Thomas Replaces Bird as Coach of the Pacers

Isiah Thomas’ connection with Indiana, which began more than 20 years ago when he was recruited from Westchester, Ill., by Bob Knight to play at the state’s university, reached an apex Thursday when he was hired as the Pacer coach.

Thomas, 39, replaced Larry Bird, who coached Indiana to the NBA finals, where the Pacers lost to the Lakers. Like Bird when he took the Pacer job, Thomas has no coaching experience.

“I feel he’s got the leadership, intelligence and determination to be successful as an NBA coach,” Pacer President Donnie Walsh said after signing Thomas to a four-year, $20-million contract.

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Sacramento King guard Jason Williams, one of the NBA’s flashiest and most popular players, was suspended without pay for the first five games of next season for failing to comply with his drug treatment plan.

The NBA, the Kings and Williams all declined to say what the point guard had done or what drug was involved, citing the confidentiality of the league’s anti-drug program. Williams has a history of marijuana use, dating to his college days at Florida.

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The University of Illinois completed a five-year contract with new basketball Coach Bill Self, a deal worth at least $825,000 a year. . . . Delaware has hired Duke assistant David Henderson as its basketball coach. He replaces Mike Brey, who resigned to take the coaching job at Notre Dame.

Olympics

Fiji nationalist coup leader George Speight called for people throughout the South Pacific to join his “crusade” for indigenous rights and threatened to join forces with Australia’s Aborigines to disrupt the Sydney Olympics in September. . . . The World Anti-Doping Agency announced it has conducted more than 400 out-of-competition drug tests in the past month and plans to exceed 2,000 before the Sydney Games. WADA also said it had signed agreements with 19 Olympic summer sports federations to allow out-of-competition testing and was still in negotiation with the nine others. . . . Chinese swimmer Wu Yanyan plans to challenge the country’s decision to ban her from the Sydney Olympics for alleged steroid use. She is the world-record holder in the women’s 200-meter medley.

Tennis

Daniel Elsner, a German wild card playing his first tournament on the ATP Tour this year, upset top-seeded Magnus Norman of Sweden, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup at Stuttgart, Germany. Norman advanced to the No. 1 ranking in the world just this week.

Three other seeded players lost, including No. 3 Marat Safin of Russia, who was beaten, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), by Andrew Ilie of Australia.

Top-seeded Dominique Van Roost beat Spain’s Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues, 6-1, 6-4, and fellow Belgian Sabine Appelmans beat Marlene Weingartner of Germany, 6-4, 6-3, to cruise into the quarterfinals of the Sanex Trophy WTA tournament at Knokke-Heist, Belgium. . . . Anna Kournikova of Russia, playing her first singles match in three weeks, beat Mashona Washington, 6-3, 7-6 (2), to reach the semifinals of the A&P; Tennis Classic at Mahwah, N.J.

Miscellany

A grand jury indicted former Ohio State and Indianapolis Colt quarterback Art Schlichter on charges that he stole a credit card from a home in Columbus, Ohio.

CONCACAF expects FIFA to rule today on Guatemala’s protest that the United States used an ineligible player in its World Cup soccer qualifier on Sunday. The Guatemalans have protested the use of Chicago Fire defender Chris Armas, who played for Puerto Rico during the 1993 Copa Caribe but was born in New York.

Sam Perry, 55, who shared the world record in the 60-yard dash with Bob Hayes, died after a lengthy illness in Southport, Conn. In 1965, Perry was clocked in 5.9 seconds for the 60 at the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden.