Gruden Is Pleased So Far

Jon Gruden likes what he’s seen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won’t, however, guarantee a Super Bowl right away.

“I’m not going to make a lot of bold predictions at this time. All I can guarantee is a lot of hard work and effort,” the 38-year-old coach said after being formally introduced Wednesday at Tampa, Fla., as the seventh coach in team history.

The sons of team owner Malcolm Glazer lured Gruden from the Oakland Raiders early Monday, ending a long, sometimes embarrassing search for a replacement for Tony Dungy.

Gruden, who had one year left on his contract with the Raiders, received a five-year deal worth about $17.5 million.

“I had a good job in Oakland. We won some games there. I was fully content to continue to work with the Oakland Raiders and hopefully take our team further in the playoffs,” Gruden said.

The Kansas City Chiefs and free-agent safety Clint Finley agreed to a two-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.... The Washington Redskins hired George Catavolos as defensive backs coach, filling out the coaching spots on Steve Spurrier’s staff.

Tennis

Top-seeded Venus Williams rolled past Anna Kournikova, 6-2, 7-6 (3), and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Women’s Open at Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Williams, who has won three tournaments this year, next plays Anastasia Myskina.

Monica Seles, seeded second, beat Tathiana Garbin, 6-2, 6-3; No. 3 Amelie Mauresmo beat Emmanuelle Gagliardi, 6-3, 6-2, and Tamarine Tanasugarn beat Tatiana Panova, 6-2, 6-3.

Top-seeded Tommy Haas needed three sets to beat Jan Vacek of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, in his opening match at the Kroger St. Jude tournament at Memphis, Tenn.

American Andy Roddick, seeded second, controlled his booming serve and beat Lars Burgsmuller of Germany, 6-2, 6-3 in 58 minutes.

In women’s action, Jana Nejedly of Canada provided the only early upset as she defeated seventh-seeded Jennifer Hopkins of the United States, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Defending champion Nicolas Escude beat top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, in the second round of the $713,000 ABN Amro indoor tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Miscellany

An autopsy on the limousine driver shot at former NBA star Jayson Williams’ mansion confirmed the death was not a suicide, a medical examiner at Piscataway, N.J., said.

Costas Christofi died from a gunshot “at intermediate range,” Hunterdon County medical examiner Steven Diamond said.

Diamond, still waiting for toxicology results, declined to discuss the angle of the wound or whether there was any appearance of a struggle. He said the death is officially listed as a homicide, the legal term for a killing that does not indicate whether it was intentional or accidental.

Acting Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said Tuesday that no decision has been made on whether charges will be filed.

Dan Hampton, elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this month, entered a not guilty plea to a drunk-driving charge at Cabot, Ark., and was given a March 26 trial date.

Hampton, 44, played for the Chicago Bears after a college career at Arkansas. He was arrested in January by state police, his second DWI arrest in five years.

Financially ailing Kmart Corp. has reached agreement with organizers of the Daytona 500 to withdraw as a corporate sponsor of the race.... Chip Ganassi Racing, which has fielded cars for the last two Indianapolis 500s, plans to run Jeff Ward for the entire Indy Racing League schedule. Ganassi has been a mainstay in the rival CART series, where he will continue to field a two-car team.