Admitted Shooter Blames Carruth

The man who admitted shooting Rae Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend testified Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., that the former NFL player planned the slaying for six months.

Van Brett Watkins was called by defense attorneys, who apparently hoped he would confirm a jailhouse statement that he shot Cherica Adams because he was angry at Carruth.

Instead, Watkins said the former Carolina Panther receiver planned the attack.

“I was very afraid of Rae Carruth,” Watkins said. “He made me do it.”

Watkins pleaded guilty to the 1999 drive-by shooting of Adams.

Watkins expressed remorse for Adams’ death and covered his face with his hand when defense attorney David Rudolf played a portion of her panicked 911 call after she was shot.

Watkins, however, insisted Carruth planned the shooting.

“This wasn’t a one-day affair,” Watkins said. “It was six months. He dragged me into something I didn’t want to be involved in.”

Watkins won’t be sentenced until after the trials of Carruth and two other men, but he did avoid a possible death sentence with his plea bargain.

Baseball

The Baltimore Orioles welcomed a familiar face, agreeing to a $9.5-million, two-year contract with free-agent shortstop Mike Bordick.

Bordick, 34, spent 3 1/2 seasons with the Orioles before being traded to the New York Mets in July. Bordick hit a combined .285 with the Mets and Orioles, setting career highs with 20 home runs and 80 runs batted in.

Houston Astro pitcher Shane Reynolds, who made the National League All-Star team for the first time last year, probably will be out for the first month of the 2001 season after tearing cartilage in his left knee while jogging.

New York Yankee left fielder David Justice is to undergo hernia surgery next month and is expected to be ready for spring training in February. . . . Right-hander Garret Stephenson, 16-9 with a 4.49 earned-run average for St. Louis last season, agreed to a one-year contract with the Cardinals, avoiding salary arbitration. The Cardinals also sold the contract of first baseman Eduardo Perez, 31, to the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Baseball League. . . . . . . The Mets declined to offer contracts to infielder Matt Franco and pitcher Pat Mahomes, letting them become free agents. . . . Outfielder Chad Green, 25, was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Will Cunnane, 26, completing a Dec. 1 deal in which Milwaukee acquired pitcher Brandon Kolb for infielder Santiago Perez. . . . The Cleveland Indians signed 1995 American League rookie of the year Marty Cordova, 31, and veteran infielder Dave Hollins, 34, to minor league contracts. . . . Free-agent right-hander David Cone, 37, worked out with the Texas Rangers. The Rangers also signed left-hander Justin Thompson to a $2.42-million, one-year contract. . . . The Chicago Cubs will not offer contracts to right-handers Jamie Arnold, 26, and Steve Rain, 25. . . . The Florida Marlins signed right-hander Reid Cornelius, 30, to a one-year deal and sent him to triple-A Calgary. . . . Utility infielder Keith Lockhart, 36, agreed to a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. . . . Even before Alex Rodriguez’s record $252-million payday, the average baseball salary soared 17.7% to $1,895,630, according to the annual survey released by the Major League Baseball Players Assn. The 1999 average was $1,611,166.

Winter Sports

Hermann Maier’s ban was lifted by the International Ski Federation, allowing the Austrian star to compete in today’s giant slalom in Bormio, Italy.

However, the federation upheld the $14,900 fine and confirmed Maier’s suspension from last Sunday’s giant slalom for breaking the time limit on his morning inspection run. The ban had come because of an unauthorized run on Sunday’s course 10 minutes before the race started.

Croatian teenager Janica Kostelic won her fourth consecutive slalom race this season with a combined time of 1 minute 43.47 seconds at Sestriere, Italy. American Kristina Koznick was third, 0.48 of a second behind Kostelic. . . . Finland’s Mika Myllyla earned his first big victory this winter, capturing the 30-kilometer race in 1 hour 19 minutes 33.9 seconds at the Davos Nordic cross-country World Cup event in Switzerland.

Miscellany

The Philadelphia City Council approved a $1-billion deal to build a 66,000-seat stadium for the football Eagles and a 45,000-seat stadium for baseball’s Phillies near Veterans Stadium. The Eagles plan to open their new home in 2003 and the Phillies want a 2004 opening.

Featherweight boxer Paul Ingle opened his eyes, moved his hand and was breathing on his own in a hospital in Sheffield, England, four days after he had brain surgery and was placed in a drug-induced coma.

Tom Maher, 48, who coached Australia’s women’s basketball team to a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics, was hired as coach of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, agreed to pay $10,000 each to the families of 13 soccer fans who died in a stampede during a July 9 World Cup qualifying match in Zimbabwe.

Jay Hovdey won the Eclipse Award for news or commentary for a story in the Daily Racing Form on the late trainer Eddie Gregson. It was Hovdey’s third Eclipse for writing.

Funeral services for former USC lineman Ben Lardizabal will be held today at 11 a.m at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills. Lardizabal, who played in the 1946 Rose Bowl, died Saturday at 74.

The Ice Dogs moved into a tie for first place in the West Coast Hockey League’s Southern Division with a 2-1 victory over the Bakersfield Condors at Long Beach Arena.