Radio Report Says Donahue, Jones Talk About Cowboy Job

Former UCLA coach Terry Donahue reportedly has interviewed for the Dallas Cowboy coaching vacancy created by Barry Switzer’s firing, and Lou Holtz has taken himself out of the picture.

Dallas radio station KLIF reported that Donahue has discussed the Cowboy job with club officials. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman played for Donahue at UCLA.

Donahue could not be reached for comment Sunday.

As for Holtz, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram quoted a source close to him as saying the former Notre Dame coach won’t return to coaching. The newspaper quoted the source as saying that Holtz has too many things going on in his private life, including caring for his sick wife.

A similar reason was given for his turning down the coaching job at USC.

College Football

USC running back Delon Washington and UCLA receiver Jim McElroy teamed on a 38-yard touchdown pass play that helped the South defeat the North, 20-19, at Wailuku, Hawaii, in the 52nd Hula Bowl.

Washington handed off to McElroy, who threw a floater to Duke receiver Corey Thomas, who had to leap to make the grab for the first-half score.

The North rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to take a 19-17 left with 6:43 to play. But Robert Nycz of Arizona State kicked a 47-yard field goal with two minutes left to give the South the lead for good.

Golf

Gil Morgan, a six-time winner on the Senior PGA Tour last year, tied a course record with a final-round 64 to win the $1-million MasterCard Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Morgan posted a 54-hole total of 21-under 195 for a six-stroke victory over Hale Irwin and Gibby Gilbert.

Kelly Robbins completed a 15-birdie weekend with a six-under-par 66 to win the LPGA’s HealthSouth Inaugural in Orlando.

Robbins earned $90,000 for overcoming a first-round 76 and a four-stroke deficit to finish at seven-under 209, two shots better than Meg Mallon.

Eric Johnson shot a three-under 67 to finish at 13-under 267 and win the Nike South Florida Classic in Pompano Beach. Johnson had learned during the week that his father has inoperable lung cancer.

Winter Sports

Olympic champion Thomas Stangassinger of Austria won a World Cup slalom at Veysonnaz, Switzerland, covering a twisting, bumpy course twice in 1 minute 38.12 seconds, 0.78 seconds ahead of Iceland’s Kristinn Bjorsson.

Renate Goetschl gave Austrian women their first World Cup skiing victory in more than a year, taking the downhill at Zauchensee, Austria, in 1:30.10, 0.63 seconds faster than Katja Seizinger, who had won six races in a row.

Martina Ertl of Germany earned her second win of the season, finishing first in the super-giant slalom in 1:25.90.

In last place entering the final turn, Scott Koons swept past Ian Baranski and Thomas O’Hare on the inside in the late stages of the 1,000-meter speedskating final at Lake Placid, N.Y., to finish second to Andy Gabel and qualify for his first Olympic team.

Amy Peterson, who has won three Olympic medals, continued her stirring comeback from chronic fatigue syndrome and edged her training partner, Erin Porter of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the women’s final to finish atop the standings with 26 points.

Baseball

Acting commissioner Bud Selig is concerned about a link between the Detroit Tigers and a planned casino complex in Detroit, The New York Times reported.

Marian Ilitch, wife of Tiger owner Michael Ilitch, is an investor in the Atwater/Circus Circus casino group that plans to build a casino within home run distance of the Tigers’ new stadium. The stadium, scheduled to open in 2000, could share parking with the casino.

Seattle Mariner third baseman Russ Davis avoided arbitration with the club by coming to terms on a two-year contract.

Jurisprudence

Hall of Fame slugger Eddie Mathews, 66, says he is permanently disabled from an accident in which he fell and was crushed between a tender boat and a pier 13 months ago while on a Caribbean trip and is suing Carnival Cruise Lines.

Carnival asserts that Mathews, who lives in Del Mar, was responsible.

Miscellany

Amy Van Dyken and Ukrainian-born Lenny Krayzelburg won the United States’ final two gold medals on the closing day of the world swimming champions at Perth, Australia, giving the U.S. a total of 14 golds, its best effort in 20 years.

Krayzelburg won the 200-meter backstroke to complete a 100-200 double in the discipline, and Van Dyken won the 50-meter freestyle.

Ron Hornaday became the first driver to win a race in all four seasons of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, taking his third and final lead on the 199th lap of the Chevy Trucks Challenge at Walt Disney World Speedway in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The U.S. women’s soccer team got goals from Tisha Venturini, Tiffeny Millbrett and Debbie Keller and had 27 shots, 18 in the second half of a 3-0 rout of Sweden that opened the Guangzhou International tournament in China.

Gwyn Coogan won the U.S. women’s marathon championship in 2 hours 33 minutes 37 seconds at Houston, earning $30,000 for finishing 2:07 ahead of Kim Jones. Stephen Ndungu took the men’s race in 2:11:23.

Names in the News

Jim Hofher, whose Ivy League record of 32-24 was the best of any coach in the last four decades at Cornell, resigned to become quarterback coach and passing game coordinator at North Carolina. . . . The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has unanimously approved a proposal to name the field at Memorial Stadium in honor of retiring football coach Tom Osborne.