Charlotte Trades Gill to Seattle

The Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday traded swingman Eddie Johnson and guard Dana Barros and to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Kendall Gill.

The Hornets also received the option to trade their 1994 first-round draft choice for the SuperSonics’ pick next year.

The Hornets’ first-round draft choice in 1991, Gill averaged 16.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season.

He has been unhappy in Charlotte the last two seasons since the arrival of Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson. He now will team in the Seattle backcourt with Gary Payton.

The trade to Seattle became possible when Gill signed last week for a reported $26.6 million over seven years.

Johnson, a 12-year NBA veteran, averaged 14.4 points per game last season. Barros averaged just under eight points per game as a reserve last season. He is among the NBA’s best three-point shooters.

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The Clippers’ Mark Jackson had 17 points and 10 assists Wednesday to lead the New York All-Stars to a 149-146 victory over the NBA Select Stars in the second annual New York All-Star Basketball Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks’ John Starks had 31 points for the losers.

Hockey

The Edmonton Oilers traded free-agent forward Craig Simpson to the Buffalo Sabres for minor league prospect Jozef Cierny and a draft pick.

Simpson, whose signing with the San Jose Sharks earlier in the summer was nullified by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, heads to the Sabres with career totals of 235 goals and 235 assists in 588 games.

Cierny, 19, also a left winger, was youngest player in the American Hockey League last season. Despite injuries, he scored 27 goals and had 27 assists for 54 points in 54 games.

Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Hartford Whalers, has been named the NHL’s director of hockey operations. Bettman said Burke, 38, will be his top aide on all hockey matters. His responsibilities will include player discipline, officiating and rules changes, and he will be the league office’s main liaison with general managers.

Horse Racing

Filiberto Leon, the jockey who started the frightening spill that put jockey Julie Krone out of action for at least six months with a fractured right ankle, has been suspended for seven days for “careless riding.”

The suspension was announced by racing stewards at Belmont Park. The incident occurred during the third race at Saratoga on Monday, the final day of the meet. Krone underwent ankle surgery Wednesday at Staten Island University Hospital.

Jurisprudence

The lawyer for one of the men accused of killing Michael Jordan’s father has asked a judge to seal the court file and close the courtroom during some pretrial hearings in Lumberton, N.C.

And two of the four people accused of stripping James Jordan’s car didn’t appear in Cumberland County court Wednesday and orders were issued for their arrest.

Richard Esquinas, who claimed in a self-published book that he won golf wagers totaling $1.252 million from Michael Jordan, faces two separate lawsuits totaling $40,000.

A Norwalk Superior Court jury has rejected a $9-million claim by a former Cerritos College football player who received substantial brain damage when a cyst in his head exploded during a game three years ago.

Scott Kahale, 23, had been diagnosed with the pre-existing condition, but went out for the team anyway. After the injury, he spent three months in a coma.

“This was an important statement by the jury,” Cerritos College attorney Dana McCune said after the jury’s decision. “It will now allow athletic directors to play athletes who might have pre-existing conditions without concern that they are liable.”

The parents of Colleen Hipp, one of the two swimmers killed when a bus carrying the Notre Dame women’s team crashed on an icy road, have settled their lawsuit against the university and the bus company.

Miscellany

Nearly two-thirds of college athletes playing contact sports believe those infected with the AIDS virus should be barred from competition, according to a Michigan State University survey.

The survey of 2,505 athletes at 11 colleges and universities listed football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball as contact sports.

Ernie Irvan has been selected to drive the No. 28 Ford of the late Davey Allison on the NASCAR circuit, three television stations reported Wednesday.