Orioles Snap Up Boskie From the Angels

The Baltimore Orioles agreed to a one-year contract on Monday with the Angels’ Shawn Boskie, worth about $600,000. Boskie, 29, was 12-11 with a 5.32 ERA in 28 starts and nine relief appearances last season.

The Angels apparently believed they could afford to let Boskie go after acquiring left-hander Allen Watson from San Francisco last month for Gold Glove first baseman J.T. Snow.

*

Another piece of the New York Yankees departed when World Series MVP John Wetteland agreed to a $23-million, four-year contract with the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers also acquired right-hander Cory Bailey from the St. Louis Cardinals for minor leaguer David Chavarria and a player to be named later. Baily was 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 51 appearances last season for the Cardinals.

The Yankees continued to negotiate with left-hander David Wells to replace Jimmy Key, who signed with the Orioles.

*

A trade that would send Detroit left-handed reliever Joey Eischen to San Diego for catcher Brian Johnson and right-hander William Blair is expected to be completed today. . . . Giant left-hander Jim Poole, who was eligible for arbitration, agreed to a $1.8-million, two-year contract with the Giants, and infielder Mark Lewis, acquired by them from Detroit for infielder Jesus Ibarra, agreed to a $1.6-million, one-year contract, up from $670,000 last season.

The Kansas City Royals and right-hander Bob Scanlan agreed to terms on a one-year contract, and third baseman Scott Cooper agreed to a minor league pact. Cooper, 29, spent last season in Japan with the Seibu Lions after playing with the Boston Red Sox and Cardinals in 1995. . . . The Cleveland Indians completed the Matt Williams trade by acquiring outfielder Trenidad Hubbard from San Francisco and sending right-hander Joe Roa to the Giants. . . . Teams will wear a patch next season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.

College Football

Two Virginia Tech football players--starting fullback Brian L. Edmonds and reserve wide receiver James L. Crawford--were arrested and charged in the rape of a woman in Blacksburg, Va.

It has not been determined if the players, who were released on $45,000 bond each, will be suspended from the team. The 10th-ranked Hokies play No. 6 Nebraska Dec. 31 in the Orange Bowl.

Pittsburgh hired Ohio State quarterback coach Walt Harris as its new coach, less than three months after he helped the Buckeyes hand the Panthers their worst loss. Harris replaces Johnny Majors, who resigned Nov. 25.

Michael Kornblau, the first white starting quarterback at historically black Grambling, had an illegal tryout for Coach Eddie Robinson, the school has told the NCAA. The admission of the rule violation was made days after Robinson, 77, was granted a final season.

Robinson said Kornblau worked out with some of the players when he visited the campus, but it was not an organized tryout.

Winter Sports

Six people were injured when a gust of wind toppled a judges’ stand at the NorAm freestyle ski competition at Deer Valley, Utah. The names of the injured were not available. One, a 40-year-old man who suffered a broken leg and a dislocated shoulder, was in critical condition. Two other men were in serious condition.

In yet another impressive showing by Austria’s ski team, Hans Knauss won the men’s World Cup season opener in the super-G at Val D’Isere, France. With a time of 1 minute 23.26 seconds in his first victory of the season, Knauss finished only .03 of a second ahead of teammate Guenther Mader.

World and Olympic champion Alberto Tomba, saying he is nearly fit two months after a bad training spill, makes his season debut today in a World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy.

Miscellany

Andre Agassi will play for the U.S. Davis Cup team when it travels to San Paulo, Brazil, for a first-round match Feb. 7-9. It will be Agassi’s first action of 1997 and his first Davis Cup appearance since injuring his shoulder in a 1995 semifinal against Sweden.

Yvonne Solis, an infielder on Cal State Fullerton’s softball team in 1986 and ‘87, died Friday of a heart attack. She was 31.

In a game featuring two of the nation’s top prep point guards, Compton Dominguez (4-0) defeated Santa Monica Crossroads, 80-62, in front of 4,000 at Dominguez High. Kenny Brunner of Dominguez, who signed early with Fresno State, had 21 points and nine assists. Baron Davis scored 27 points for Crossroads (3-2), including three three-point baskets, despite shooting eight of 28 from the field.

Swimmer Amy Van Dyken, who won four gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics, was selected the 1996 SportsWoman of the Year on by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Van Dyken was chosen from a list of 54 female athletes in a vote by the USOC board of directors, an athlete’s advisory council and national media. Van Dyken won gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter butterfly, and was a member of two winning relay teams.

Frank Williams, chairman and managing director of the Williams-Renault Formula One racing team, was ordered to stand trial Feb. 20 on manslaughter charges in connection with the 1994 death of driver Ayrton Senna. Williams and five others are to be tried in Imola, Italy, the site of the fatal crash. Senna, a Brazilian, died of head injuries when his Williams car smashed into a concrete wall during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

George Weah, AC Milan’s Liberian striker, was suspended for six matches for head-butting FC Porto defender Jorge Costa after a European Champions’ League soccer game Nov. 20 at Porto, Portugal. Weah said Costa had taunted him with racial slurs.

Boxing

Heavyweight Oliver McCall was arrested in Nashville after police said he threw a lobby Christmas tree to the floor and, after being asked to leave, spat on a police car. He was charged with vandalism, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

McCall pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of possession of a controlled substance and was put on 18 months’ probation.

Former world champion John Mugabi, back in boxing after staying away for five years, had to go the distance for the first time in his career, winning a 10-round decision over Australian cruiserweight champion Peter Kinsella at Southport, Australia.

Names in the News

Jerry Diamond, 68, the former executive director of the Women’s Tennis Assn., died of colon cancer in San Francisco.

Laura Davies was named LPGA player of the year. The Heather Farr Award, named for the LPGA player who died in 1994, was given to Martha Nause, for best overcoming obstacles. Nause fought back from a stress-related virus that damaged her sense of balance.