Wilcox Available for Draft

Maryland sophomore forward Chris Wilcox, who helped the Terrapins win the NCAA men’s basketball title this season, will skip his final two college seasons to make himself available for the NBA draft on June 26.

The 6-foot-10, 220-pound Wilcox emerged as one of the nation’s top power forwards, averaging 12 points and 7.1 rebounds for Maryland.

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Mississippi State forward Mario Austin said he’ll return for his junior season instead of becoming available for the NBA draft.

Pro Football

Free-agent cornerback Donnie Abraham, 28, who was waived by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month for salary-cap reasons, agreed to a six-year contract with the New York Jets worth almost $19 million, agent Jack Reale said.

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Cornerbacks Markese Fitzgerald of Miami and Bennie Alexander of Florida and linebacker Ryan Nece of UCLA were among 12 college free agents who agreed to terms with Tampa Bay. Other signees from UCLA included wide receiver Brian Poli-Dixon and defensive tackle Anthony Fletcher (San Diego Chargers), fullback Ed Ieremia-Stansbury (Houston Texans), fullback Matt Stanley (San Francisco 49ers) and defensive tackle Ken Kocher (Green Bay Packers).

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The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran right guard Rich Tylski, 31, two days after taking Auburn guard Kendall Simmons with their first-round pick in this year’s draft.... Former Oregon State star running back Ken Simonton signed a free-agent contract with the 49ers. Simonton was Oregon State’s all-time leading rusher and scorer, but wasn’t drafted because of concerns about his height and lack of breakaway speed.... The Chicago Bears signed center Luke Butkus, the nephew of NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus.

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Quarterback Scott McEwan of UCLA is close to signing a two-year agreement with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League.

McEwan drew the team’s attention by passing for three touchdowns in the Paradise Bowl All-Star game in January. The B.C. Lions’ offensive coordinator, Dave Arslanian, was McEwan’s coach in the game, and he prompted the CFL team to include McEwan on their list of 20 U.S. players with whom they can conduct negotiations.

The Lions offered McEwan a contract last week, and he said he planned to sign in the next few days. He would compete for the backup spot to starter Damon Allen, a 17-year veteran.

Steve Henson

Tennis

Seeded players Albert Portas and Hicham Arazi lost in the first round of the ATP’s $955,000 Seat Godo clay-court tournament at Barcelona, Spain. Zeljko Krajan of Croatia beat the 10th-seeded Arazi, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Alberto Martin of Spain topped No. 13 Portas, 7-5, 6-3.

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As expected, Venus Williams replaced Jennifer Capriati at No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings and her sister, Serena, moved into the top five.

In the men’s ATP rankings, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia remained No. 1. Andre Agassi was the top American at No. 10. At Houston, the second-seeded Agassi overcame 19-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, in the first round of the U.S. men’s clay-court championships.

Figure Skating

The French judge at the center of the Salt Lake City figure skating scandal promised to support the Russian pair three months before the Olympics, the Washington Post reported. In a letter to the International Skating Union, Swiss judge Christine Blanc said Marie-Reine Le Gougne vowed she would favor the Russians for the gold medal. Blanc joined three other judges who have accused Le Gougne or French federation president Didier Gailhaguet of improper conduct.

“When I saw Marie-Reine say she was a victim, that she had pressure, I thought, ‘Now, it’s enough,’” Blanc said.

Blanc and Canadian judge Benoit Lavoie did not immediately report Le Gougne’s comments at Skate Canada in November because they believed “it will make a big mess, and nobody will believe us,” Blanc said. French judge Alain Miquel said he followed orders from Gailhaguet to vote for certain competitors at two major events.

Le Gougne and Gailhaguet will face an ISU council hearing on Monday. Le Gougne’s lawyer, Maxwell A. Miller, said in his own letter to the ISU “there is no credible, consistent and uncoerced evidence of any misconduct.”

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Figure skater Tonya Harding pleaded not guilty to a drunk-driving charge in Clark County District Court in Vancouver, Wash.

On the same day, the City of Camas filed a motion alleging that Harding, 31, violated a probation requirement that she consume “no alcohol at all” for two years after May 18, 2000--a court order stemming from a hubcap attack on her then-boyfriend earlier that year.

Miscellany

Nancy Lopez, who announced last month that this will be her last full season on the LPGA Tour, accepted a special exemption to play in the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open.

Passings

Prominent thoroughbred owner Ogden Phipps died in West Palm Beach, Fla., after a short illness. He was 93. (See Story, B11).

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John “Red” O’Quinn, a former Montreal Alouette receiver and member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, died at 76 in Ottawa after a long illness.

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Joe Geri, an All-Pro running back with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1950, died after a lengthy illness in Milledgeville, Ga. He was 78.

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Sam Dente, who played shortstop for five teams in nine major league seasons and was a member of Cleveland’s 1954 American League champions, died in Montclair, N.J. He was 79.