In Sports from United Press International
Bonds re-signing with Giants
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The San Francisco Giants called a Monday night news conference to announce the re-signing of superstar left fielder Barry Bonds.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but initial reports have the deal for five years and worth $90 million.
Eligible for free agency following his record-breaking season, Bonds found few suitors able to meet his financial demands. In a stunning move, he accepted arbitration just hours before the deadline and the Giants were only obligated to sign him to a one-year deal.
At $18 million per season, Bonds would tie Chicago's Sammy Sosa as the highest-paid player in the National League and would put him in the top five highest-paid players in the game.
Bonds is coming off a season in which he set the single-season record with 73 home runs. He also had the highest slugging percentage (.863) and most walks (177) in a single year and also led the league in on-base percentage (.515) and extra-base hits (107).
The 37-year-old Bonds captured an unprecedented fourth Most Valuable Player Award in November, winning in near-unanimous fashion. He previously won the award in 1993 with San Francisco and in 1992 and 1990 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Bucs fire coach Tony Dungy
TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired coach Tony Dungy Monday, clearing the way for Bill Parcells to take over a team that consistently fell short of expectations.
The firing of Dungy comes just two days after the Buccaneers suffered an embarrassing 31-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wild card round.
Reports surfaced one day before the Bucs' latest playoff failure that Dungy would be fired if Tampa Bay lost to Philadelphia, and that owner Malcolm Glazer had a tentative agreement with Parcells to become the club's new coach. According to reports, the hiring of Parcells will be delayed for four-to-six days while he finalizes contract details and begins the process of assembling a staff.
The Tampa Tribune reported Monday, Parcells' deal is believed to be for three years and may include an option for two years or more that would allow him to assume a higher role in the organization should he desire it.
Tampa Bay general manager Rick McKay, who also could lose his job in a Parcells-led structure, met with the Glazer family on Sunday in an attempt to save Dungy's job.
Dungy, 46, led the Bucs from football obscurity to being a contender and is the only winning coach in a mostly dismal history of the franchise.
In six seasons as coach, Dungy posted a 56-46 record and led the Bucs to the playoffs four times. The high point during the Dungy era came in the 1999 season, when the Bucs advanced to the NFC championship game before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams.
Spurrier named Redskins coach
AUBURN, Va., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Steve Spurrier is the new head coach of the Washington Redskins. Less than 24 hours after cutting ties with Marty Schottenheimer, the Washington Redskins Mondasy officially named the flamboyant Spurrier to replace him.
Although contract terms were not disclosed, it was reported Spurrier becomes the NFL's highest paid coach with a five-year, $25 million deal.
Daniel Snyder, the Redskins' impetuous owner, long has been smitten with Spurrier and his flashy offensive expertise at the University of Florida. Snyder tried to lure Spurrier away from the Gators last season before giving Schottenheimer a four-year, $10 million contract and total control of personnel decisions.
Snyder and Pepper Rodgers, Redskins vice president of operations, attended Florida's Orange Bowl win on Jan. 2. Two days later, Spurrier stepped down as coach.
Spurrier, who will be Washington's foujrth coach in three years, will be the latest highly successful college coach to try to bring his winning ways to the NFL.The most notable example in recent years was Barry Switzer, the former Oklahoma coach who took over a talented Dallas Cowboys team in 1994 and won a Super Bowl in his second season.
Florida won the national championship in 1996, six Southeastern Conference titles and as many as 10 games nine times in Spurrier's 12 years at the school. He compiled a record of 122-27-1, ranking as the best win total in history for a major college coach in his first 12 years at a school, eclipsing Tom Osborne's total of 118 for Nebraska from 1973-84.
Athletics get Pena from Rangeres
OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Seeking an inexpensive, long-term solution at first base, the Oakland Athletics acquired highly touted prospect Carlos Pena from the Texas Rangers on Monday in a six-player deal.
