Rudd Rides Worn Tires To Narrow Win Over Elliott

-- AUTO RACING

Ricky Rudd turned a no-new-tires gamble by crew chief Gary DeHart into a narrow victory over Bill Elliott in a crash-filled NASCAR race in Dover, Del.

Rudd, winning for the first time in 47 races, finished .47 seconds, or about 50 feet, ahead of Elliott in yesterday's 500-mile race at Dover Downs.

Kyle Petty was third, the only other driver on the lead lap.

Final pit stops decided the race in favor of Rudd, who had not won since April 7, 1991. Elliott stopped on the 476th of 500 laps while leading by 6.44 seconds, and crew chief Tim Brewer ordered four tires. Rudd stopped on Lap 481, and DeHart decided it would be for fuel only, putting Rudd back on the track 5.9 seconds ahead of Elliott but with worn tires.

Elliott used his fresh tires to reduce the margin each one-mile lap to the finish as 80,000 fans stood and screamed in excitement.

-- YOUTH BASEBALL

Angry commentators in the Philippines continue to denounce the Little League for stripping a Filipino team of the World Series title, branding it a racist move because Americans cannot stomach losing in their national sport.

Little League officials revoked the title won by a team from Zamboanga and gave it to Long Beach, Calif., last Thursday after it was learned that only six of 14 players were from Zamboanga. Others came from teams more than 500 miles away.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that its Zamboanga correspondent who uncovered the story, Armand Nocum, had been threatened by the father of one player and a radio commentator had called for a public lynching of Nocum.

-- COLLEGE BASEBALL

Arizona State today placed pitching coach Walter C. "Dub" Kilgo Jr. on administrative leave without pay after he was arrested at a hotel and accused of theft, burglary and trespassing. Phoenix police arrested Kilgo, 39, a member of the ASU staff since 1987, on Saturday.

-- COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Johnny Majors resumed his coaching duties at Tennessee today, less than a month after undergoing heart bypass surgery.

SOCCER

Diego Maradona's agent, Marcos Franchi, today said a tentative agreement has been reached to enable the Argentine star to transfer from Napoli in the Italian League to Seville in the Spanish League. Franchi said the deal would be announced tomorrow after a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

-- TRACK AND FIELD

China won four gold medals and finished atop the standings in the World Junior championships in Seoul, South Korea. The United States placed third overall, picking up a gold and two silvers in yesterday's relay races.

-- BOWLING

Fred Mattson of Fircrest defeated Bob Davidson of Seattle 254-230 in the final match of Northwest PBA Regional competition at Tacoma's Narrows Plaza.

-- BOXING

John David Jackson, undefeated WBO junior-middleweight champion from Seattle, boosted his record to 27-0 Saturday night with a unanimous, 10-round decision over Eric "The Prince" Martin of Milbrea, Calif., in Tacoma.

-- SOFTBALL

Sioux City's Michael White pitched a one-hit shutout Saturday to oust Seafirst from the ASA national tournament in Bloomington, Ill., 1-0.

The Iowa team went on to beat Salt Lake City twice for the championship. Seafirst finished fourth.

Seafirst players named to the All-America first team: pitcher Darren Zack, catcher Monty Maberry, shortstop Ray Atkinson and outfielder Rick Elias. Outfielder Mike Larabee was a second-team choice.

-- GAMBLING

Federal investigators in San Francisco are exploring allegations that the owners of a $1 billion-a-year telephone ring fixed results of horse races and college sports, according to a published report.

The operation, whose clients phoned in their bets toll-free to the Dominican Republic, was run by a former San Francisco man with alleged ties to organized crime, according to court papers cited by the San Francisco Examiner.

-- TENNIS

Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine beat Sergio Bruguera of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the final of the $330,000 Bordeaux Passing Shot tournament in France.

-- Bernd Karbacher of Germany, seeded seventh, won his first Grand Prix tournament, defeating Marcos Ondruska of South Africa 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the final of the $330,000 Cologne Open in Germany.