pro who led the Atlanta Falcons in tackles last season, was unexpectedly released by the team. . . . The Denver Broncos released safety Steve Atwater, one day after making Dale Carter the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

Fired Washington coach Jim Lambright says that after 30 years of service he deserves better than to be shown the door and handed a $276,000 severance deal. “This is my school,” Lambright told the Seattle Times. “I don’t want to be made out a bad guy at a school I lived and died for, but after six weeks it appears my only recourse is going to court.”

Tennis

Unseeded Jim Courier continued his comeback from a right arm injury, upsetting fourth-seeded Michael Chang, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8), in a second-round match at the Kroger St. Jude indoor tournament at Memphis, Tenn. . . . Steffi Graf of Germany defeated French qualifier Anne-Gaelle Sidot, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the third round at Hanover, Germany. . . . Third-seeded Tim Henman of Britain defeated Petr Korda of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO indoor tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Miscellany

The Chilean Olympic Committee accepted the resignation of Cristian Rodriguez, its general secretary who was accused of corruption in Utah’s bid for the 2002 Winter Games. But the committee is still waiting to see if its president, Sergio Santander, also accused of corruption, would resign. . . . Battling a fall in corporate faith because of the widespread bribery scandal, the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games has revived the idea of using gambling to reach its revenue target. Sydney organizers are more than $130 million short of their goal of $568 million in sponsorships, part of an overall budget of $1.7 billion.

Mohammed Haroon Ali, arrested in the slaying of the daughter of NFL Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff once was convicted of kidnapping a former girlfriend, but served no prison time, prosecutors said. Ali, 23, fled to Mexico and was arrested as he tried to return Tuesday, the same day the body of Tracey Biletnikoff, 20, was found on a hillside at Canada College in Redwood City, Calif.

Susie O’Neill of Australia broke swimming’s oldest record--in the 200-meter butterfly--in 2 minutes, 5.37 seconds in a World Cup short course meet at Malmo, Sweden. O’Neill, 25, improved the record of 2:05.65 set by Mary T. Meagher of the United States on Jan. 2, 1981, at Gainesvile, Fla. . . . Brian E. Siegmann, a Minnesota Viking fan who calls himself “the Grand Viking,” was put on two years’ probation and fined $200 after pleading guilty in Eau Claire, Wis., to setting on fire the clothing and hair of two Green Bay Packer fans during an altercation last Oct. 4. . . . Trevor Berbick, the former heavyweight champion, faces deportation from Canada and was ordered to return to his native Jamaica. Canadian authorities took the action because Berbick was stripped of his landed immigrant status last summer for a series of criminal convictions. . . . Sang Lan, the Chinese gymnast paralyzed during the Goodwill Games, watched helplessly from the back seat of a car in New York while a man who offered to help fix a flat tire stole her guardian’s pocketbook.

Floyd Mayweather (20-0) defeated Argentina’s Carlos Rios on a unanimous decision to defend his World Boxing Council super-featherweight title in front of his hometown fans in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Left-hander Darren Oliver of the St. Louis Cardinals lost his salary arbitration case and will get $3.55 million this season, a $500,000 raise. . . . Dave Stieb, who came out of retirement last season to rejoin the Toronto Blue Jays, said that he’s leaving major league baseball again.

Adam Naeve had 15 kills as UCLA swept Cal State Northridge in men’s volleyball, 15-2, 15-6, 15-3, at Northridge. . . . Long Beach, New Orleans and Dallas are under consideration as sites for the semifinal and final rounds of the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004. . . . The NCAA named a panel of scientists and sports experts to study the risks associated with metal baseball bats.