Rockets’ Mack Involved in Fatal Jet-Ski Accident

A jet-driven personal watercraft piloted by Houston Rocket reserve forward Sam Mack on Lake Michigan struck and killed his friend, whose jet ski had stopped in front of him, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The accident occurred about 5 p.m. Wednesday when a jet ski piloted by Thaddeus Williams, 37, apparently stalled about 100 yards from the Chicago shore.

Mack, piloting a larger jet-ski craft behind Williams, was unable to turn in time and slammed into him, Coast Guard officials said.

Williams was taken to Trinity Hospital in Chicago and later transferred to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. Mack was not injured, and alcohol or drugs were not a factor, the Coast Guard said.

*

The Vancouver Grizzlies acquired veteran power forward Otis Thorpe, 35, from the Detroit Pistons for a future No. 1 draft choice. The Grizzlies also renounced their rights to point guard Greg Anthony.

Golf

Sonny Skinner, who played the last four years on the Nike Tour, shot a 10-under-par 62 to tie the Buick Open record and leads second-place Nolan Henke by four shots at Grand Blanc, Mich. Tiger Woods, the Masters champion, had five bogeys in his even-par round of 72; U.S. Open champion Ernie Els shot a 68 and British Open champion Justin Leonard had a 70.

Chris Johnson and Joan Pitcock each shot four-under 68s and share the first-round lead at the LPGA Friendly’s Classic at Agawam, Mass. . . . Italy’s Silvia Cavalleri birdied the 18th hole and the first extra hole to upset Colombian star Marisa Baena in the quarterfinals of the 97th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Newton, Mass.

Tennis

Thomas Muster of Austria beat Martin Damm of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, in the third round of the $2.3-million ATP Championship at Mason, Ohio. In other notable matches, Pete Sampras beat Patrick Rafter of Australia, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, and Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil beat Vince Spadea, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4.

Fourth-seeded Javier Sanchez of Spain defeated Argentine’s Hernan Gumy, 6-3, 6-3, in the third round of the San Marino tournament.

Soccer

Wellington Sanchez scored the only goal on a breakaway in the 83rd minute to give Ecuador a 1-0 victory over the United States in an international soccer friendly before 13,629 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Pro Hockey

As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have matched Toronto’s contract offer to 21-year old Swedish defenseman Mattias Ohlund.

The offer sheet that Joe Sakic signed with the New York Rangers includes a $15-million signing bonus, which may be unprecedented in sports, as part of a three-year $21-million deal.

Jurisprudence

A jury cleared three of the four defendants in England’s long-running soccer match-fixing case--players John Fashanu and Hans Segers and a Malaysian businessman, Heng Suan Lim. Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar was cleared on one charge of fixing games, but must await a decision on a final, similar count.

Miscellany

All coaches in Canada’s top junior hockey program would require background checks, and players could report abuses via toll-free hot line under recommendations made in response to news of a sexual-abuse scandal. . . . A bus carrying a youth baseball team from the border city of Mexicali to the national championship crashed in northern Mexico, killing three children and an adult, police said. . . . . Ten months after 78 people were killed in a stadium stampede in Guatemala, international soccer’s governing body, FIFA, has donated $500,000 to the victims’ families.

In college football, the Music City Bowl signed a four-year deal with ESPN. . . . The American Baseball Coaches Assn. is asking the NCAA to delay the start of the College World Series three weeks to give northern teams more time to practice outdoors. The coaches’ association wants to move the start of the tournament from the first Friday after Memorial Day to the fourth.

Disabled and able-bodied athletes will compete together in the National Disabled Foundation Athletic Festival from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Griffith Park. Details: (800) 869-5422. . . . Two teams from Los Angeles will be represented at the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Innercities) World Series, which will be held Aug. 10-15 in Denver.