Spurrier Launches Practice

Steve Spurrier took the field in chilling fog and drizzle Tuesday for his first practice as an NFL coach. The Fun ‘N Gun is definitely not in Florida anymore.

“Sort of like playing golf in Ireland,� said Spurrier, who exchanged his trademark visor for a black baseball cap because of the weather at Ashburn, Va.

The Washington Redskins’ three-day, non-contact mini-camp is a chance for the new coach to get to know his players and get the feel of coaching in the big leagues, but the first practices skipped the preamble and went straight to Chapter One.

“We put in, gosh, more plays in one meeting than I’ve ever seen in any offense,� quarterback Danny Wuerffel said. “I was thinking, ‘How would these guys adjust to this?’ You go to another team and you’ll spend a week on three plays and you’ll run them over and over. We’ve got just about the entire playbook in one meeting.�

At least Wuerffel was familiar with it all, having won the Heisman Trophy playing for Spurrier at Florida.

“There’s a lot of stuff,� said Spurrier, who left Florida in January to sign a five-year, $25-million contract with the Redskins. “Yeah, I sort of believe you give the players a whole bunch of stuff so they don’t get bored.�

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New Orleans completed a deal to send offensive tackle Willie Roaf to Kansas City. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection was traded for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2003.

The draft choice could escalate to a third-round selection based on Roaf’s playing time this season.

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The Detroit Lions and often-injured receiver Germane Crowell have agreed to terms on a three-year contract worth $7.5 million, according to a team official. Crowell has been slowed by foot and knee injuries the last two seasons.

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Pittsburgh had to use some last-minute negotiations and raise its offer to free-agent kicker Todd Peterson to keep him from re-signing with Kansas City.

Peterson was about to sign a three-year, $2.5-million contract with the Steelers on Monday when the Chiefs increased their offer to include a $1-million signing bonus, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday. The Steelers then added a fourth year to the contract, which totals $3.925 million, and sweetened their bonus from $450,000 to $600,000.

Boxing

Welcoming the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson heavyweight title fight to Memphis, Tenn., on June 8 has nothing to do with morality--it’s about business.

“It’s not in my job description to regulate the morality of individuals who participate in sporting events,� Mayor Willie Herenton said. “As mayor of this great city, I made a business decision. I think the city is going to benefit enormously.�

Pro Basketball

Center Oliver Miller, 31, who helped the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 1993, has signed with the Anaheim-based Southern California Surf of the American Basketball Assn. Miller, 6 feet 10 and 345 pounds, had been playing with the Gary Steelheads of the Continental Basketball Assn.

Miscellany

UC Santa Barbara’s Donald Mahr qualified for three individual events in the NCAA men’s gymnastics championships April 5-6 at Oklahoma. Teammates Andre Badilla and Daniel Levine each qualified for two events, and five other Gaucho gymnasts qualified for one event.

Indy Racing League driver Robbie Buhl was released from a hospital after recovering from a concussion he suffered in qualifying for Sunday’s Yamaha Indy 400 at California Speedway in Fontana. Buhl was released from Loma Linda University Medical Center on Monday, the IRL said in a statement released Tuesday.

Exercise rider Sheri Garcia, 37, died after being thrown from a horse and hitting her head at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race Course.

Hermann Maier’s lawyer is seeking more than $4 million in damages from the driver of the car that collided with the Austrian skier’s motorcycle last summer. Maier did not compete in the Salt Lake City Olympics after breaking his leg in the crash.

Passings

Don Sawyer, the public-address announcer at Pauley Pavilion from 1965-92, has died of cancer at 72.

Sawyer, a UCLA employee for 36 years, also was a basketball official from 1960-98 and served as president and instructional chairman of the Southern California Basketball Officials Assn.

Sawyer is survived by his wife of 26 years, Bonnie, who worked in the UCLA athletic department from 1976-92; four children, Don Sawyer Jr., Mark Sawyer, Kelly Mayhew and Scott Mayhew; and six grandchildren.