The Minnesota Twins shipped struggling starting pitcher Fred Toliver to their Class AAA farm club in Portland and called up reliever Steve Shields. The Twins also placed second baseman Wally Backman on the 15-day disabled list and brought up infielder Doug Baker from Portland. Basketball Rick Adelman, who had been Portland's interim coach since Feb. 18, was named the permanent coach and signed a one-year contract. The TrailBlazers finished 14-21 after Adelman replaced fired Mike Schuler. ... Mark Eaton, a 7-foot-4 center with the Utah Jazz who ranked second in the NBA in blocked shots, was named the league's Master Lock Defensive Player of the Year. He edged Akeem Olajuwon of Houston by one vote and Dennis Rodman of Detroit by three votes. Boxing Amateur boxers from the United States and USSR will compete in a June 10 dual meet at Atlantic City, N.J. The meet marks the 20th anniversary of the United States and Soviet Union boxing exchange program. It is the longest running, non-interrupted sports exchange between the two countries. College Idaho football co-captain Kord Smith was dismissed from the squad after being charged with batter in a weekend altercation in a nightclub. The defensive tackle pleaded guilty last fall to charges of stealing a mountain bike from the nearby Washington State campus. Also, the school announced basketball players Robert Spellman and Joe Northrop would not be members of the team next year. ... Dave Toub was named strength and conditioning coach at the University of Missouri.
Cycling Ivan Ivanov of the Soviet Union won the 18th stage of the 1989 tour of Spain cycle race and favorite Pedro Delgado of Spain retained the leader's yellow jersey. Ivanov covered the 95 miles between Cangas de Onis and Branillin in 4 hours, 24 minutes and 32 seconds. Football A business group is continuing efforts to bring the Los Angeles Raiders to Sacramento, Calif., although negotiations have stalled on the group's demand for 40 percent ownership, the Sacramento Bee reported in a copyright story. The newspaper reported the group headed by developer Angelo Tsakopoulos and Sacramento Kings managing partner Gregg Lukenbill has made three separate proposals to Raiders owner Al Davis, who opposes the ownership condition. ... The Dallas Cowboys signed defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat to a new contract and announced that quarterback Danny White has agreed to terms with the club. ... The Pittsburgh Steelers signed three free agents: defensive back Scott Garl of Oklahoma, running back Eric Wilkerson of Kent State and linebacker Cammie Collins of Jackson State ... The New Orleans Saints claimed quarterback Todd Santos on waivers from San Francisco. ... The New England Patriots have signed linebacker Ed Reynolds to a three-year contract and acquired two rookie free agents, running back Londale Bankston of Delta State and defensive lineman Darryl Darling of the University of Missouri. Hockey The Hartford Whalers named Ed Johnston to replace Emile Francis as general manager. Johnston, who played on two Stanley Cup championship teams in 11 years with the Boston Bruins, had been demoted from general manager to assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins in April 1988. ... The New York Rangers will open training camp for the 1989-90 season in Albuquerque, N.M., Sept. 9. The team will remain in Albuquerque for one week before embarking on an extensive series of pre-season games. Running Al Howie of Duncan, British Columbia, leads the seven-day Sri Chinmoy endurance race in New York, covering 380 miles after five days and battling heavy rain. Charlie Eidel of Gardiner, N.Y., is second with 345 miles. Suprabha Schecter of Washington leads the women with 349 miles. Squash Top-seeded Mark Talbott defeated No. 4 seed John Nimick in a closely fought semifinal of the $57,000 Mutual Benefit WPSA (World Professional Squash Association) Pro Championship in New York Wednesday night. He faced Ned Edwards in the final. Television CBS Sports named Ric LaCivita lead producer for the network's baseball telecasts. LaCivita returned after leaving the network in 1987. Next season, CBS will televise 12 regular season games, the All-Star Game, both playoff series and the World Series.
