DeBartolo’s Sister Controls 49ers

Suspended owner Eddie DeBartolo gave up his stake in the San Francisco 49ers on Friday, leaving the club in his sister’s control and resolving their feud over the family’s financial empire, which is valued at more than $1 billion, sources said.

The tentative agreement divides the assets of the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. and allows DeBartolo and his sister, Denise DeBartolo York, to go their separate financial ways.

Once the deal is signed, lawsuits filed by the siblings against each other will be dismissed, according to a source close to the negotiations. The suits are on hold.

Sam Singer, a spokesman for the corporation, confirmed Friday that a tentative deal had been reached. It still must be approved in court.

Although the deal keeps the team in the family, it ends Eddie DeBartolo’s 22-year association with the club, which won five Super Bowl titles with DeBartolo in charge, the last in 1994.

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Quarterback Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a seven-year contract worth as much as $54 million with incentives, ending contentious negotiations that were marred by racial accusations by his agent. It includes an $11.3-million signing bonus and incentive clauses that would trigger higher salaries in the final three years of the deal. . . . William Sanders, Barry Sanders’ father said he would encourage his son to meet with Detroit Lions vice chairman William Clay Ford Jr. in the executive’s efforts to talk the star running back out of retirement. Ford called Sanders’ father at his Wichita, Kan., home Wednesday morning and sought his help in arranging a meeting. . . . The San Diego Chargers put defensive end Israel Ifeanyichukwu on injured reserve because of an injured left knee. . . . The New England Patriots agreed to contracts with their remaining two draft picks, first-rounders Damien Woody and Andy Katzenmoyer.

Miscellany

Bob Larsen, who coached UCLA to two NCAA track and field championships in 20 years, is retiring as the Bruins’ track and cross-country coach, with longtime assistant Art Venegas taking over as track coach. Larsen, whose teams won 11 Pacific 10 Conference championships, will coach the cross-country team through the 1999 season and will serve as an assistant during the track season before leaving the program next summer. . . . Maurice Greene of the U.S. ran one of the fastest 100 meters of all time, surging from the blocks and winning in 9.87 seconds at the DN Galan Grand Prix meet in Stockholm, Sweden. Greene was only eight-hundredths of a second off the world record he set last month in Greece.

The Atlanta Hawks will trade all-star guard Steve Smith and backup Ed Gray to the Portland Trail Blazers for guards Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The deal is likely to be announced Monday as the NBA trading and free-agency period begins, the newspaper said. . . . The Phoenix Suns signed first-round draft pick Shawn Marion, the No. 9 pick in the draft, to a four-year deal worth just under $5 million.

Darrell Waltrip is set to retire from NASCAR racing, but only after a farewell tour in 2000. The three-time Winston Cup champion has not won a race in seven years and is struggling to remain competitive. . . . Casey Atwood’s track-record lap of 132.423 mph gave him the pole for the NASCAR Grand National Carquest Auto Parts 250 at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis. . . . Alexandre Tagliani of Canada won the provisional pole for the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship at the Player’s Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands set a European record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly final with a time of 58.49 seconds in the European swimming championships at Istanbul, Turkey. . . . All the cyclists in the Tour de France passed their drug tests, world cycling’s governing body said. The International Cycling Union said it tested riders during every stage of the three-week race.

The national soccer team of Guatemala will play the Mexican club team Morelia for the Coliseum Cup title tonight at 7 at the Coliseum. The championship game is the second match of a doubleheader that opens with the third-place game at 5 between El Salvador and Atlas, another Mexican club.

Lindsay Davenport served four consecutive aces in the third game of the second set during a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Cornia Morariu in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Davenport will play Amy Frazier, a 7-5, 6-0 winner over Luxembourg’s Anne Kremer, in a semifinal today. . . . Magnus Norman of Sweden ousted top-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain, 6-2, 7-6 (10-8), in the quarterfinals of the Croatia Open tennis tournament at Umag. . . . Top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia defeated unseeded Richard Fromberg of Australia, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, in the quarterfinals of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Free-agent center Bryan Smolinski, acquired from the New York Islanders last month, agreed to contract terms with the Kings. . . . The driver of the limousine that crashed two years ago, severely injuring two members of the Detroit Red Wings, was found guilty of drunk driving in Westland, Mich., in an unrelated arrest. Richard Gnida, 29, could face up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. His license would be revoked for five years, and he could be required to perform 90 days’ community service.