Hall of Famer Gibson Cited for Assault

Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson was cited for assault after a case of possible road rage in Omaha.

Authorities said the situation started Friday in traffic and ended about 10 miles away after a fist fight at an Interstate 80 gas station in Sarpy County.

Miguel Sanchez alleged Gibson pulled out from a car lot and cut him off in traffic. Sanchez admitted he retaliated and cut Gibson off, but believed the altercation would end there.

Both Gibson and Sanchez were cited Saturday for third-degree assault. They are expected in court March 20.

“I don’t have any comment,” Gibson said from his Bellevue, Neb., home Tuesday. “It just doesn’t do any good to talk about that kind of stuff.”

Sanchez claimed Gibson followed him for more than 10 miles as he left Omaha and traveled west on Interstate 80.

When Sanchez stopped for gas, he said Gibson confronted him.

“I turned my back to reach for the nozzle ... that is when he hit me here and hit me here,” Sanchez said, pointing to both eyes.

Gibson told authorities he followed Sanchez because he wanted the Omaha man to pay for his eyeglasses, which he said were broken when Sanchez cut him off in traffic. According to police records, Gibson also claimed the 45-year-old Sanchez swung first.

Gibson, 66, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.

Pro Football

The Philadelphia Eagles plan to designate Jeremiah Trotter as their franchise player, a move that will keep the all-pro linebacker in Philadelphia at least through next season.

The Eagles will make the announcement by Thursday’s deadline, preventing Trotter from signing with another team as a free agent, a source told Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Under the franchise tag, Trotter would be forced to accept a one-year contract believed to be worth about $5.5 million--based on an average of the league’s five highest-paid linebackers.

The New Orleans Saints signed free-agent quarterback Jeff Lewis to a one-year contract.

Tennis

Top-seeded Amanda Coetzer tumbled out of the Kroger St. Jude Championships at Memphis, Tenn., losing, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to Alina Jidkova of Russia in the second round.

In men’s action, third-seeded Jan-Michael Gambill eliminated Nikolay Davydenko, 6-1, 7-5, and eighth-seeded James Blake beat 1997 champion Michael Chang, 6-4, 6-4.

Unseeded Agustin Calleri of Argentina defeated top-seeded and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), in the opening round of the Copa AT&T; at Buenos Aires.

In other matches, second-seeded Guillermo Canas of Argentina was defeated by David Sanchez of Spain, 6-2, 6-3. Third-seeded Nicolas Lapentti, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Leonardo Olguin.

Anna Kournikova’s reward for a hard-fought victory over fellow wild card Selima Sfar of Tunisia is a match with Venus Williams.

Kournikova defeated Sfar, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4, in the featured night match of the $585,000 Dubai Open in the United Arab Emirates.

Williams, who had a first-round bye, will take over the No. 1 ranking next week from Jennifer Capriati after already winning three tournaments this year.

Tim Henman defeated Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round of the $713,000 indoor ABN Amro tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Soccer

Recent acquisitions Carlos Ruiz and Chris Albright scored goals at Santiago, Chile, to lead the Galaxy to a 3-1 victory over Magallanes of the Chilean first division “B” in an exhibition game. The Galaxy is on a five-game, 13-day tour of Chile.

Goalkeeper Mark Dougherty, 34,who played in Major League Soccer since its inception, announced his retirement from the Columbus Crew and will pursue coaching opportunities in the Columbus area.

Miscellany

The Las Vegas Bowl entered into a two-year agreement with the Pacific 10 Conference and extended its contract with the Mountain West for three more years.

The game, which is played Dec. 25 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, will feature the Pac-10’s fifth selection and the second pick from the Mountain West.

The Houston Open, a PGA Tour fixture at The Woodlands for the past 27 years, will move to the new Redstone Golf Club in 2003, the Houston Golf Assn. said.

The German yacht Illbruck, in sight of the finish line for more than an hour but waiting for enough wind to sail across it, won the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world.

Illbruck, dodging icebergs and weathering snow storms and cold on its 5,873-mile trip from Auckland, New Zealand, and around Cape Horn to Rio De Janeiro, had held the lead since Feb. 2. The leg took 23 days, 5 hours 58 minutes.

Bernard Lopez of Paramount caught a 24.09-pound rainbow trout at Santa Ana River Lakes in Anaheim, potentially setting a state record. The fish was one of a handful of rainbow trout stocked recently weighing 23 pounds or more. If approved by the Department of Fish and Game, it will replace the 23-pound rainbow caught nearly two years ago at Lake Natoma in Northern California.