NFL Cardinals Owner Fires Vp, Says Newspaper

Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill fired Joe Rhein, the team's executive vice president, The Arizona Republic reported.

Rhein, who is credited with helping to bring the 1996 Super Bowl to the area, oversaw a variety of administrative functions.

Rhein declined comment on his dismissal and Bidwill was unavailable, The Republic said. The newspaper reported that Rhein's dismissal was confirmed by several sources it didn't identify.

The Cardinals did not announce his termination. The newspaper didn't speculate why Rhein was fired, but said the move was a surprise to him as well as to other team administrative personnel.

Motor sports

After weeks of negotiations, Nigell Mansell, former Formula One and Indy-car champion, agreed to a one-year deal with his long-time critic, Ron Dennis, and will drive for the McLaren Mercedes team.

-- Larry Dixon, John Force and Warren Johnson led their respective categories after the second round of qualifying for the Pomona, Calif., Winternationals.

Dixon led in top fuel (4.835 seconds, 280.63 mph), Force in funny car (5:084, 295.85) and Johnson in pro stock (7.139, 195.65) at Pomona Raceway in the first event of the 1995 NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series.

Skiing

Austrian Mario Stecher won the ski jumping portion of a World Cup Nordic combined event in Stockholm, Sweden, ahead of Japanese stars Kenji Ogiwara and Takanori Koni.

-- Edgar Grospiron of France, the 1992 Olympic champion, took advantage of the absence of unbeaten Russian Sergei Shupletsov to post his first victory of the season in a World Cup moguls event in Oberjoch, Germany.

Grospiron received 26.95 points on his final run with teammate Youri Gilg second at 26.50.

-- Austrian veteran Bernhard Knauss welcomed the downhill back to professional ski racing by beating 31 competitors in a U.S. Pro Ski Tour event in Winter Park, Colo.

In the first pro downhill held since 1983, Knauss posted the fastest times in each of the three rounds. He won the opening round of 32 skiers with a time of 50.87 seconds, paced the round of 16 in 51.03, and had the fastest run of the day in the round of eight at 50.63.

Bowling

Bob Spaulding overtook Kelly Coffman in the final game of match play and will be the leading qualifier for today's stepladder finals of the PBA Quaker State 250 in Grand Prairie, Tex.

Spaulding, of Greenville, S.C., defeated Coffman 191-162 in the position round game to finish with 9,892 total pins. Spaulding led the field with a 226 average.

Sailing

Brian Ledbetter of Bellevue leads Finn Class sailors after three days of the Olympic Classes Regatta in Miami. Mark Herrmann, Bothell, is fifth in the 36-boat class. There are 663 sailors competing in 10 classes in the regatta that will conclude tomorrow.