Steve Howe Was Legally Drunk in Crash

Former major league pitcher Steve Howe was charged with drunk driving Friday in connection with the motorcycle crash that injured him Aug. 19.

Howe, 39, who lives near Whitefish, Mont., suffered collapsed lungs and a ruptured trachea in the accident. He was released Monday from Kalispell (Mont.) Regional Medical Center.

Howe was also charged with operating a motorcycle without the proper license.

A blood sample taken after the accident, which went unreported for several days, showed Howe’s blood-alcohol level to be .16, well above the legal limit of .10.

Howe was suspended seven times from baseball for drug or alcohol problems, and was convicted of possessing cocaine in Kalispell in 1992.

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Diego Maradona has been temporarily banned from play for failing a drug test, Argentine soccer association spokesman Washington Rivera said.

Maradona, who plays for Boca Juniors, was tested after the opening game of Argentina’s Apertura league season Sunday. He is to appear before a commission Tuesday.

Maradona, who already has been banned twice for drug use, could be banned for five years this time.

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Former USC and Raider quarterback Todd Marinovich is being sued by Harry Kassabian of Glendora for injuries he says he suffered in a June 11 auto accident in Newport Beach. Marinovich rear-ended a car, setting off a six-car pileup.

Pro Basketball

The NBA is delaying approval of the seven-year, $63-million contract free-agent forward Brian Grant signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, pending a hearing to determine the status of Chris Dudley.

The league is investigating whether the Trail Blazers tried to circumvent the salary cap by renegotiating Dudley’s three-year, $13-million contract to a one-year contract for the NBA minimum of $272,250.

With the new contract, any team that acquires Dudley in a trade with the Trail Blazers could re-sign him for any amount without regard for the salary cap.

Atlanta point guard Mookie Blaylock, who led the NBA in steals last season, has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Hawks. . . . Toronto Raptor backup guard Shawn Respert suffered a broken left hand while playing in Detroit, where he lives.

Hockey

The Mighty Ducks have signed defenseman Darren Van Impe to a two-year contract. Van Impe, 24, had four goals and 19 assists in 74 games in 1996-97, his first full season in the NHL. He played in 16 games with the Ducks in 1995-96 and one game in 1994-95. . . . The Ottawa Senators signed their 1996 top overall pick, defenseman Chris Phillips, who split time with Prince Albert and Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League last season, totaling seven goals and 41 assists in 58 games. . . . Mario Tremblay, who resigned as coach of the Montreal Canadiens, will remain with the team as a scout.

Soccer

Giovanni Savarese scored twice in six minutes to open the second half, leading New York-New Jersey to a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Clash and moving the MetroStars within three points of the final playoff berth in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference.

The game was played before a Giants Stadium crowd of 14,511.

Auto Racing

Bobby Labonte, driving Joe Gibbs’ Pontiac, won the pole for Sunday’s Southern 500 Winston Cup stock car race at Darlington, S.C. Jeff Gordon, who will be trying to win the Winston Million bonus, qualified seventh in a Chevrolet.

Labonte had a fast lap of 170.661 mph, compared to Gordon’s 169.766. Gordon has already won two of NASCAR’s four “Crown Jewel” races, and anyone winning three of the four gets a $1-million bonus.

Series leader Alex Zanardi won the provisional pole for Sunday’s Vancouver Molson CART Indy car race with a lap of 113.148 mph over the 1.703-mile temporary street circuit.

John Force set an elapsed-time track record of 4.935 seconds to lead funny car qualifying for the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Clermont, Ind.

Other No. 1 qualifiers were rookie Gary Scelzi in top fuel and Kurt Johnson in pro stock.

College Sports

An NCAA committee reprimanded Anson Dorrance, North Carolina’s highly successful women’s soccer coach, for his behavior toward game officials during last year’s Division I championship game. Dorrance will be suspended from the next NCAA tournament game in which the Tar Heels participate, the NCAA’s Division I Women’s Soccer Committee ruled.

Mississippi State basketball player Bart Hyche, who pleaded guilty last week to a drunk-driving charge, will be suspended for the first two games of the 1997-98 regular season. Hyche, a junior guard, averaged 12.8 points last season and made 75 of the team’s 137 three-point shots.

University Games

Nykesha Sales scored 32 points to lead the United States past Cuba, 100-82, for the women’s basketball gold medal at Catania, Sicily.

In the women’s volleyball final, the U.S. was beaten by Russia, 15-8, 15-7, 15-10.

Primo Nebiolo, the head of the games and also president of the track and field’s governing body, suffered minor head injuries in a car accident as he tried to get to the women’s soccer final.

Miscellany

A wreck spotted off Chile has been identified as the yacht of Canadian Gerry Roufs that became lost at sea eight months ago during a round-the-world yachting race. . . . Olympic champion Felicia Ballanger of France won the sprint final at the world cycling championships at Perth, Australia, giving France four gold medals in eight events. . . . Robert Skene, a member of the Polo Hall of Fame, died Sunday at his home in Montecito of natural causes. He was 83.