Edwards Is Latest to Leave Cowboys

Linebacker Dixon Edwards left the Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys to join the Minnesota Vikings on Monday.

Minnesota will pay Edwards $10 million over four years, including a $2.5-million signing bonus.

Edwards is the third Dallas defensive starter to leave this off-season, following cornerback Larry Brown and defensive lineman Russell Maryland, both of whom signed with Oakland.

Coach Barry Switzer said he wouldn’t be surprised if linebackers Darrin Smith and Robert Jones also left.

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The San Francisco 49ers and free-agent offensive lineman Ray Brown agreed to a five-year, $10-million contract that includes a $2.75-million signing bonus. Brown spent the last seven seasons with Washington. . . . The Cincinnati Bengals signed free-agent cornerback Ashley Ambrose to a $4.95-million, three-year contract. Ambrose spent the first four years of his career with Indianapolis. . . . The Denver Broncos signed defensive end Alfred Williams, a pass-rushing specialist from the Bengals, to a five-year contract worth $12 million, including a $3-million signing bonus. . . . The Phoenix Cardinals re-signed cornerback Aeneas Williams, a two-time Pro Bowl selection who has intercepted 12 passes the last two seasons, to a $17-million, five-year contract. . . . William “The Refrigerator” Perry, former Chicago Bear defensive tackle, signed with the London Monarchs of the six-team World League.

Jurisprudence

A Canadian university hockey coach was suspended and several of his players face possible criminal charges for assaulting a referee with their sticks and fists after an overtime loss.

The incident occurred after the University of Moncton Blue Eagles lost their season-ending game Saturday on a controversial overtime goal to the University of Prince Edward Island at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Referee Brian Carragher escaped serious injury when Moncton players backed him into a corner of the rink.

Witnesses said Carragher, an official for 15 years, was speared twice in the groin with a hockey stick and punched in the head and stomach.

The man charged with killing Michael Jordan’s father could face a conviction of first-degree murder or premeditated first-degree murder, the presiding judge in Lumberton, N.C., ruled.

North Carolina Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks dealt a blow to the defense by ruling against instructing the jury that only murder in the first degree could be considered.

Figure Skating

Scott Hamilton, Oksana Baiul, Brian Boitano and Viktor Petrenko are among the figure skaters scheduled to appear tonight in Hartford, Conn., in a tribute show for Sergei Grinkov, who died last November of a heart attack at the age of 28. Katya Gordeeva, Grinkov’s widow, will perform publicly for the first time since she lost the partner with whom she won two Olympic gold medals.

Miscellany

After Serena’s Song worked six furlongs in 1:12 1/5, co-owner Bob Lewis and trainer Wayne Lukas said they would wait until later in the week to determine whether the 4-year-old filly will run in Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap.

Kansas State forfeited 11 women’s basketball games it won before Feb. 9 because it used ineligible players. The names of the players were not disclosed, but Athletic Director Max Urich said their violation involved “impermissible employment,” including “payment received for summer camps and baby-sitting.”. . . Ronnie Fields of Chicago, who is rated among the nation’s top prep basketball players, broke a bone in his neck in a car accident and was in fair and stable condition at a Chicago hospital.

The International Boxing Federation reversed course to comply with a settlement ordered by a U.S. federal court and said Frans Botha, its heavyweight champion, will fight Michael Moorer. The settlement stipulated that Moorer would fight the winner of the Dec. 9 bout between Botha and Axel Schulz. Botha won but tested positive for steroids. The IBF initially ruled Botha will keep the title, pay a $50,000 fine and fight Schulz within six months.

Pacific and Mountain will be the names of the eight-team divisions in the expanded Western Athletic Conference beginning with the 1996-97 season. Pacific Division: Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, UNLV, San Diego State, San Jose State and Wyoming. Mountain: BYU, New Mexico, Rice, Southern Methodist, TCU, Texas El Paso, Tulsa and Utah. . . . Jeff McInerney, defensive coordinator at Duke last season, has been named USC’s defensive line coach, replacing Rod Marinelli, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneer staff. . . . Oregon defensive coordinator Charlie Waters, a former defensive back with the Dallas Cowboys, resigned to move closer to family members in Texas following the death last December of his eldest son, Cody.