Cubs Sign Bere to 2-Year Deal

Free-agent right-hander Jason Bere finalized a two-year, $4.5-million deal Monday with the Chicago Cubs.

Bere, who began his career with the Chicago White Sox, was runner-up in voting for the American League rookie of the year in 1993.

The Cub pitching staff had a 5.25 earned-run average last season, third-worst in the National League, and President and General Manager Andy MacPhail made it a priority this off-season. He went after Mike Hampton, but lost out to the Colorado Rockies.

Desperate for another starter, MacPhail turned to Bere, who was 12-10 with a 5.47 ERA last season for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians, his first season with double-digit victories since 1994.

In five starts at Wrigley Field, Bere has a 2.43 ERA.

*

Reliever Jose Mesa of the Philadelphia Phillies is seeking to have a 1996 concealed-weapon charge against him dropped by completing a supervision program. Prosecutors in Cleveland reduced the charge against Mesa--who pitched for the Indians from 1992-98--from a felony to a misdemeanor and agreed to delay the start of his trial, which was set to begin Monday. . . . The Dodgers announced that eight players have been signed to minor-league contracts and invited to spring training: pitchers Eddie Priest, Max Regalado, Todd Rizzo and Cam Smith; infielders Jeff Branson and Keith Johnson; and outfielders Jeff Barry, Brent Cookson and Chris Prieto. . . . Commissioner Bud Selig had surgery in Milwaukee on his broken left kneecap after slipping on his icy driveway. . . . Right-hander Jay Witasick and the San Diego Padres avoided arbitration when they agreed to a one-year, $800,000 contract. . . . The New York Mets signed Japanese outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo to a one-year contract worth $500,000, including a $300,000 signing bonus.

Miscellany

Boxer Paul Ingle remained in a drug-induced coma after surgery in Sheffield, England, to remove a blood clot in his brain after his featherweight title defense.

The Englishman, 28, was listed in critical and stable condition. Robert Battersby, the neurosurgeon who operated, said Ingle was “making satisfactory progress at this stage.”

Ingle was knocked out after 20 seconds of the 12th and final round of the IBF title bout against South African challenger Mbulelo Botile on Saturday.

The PGA Tour asked Yahoo! Inc. to remove advertisements for on-line sports bookmakers on golf pages, becoming the fifth U.S. sports league or organization to demand that the world’s second-most popular Web site remove the ads. The NHL, NFL, NBA and major league baseball have asked Yahoo to remove gambling-related ads from their pages on the company’s site.

Tiger Woods, Joe Montana, Andre Agassi and Monica Seles are suing Planet Hollywood, accusing the embattled theme-restaurant chain of breaching endorsement contracts during its recent bankruptcy proceedings. Representatives of the athletes filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., where the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Even the backing of Michael Jordan, John Elway and Wayne Gretzky hasn’t been able to save MVP.com from the financial troubles hitting Internet businesses. The online sports and outdoors store said it is laying off nearly half its staff of 166 and closing offices in Boulder, Colo., and Austin, Texas.

Police dispersed rioters in the southern Dutch town of Den Bosch early today after a third day of street battles sparked by the killing of a soccer fan by police. . . . Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo was voted European soccer player of the year.

Iowa State rewarded football Coach Dan McCarney for the university’s first winning season in 11 years with a new four-year contract that doubles his annual salary to $600,000.

Oregon State Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirmed that he has interviewed with Louisiana State officials about that school’s vacant athletic director job.

The seven Golden League track and field meets will have a new format next season in a move organizers hope will draw larger crowds and TV audiences.

Beginning in 2001, the 14 events in each meet will be divided into premium events and classic events. The prizes will be $13,350 for each premium event and $6,675 for each classic event.