Massimino, 61, Unretires to Coach Cleveland State

Rollie Massimino, who coached Villanova to an NCAA basketball championship in 1985 but faltered as Jerry Tarkanian’s successor at Nevada Las Vegas less than a decade later, was hired Tuesday as the coach at Cleveland State.

Massimino, 61, is returning to coaching after a two-year absence and replaces Mike Boyd, who resigned March 25.

“I felt I wanted to coach,” Massimino said. “It didn’t make any difference what it took. I wanted to be part of young people.”

Massimino was 36-21 in two seasons at UNLV, but he left in 1994 with a $1.8 million buyout amid fan displeasure over his slower-paced game and disclosure of a supplemental contract with the UNLV athletic department.

He signed a four-year contract with Cleveland State that will pay him a base salary of $100,000 a year, and will give him opportunities to run a camp and do radio and television work.

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John Leonard, a Manhattan College graduate who has spent the last four seasons as an assistant at Villanova, was hired to replace Fran Fraschilla as Manhattan’s coach. . . . Allen Iverson is expected to announce today whether he will give up his remaining two years of eligibility at Georgetown to play in the NBA.

Jurisprudence

Brian Blades, a wide receiver with the Seattle Seahawks, pleaded no contest in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to a charge of manslaughter in the shooting death of his cousin, Charles Blades, 34, on July 5, 1995.

Blades, 30, could be facing up to 30 years in prison on the charge of manslaughter by culpable negligence, said his attorney, Bruce Zimet. Sentencing was set for May 28.

Former boxing champion Donald Curry, 34, was freed from jail in Dallas after Gladys Mack, the woman who said he was the father of her 4-year-old son, agreed to accept $1,000, forgive $5,000 owed her and get $173 a month in child support from him.

Football

NFL owners voted to allow the Houston Oilers to move to Nashville, but it’s still uncertain when the team will actually move. The Oilers have a lease on the Astrodome through 1997, and Nashville residents must vote May 7 on a referendum to decide whether to approve $80 million in city bonds needed to complete the $292-million package.

New England Patriot Coach Bill Parcells has renegotiated his contract so that it will expire after the 1996 season instead of 1997, ESPN reported. . . . Veteran receiver Terance Mathis, who has caught 189 passes for 2,381 yards for Atlanta, signed a four-year contract with the Falcons.

Miscellany

Minor league goalie Parris Duffus, who has given up only 12 goals in five games, made 29 saves in leading the United States to a 3-2 victory over Sweden in the quarterfinals of the World Hockey Championships in Vienna.

The first boat to finish the 49th Newport-to-Ensenada International Yacht Race last weekend was Victoria, skippered by Michael Campbell, which completed the 125-mile trip in 24.0756 hours. Evolution, skippered by Brad Duker, won the President of Mexico trophy for best corrected time, finishing in 24.1096 hours.

Tennis

Thomas Muster extended his winning streak on clay to 36 matches, routing Italy’s Stefano Pescosolido, 6-1, 6-1, to reach the second round of the BMW Open in Munich. Boris Becker, seeded second, also advanced by beating qualifier Francisco Roig of Spain, 6-4, 6-4. . . . Francisco Montana won his opening-round match at the Czech Open in Prague, beating Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan, 6-3, 6-2. Also, unseeded Patrick Baur of Germany ousted fourth-seeded Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. . . . Top-seeded Michael Chang breezed into the second round of the AT&T; Challenge at Atlanta with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over qualifier Michael Sell. Richey Reneberg defeated Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Soccer

Midfielder Roberto Donadoni plans to make his Major Soccer League debut for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars on Saturday, but the team will allow him to play for Italy this summer if selected for the European Championship.

The national team of Guatemala and the under-23 national team of El Salvador will play tonight at 8 at the Coliseum.

Names in the News

Services will be held today in in Temperance, Mich., for Bob Loga, the president of the Automobile Racing Club of America who was killed in a traffic accident outside Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Saturday. . . . A contract dispute has been resolved and Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis will compete May 18 in the 100-meter race in the inaugural track meet at Atlanta’s new Olympic Stadium.