NEWSWIRE : NASCAR’s Irvan Reportedly Will Announce Retirement

Ernie Irvan will announce his retirement today from NASCAR Winston Cup racing, the Charlotte Observer reported in today’s editions.

Irvan, who nearly died five years ago during a wreck and was injured again two weeks ago, scheduled a news conference in Darlington, S.C., the site of this weekend’s Southern 500, to make the announcement, the Observer reported.

Irvan, 40, suffered head and lung injuries Aug. 20 in a practice session crash at Michigan Speedway. He spent several days in a Michigan hospital and has not returned to the wheel of his Pontiac since the accident.

Hockey

Doug Risebrough, 45, who has spent 25 years in the NHL as a player, coach and executive, was hired Thursday as the first general manager and executive vice president of the expansion Minnesota Wild.

Risebrough, 45, has been vice president of hockey operations with the Edmonton Oilers the last three years.

Wild Chief Executive Jac Sperling said he had to compensate the Oilers to sign Risebrough but wouldn’t divulge details.

Risebrough said he is in no hurry to hire a coach before next year’s expansion draft but will begin building his front office and scouting staff immediately.

The Wild begins play in the 2000-01 season at St. Paul, returning the NHL to Minnesota after a seven-year absence.

As expected, defenseman Aki Berg ended a year’s holdout and agreed to a one-year contract with the Kings worth $762,500, plus incentives.

In three seasons with the Kings, Berg, who is expected to be in training camp this weekend, had two goals and 21 assists in 164 games.

Three Kings remain unsigned: defenseman Mattias Norstrom and wingers Glen Murray and Jason Podollan.

The Ottawa Senators signed free-agent right wing Kevin Dineen to a multiyear contract. . . . Defenseman Craig Ludwig of the Dallas Stars has retired after 17 years in the NHL. . . . The Pittsburgh Penguins signed three players: veteran wing Tom Chorske and forwards Greg Crozier and Dyland Gyori. . . . Businessman Pierre Boivin was named as the new president of the Montreal Canadiens. . . . Saying it is tired of paying high property taxes, beer giant Molson Inc. wants to sell the Molson Centre, a 21,273-seat arena built for its Canadien franchise.

College Sports

Minnesota settled a sexual harassment claim against Rufus Simmons in 1988, five years before he was put in charge of sexual harassment and violence awareness training for athletes, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Pan American basketball coach Delray Brooks was fired because the school believes he deposited a $25,000 check from a road game into his personal bank account and withdrew money from the account, the McAllen (Texas) Monitor reported. But Brooks, in a letter to Athletic Director Bill Weidner, denied the accusation and insisted he had done nothing wrong, the newspaper said.

Duquesne reinstated two basketball players, Simon Ogunlesi and Jamal Hunter, who were suspended this summer after being indicted on federal charges in a check and credit-card fraud case. Their court cases have not yet been tried.

Spencer Gloger, a 6-foot-6 basketball player from Santa Margarita High who signed a grant-in-aid in May to attend UCLA, will enroll instead at Princeton.

Miscellany

The Galaxy called up goalkeeper Jim Welch from the U.S. Project-40 squad after a nagging abdominal strain sidelined Matt Reis.

Former Indianapolis Colt quarterback Art Schlichter, sentenced to serve at least four years in an Indiana prison for gambling convictions, will be released today. But Schlichter, who won early release by earning two college degrees behind bars, won’t be going free. He’ll be transferred to the Madison County Jail, where he faces new illegal gambling charges. Madison County authorities allege that Schlichter, 38, placed wagers with a Las Vegas bookie while he was jailed.

The Golden State Warriors re-signed veteran forward Terry Cummings to a multiyear contract and signed rookies Vonteego Cummings and Tim Young.

Four-time Olympian Teresa Edwards, 35, was named to the U.S. women’s basketball national team, joining 10 WNBA players on the team expected to represent the United States in the 2000 Olympics.

Back spasms will prevent sprinter Marion Jones from competing again this year, but she said she still plans to seek an unprecedented five gold medals in the Sydney Olympics.

International Olympic Committee members might be allowed to visit bidding cities, but only under strict conditions, a reform panel recommended. Visits were banned after disclosures of vote-buying in the selection of Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

In Auckland, New Zealand, Dennis Conner unveiled his latest America’s Cup challenger, Stars and Stripes, and kept his promise to show it without anything covering its keel, a rare sight because syndicates struggle to keep their keel designs secret.