NEWSWIRE : Rockets Sign Barkley for One Year

Free-agent forward Charles Barkley agreed to a one-year contract with the Houston Rockets on Friday.

“He’s still a great player and we really need him,” said Carroll Dawson, the Rockets’ vice president of basketball operations. “He said he wanted to play one more year, so that’s what we talked about.”

Houston television station KRIV, citing sources, reported the contract was worth $9 million.

Barkley, the NBA’s most valuable player in 1992-93 with the Phoenix Suns, will be playing his 16th NBA season and fourth with the Rockets. He averaged 16 points and 12.3 rebounds last season.

The Rockets also signed free agent Thomas Hamilton, a 7-foot-2 center.

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Former New Jersey Net coach John Calipari was hired as an assistant by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hockey

Mario Lemieux finally owns the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The six-time scoring leader has been trying to buy his financially troubled former team for months and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Bernard Markovitz approved the $95-million deal, which will keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Lemieux immediately lowered ticket prices on 3,500 seats at the Civic Arena and announced the formation of a reduced-price family section.

General Manager Craig Patrick will run the hockey side of the organization.

The expansion Atlanta Thrashers signed center Patrik Stefan to a three-year contract, ensuring the NHL’s top draft pick will be on hand for the start of camp. Stefan, who turns 19 on Sept. 16, will receive $3.075 million. . . . The Detroit Red Wings signed veteran defenseman Steve Duchesne for a year. Duchesne, 34, ended last season with the Philadelphia Flyers after being traded from the Kings. . . . The Vancouver Canucks re-signed veteran left-winger Todd Bertuzzi for two years.

Motor Sports

Stock car driver Kenny Irwin, who was fired last month by Robert Yates Racing, surprised the field by winning the pole for Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. Irwin, who was allowed to finish the season with the team, had a record run of 170.970 mph in his Ford Taurus.

A.J. Foyt, four-time Indianapolis 500 champion and winner of the 1972 Daytona 500, will return to Winston Cup racing as a car owner. . . . Dario Franchitti, who won last year’s CART champ car race at Vancouver, Canada, won the provisional pole for this year’s race with a fast lap of 104.520 mph on the reconfigured 1.781-mile, 12-turn course. . . . Joe Amato drove his top-fuel dragster to track records of 4.529 seconds at 324.20 mph, highlighting the opening round of the U.S. Nationals at Clermont, Ind.

Miscellany

First-round leader Brandt Jobe shot a one-under-par 70 and was tied with former rail executive and PGA Tour rookie Charles Raulerson at nine-under 133 halfway through the $2.5-million Air Canada Championship at Surrey, Canada. Carlos Franco shot his second 67 and was alone in third. . . . Allen Doyle shot a nine-under-par 63 for a one-shot lead over Gil Morgan in the opening round of the TD Waterhouse senior tournament at Kansas City, Mo.

Women’s soccer teams from UCLA and USC will join defending NCAA champion Florida and Maryland in the Fila Challenge this weekend at USC’s McAlister Field. USC will play Maryland today at 1 p.m., then UCLA and Florida will play at 3. The local teams will swap opponents Monday for games at 1 and 3.

World champions Wilson Kipketer of Denmark and Gabriela Szabo of Romania maintained their perfect records in the Golden League track and field competition at the Van Damme meet in Brussels. Kipketer ran the season’s best time in the men’s 800 meters, clocking 1 minute 42.27 seconds. Szabo won the women’s 3,000 in 8:25.82.

Karch Kiraly, beach volleyball’s biggest name, and three other top American players have been told by Assn. of Volleyball Professionals officials that they can’t play in next weekend’s Oldsmobile Alero Series, which is part of the inaugural U.S. Olympic Cup, because the AVP feels the Alero Series is a competing tour.