Wiberg Wins Combined Slalom After Top Americans Withdraw

Sweden’s Pernilla Wiberg battled icy and steep slalom conditions to win the combined event Monday at the World Alpine Skiing Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

Wiberg, who won the combined gold medal at the 1994 Olympics, finished with a combined time of 3 minutes 19.68 seconds. She was 19th after the downhill portion Friday.

“It’s better than a slow track with holes in it, where you catch your edges,” Wiberg said, adding that the conditions were tough but fair.

Austria’s Anita Wachter was second in 3:21.73 and Norway’s Marianne Kjoerstad was third in 3:22.35.

Americans Picabo Street and Hilary Lindh, who finished first and third respectively in Sunday’s downhill, withdrew from the combined event. Street was first in the combined downhill and Lindh was seventh, but both are weak slalom skiers.

Only 17 of the 34 skiers who started the combined slalom finished.

Pro Football

The Carolina Panthers, who signed more unrestricted free agents than any NFL team last year, signed offensive tackle Greg Skrepenak of the Oakland Raiders to a multiyear contract.

Wide receiver Anthony Miller has agreed to restructure his contract to provide the Denver Broncos an additional $600,000 for signing free agents. Miller agreed to cut his base salary from $2.4 million to $1.8 million, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Dick Daniels, the assistant general manager for the San Diego Chargers for the last six years, was hired by the Philadelphia Eagles as director of football operations.

Former USC quarterback Sean Salisbury, who didn’t play in the NFL last season, is scheduled to visit the Chargers today and is expected to sign and replace backup Gale Gilbert.

Soccer

European soccer officials bowed to government pressure and scrapped their restrictions on the number of foreign players each team can field.

The European Court of Justice ruled Dec. 15 that the limits imposed by the Union of European Football Assns. violated the European Union’s laws against restraint of trade. In a case brought by Belgian player Jean-Marc Bosman, the court ruled transfer fees for players also were illegal.

Since the decision, UEFA had tried to avoid complying. But the EU threatened fines and court action, and UEFA’s executive committee finally gave in during a six-hour meeting, scrapping its regulation that limited each team to three foreigners plus two foreign players who had been long-time residents.

Jurisprudence

The wife of quarterback Warren Moon said she blocked a plea bargain that would have settled the spouse abuse case against her husband because she was responsible for the fight that prompted the charges.

Felicia Moon, testifying for a second day in Richmond, Texas, blamed herself for the heated argument July 18 that escalated into violence and led to misdemeanor charges against the Minnesota Viking quarterback.

She said her husband hasn’t hit her since an incident a decade ago that prompted her to file a short-lived divorce petition.

“I spent a lot of money,” said Felicia Moon, who admitted to charging $160,000 in credit card expenses and bank withdrawals. “It would be $5,000 here, $2,500 there. We had so much money in the bank I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.”

John Thomas became the second Virginia Tech football player this school year to be charged with felony hit-and-run when he was arrested in connection with an accident that injured the other driver.

Daniel Andre Green, accused of killing Michael Jordan’s father, was watching television after a party at the time the murder of James Jordan was committed, a defense witness testified. Prosecutors dismissed the alibi offered by Monica Hernandez, 16, noting that she waited until the trial was under way before stepping forward with her story.

Miscellany

Thanks to Georgia’s loss to Vanderbilt last week, Louisiana Tech (22-1) returned to No. 1 in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll. Louisiana Tech received 29 first-place votes and had 985 points. Georgia (21-3) had eight first-place votes and 942 points.

Harry Coyle, a pioneer in televised baseball, died at 74. Coyle directed the first televised World Series in 1947 and stayed with NBC Sports until his retirement after the 1989 season, when CBS took over televised baseball.

Jennifer Capriati, who hasn’t played a competitive tennis match in 15 months, will start her comeback Wednesday against Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands in the opening round of the $450,000 Essen tournament in Germany.

European golf officials said they have proposed starting a Ryder Cup for seniors by the year 2000. The event would pit the top seniors from Europe against those from the United States.

The first annual Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America golf classic will be held March 18 at MountainGate Country Club in Los Angeles. For information: (213) 935-HOPE.