The Athletics also acquired veteran lefthander Mike Venafro in the deal while sending four minor leaguers to Texas. The Rangers received lefthander Mario Ramos, outfielder Ryan Ludwick, first baseman Jason Hart and catcher Gerald Laird in the trade between American League West clubs.
After losing slugging first baseman Jason Giambi as free agent, the A's will hope the 23-year-old Pena could develop into a viable option in the future at the right corner of the infield.
In 22 games with the Rangers last season, Pena batted .258 with three homers and 12 RBI. He did his damage at Class AAA Oklahoma, garnering All-Star honors after hitting .288 with 23 homers, 74 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
The Athletics signed free agent Scott Hatteberg to play first base this season.
Venafro, 28, went 5-5 with a 4.80 ERA in 70 relief appearances last season. The sidearmer, who made his major league debut with Texas in 1999, owns an 11-8 record with a 3.95 ERA and five saves in 212 career relief appearances.
South Carolina running back dismised
COLUMBIA, S.C., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Running back Derek Watson, who was arrested in Greenville, S.C., early Saturday and charged with possession of marijuana, was dismissed from the South Carolina football team Monday by coach Lou Holtz.
Watson was arrested following a sting operation at a local nightclub and later released.
The junior from Williamstown, S.C., was charged with simple assault and battery last year after a woman charged him with punching her in her arm. He also was suspended from the 2001 Outback Bowl for an unspecified violation of team rules.
Watson led the Gamecocks in rushing two of the last three seasons and has 437 carries for 2,078 yards and 16 touchdowns in his career.
Auburn QB gets sixth year
AUBURN, Ala., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Auburn quarterback Daniel Cobb, who led the Tigers to an upset of top-ranked Florida in October, has been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Cobb was granted a sixth year under the NCAA five-year rule waiver that gives student-athletes who endure a physical or mental hardship an additional year of eligibility.
Cobb, who began his college career at Georgia and attended Butler Community College, missed two seasons due to blood clots that required surgery and rehabilitation.
In 2001, Cobb completed 89-of-158 passes for 1,165 yards and seven scores in seven games. He directed a 10-play, 49-yard drive that resulted in the winning field goal in a 23-20 win over Florida on October 13.
Magic owner expected to sell team
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos, who saw the franchise reach the NBA Finals in just its sixth season, announced Monday that he is selling the team.
The 75-year-old DeVos, who purchased the team in September 1991, cited his age and a desire to spend time with his grandchildren as reasons for selling the team in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel.
According to team reports, the Magic have lost money the last five years and DeVos was hoping to get a new arena
To replace the 13-year-old TD Waterhouse Centre. A new owner could elect to move the team to a different city,
although DeVos is hoping to find a buyer that will keep the team in central Florida.
Hawks give player second chance
ATLANTA, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Hawks Monday signed center Leon Smith, a former NBA first-round pick out of high school who had numerous personal problems before becoming a star in the Continental Basketball Association.
The 21-year-old Smith averaged 18 points and a league-high 15.3 rebounds in 19 games with Idaho and four games with Sioux Falls this season. In a Dec. 21 game for Idaho, Smith scored 20 points and pulled down a CBA season-high 30 rebounds.
The 6-11, 250-pound Smith was the last first-round pick in the 1999 draft out of Chicago's King High School. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs and traded to the Dallas Mavericks, butwas nothing but trouble for the Mavs and never appeared in an NBA game.
Fangio new Texans defensive coach
HOUSTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Dom Capers has again called on a trusted friend for help with an NFL expansion team as the Houston Texans, who begin play in the NFL in 2002, on Monday named Vic Fangio their defensive coordinator.
Fangio, 43, worked as Capers' defensive coordinator with the expansion Carolina Panthers from 1995-98.
Fangio spent the last three seasons as defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts, but was told to seek work elsewhere when the team fired Jim Mora as coach last Wednesday.
Mora refused to dismiss Fangio after the Colts yielded an NFL-high 486 points last season, claiming the defensive scheme was fine but that the team needed better players. That did not sit well with Colts general manager Bill Polian, who fired Mora when the coach refused to dismiss Fangio.
