Baseball
PADRES, VAUGHN AGREE: Outfielder Greg Vaughn agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract with the San Diego Padres, avoiding an arbitration hearing.
Vaughn, acquired from Milwaukee on July 31, will make $4 million in 1997, $5.25 million in 1998 and $5.75 million in 1999, with $850,000 deferred without interest.
REDS SIGN BURBA: Pitcher Dave Burba avoided arbitration, agreeing to a three-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds that guarantees him $8.15 million.
VAN SLYKE TRIES COMEBACK: Andy Van Slyke, who retired after the 1995 season due to back problems, is trying to make a comeback with his original team.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, who needs a backup third baseman and wants a reserve infielder who hits left-handed, has invited Van Slyke to training camp as a non-roster player.
METS REGAIN HOJO: The New York Mets reached back to their past and agreed to a minor-league contract with Howard Johnson. Johnson, 36, spent 1996 as a coach with Butte of the Pioneer Rookie League, an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devils.
JAYS SIGN FREEMAN: Right-hander Marvin Freeman, who finished last season with the Chicago White Sox after being released by Colorado, agreed to a minor-league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.
Football
SEAHAWKS RE-SIGN PRITCHARD: The Seattle Seahawks signed receiver Mike Pritchard to a three-year contract Monday.
NINERS THREATEN MOVE: San Francisco might lose the 49ers if plans for a new stadium fall through, team president Carmen Policy said.
Policy and Mayor Willie Brown envision a $536 million, 75,000-seat stadium and 49ers theme park that would have stores, restaurants and a 30-screen movie theater complex by the year 2000.
They see it as a megamall that could rival Fisherman's Wharf as a tourist spot, and a tax booster that would bring the city 10,000 year-round jobs.
CFL STAR BATTLES CANCER: Byron Bailey, a running back with the NFL champion Detroit Lions in 1952 and a CFL Hall of Famer with the British Columbia Lions from 1954-64, has terminal prostate cancer.
MURPHY'S MESS: At risk of losing the 1998 Super Bowl and the Chargers, Mayor Susan Golding has shouldered some blame for the stadium expansion "mess" and offered a compromise to opponents.
In a concession to tax activists, Golding proposed a city policy that would require a public vote on all publicly funded buildings over $50 million. In return, she urged opponents to drop a lawsuit that could halt the $78 million renovation of Jack Murphy Stadium.
Her announcement is the latest development in a legal battle between the city and critics that could force next year's Super Bowl to be moved to Pasadena, Calif., and could force the Chargers to play next season's games in the Los Angeles area.
ALBERTS TO QUIT?: Indianapolis Colts linebacker Trev Alberts might not return next season following a three-year career marred by injuries, The Indianapolis Star reported in today's editions.
ALT'S NECK INJURY: Kansas City Chiefs left tackle John Alt has a neck injury that could threaten the career of the 13-year veteran who has started 120 of a possible 128 games since 1989.
Basketball
WAC HONORS VAN HORN: Utah's Keith Van Horn and Fresno State's Daymond Forney on Monday were named Western Athletic Conference players of the week.
Van Horn, a 6-foot-10 senior forward from Diamond Bar, Calif., earned the honors in the league's Mountain Division after he led all scorers in games against Colorado State and Brigham Young.
Van Horn scored 22 points against BYU and 33 points against the Rams to lead the No. 5 Utes. He averaged 27.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, and was a perfect 16 of 16 at the line.
BULLETS HIRE BERNIE: The Washington Bullets addressed the future by dipping into their past, hiring former assistant Bernie Bickerstaff as head coach.
Bickerstaff, 53, who signed a four-year contract, stepped down as Denver's general manager to return to Washington, where he served as an assistant from 1973-1985. He replaces Jim Lynam, who was fired Wednesday.
BIRDSONG FIRED: Ricky Byrdsong was fired as coach of Northwestern, but will remain on the job through the end of the season - unless his players want him to leave sooner. The Wildcats are 6-10 and 1-10 in the Big Ten.
BARROS SIDELINED: Boston Celtics guard Dana Barros will be out at least two months after undergoing ankle surgery Monday.
MORE BOWS BLOWS: Another bad blow for the UH basketball team on Monday when starting center Seth Sundberg was hospitalized with a lacerated spleen.
Should surgery be required, Sundberg could miss the rest of the season.
His loss comes at a time when UH already is playing without three suspended reserve players, who were given indefinite suspensions for unspecified violations of the student-athlete handbook.
POT BUST LEADS TO CANCELLATION: The men's basketball season at Yavapai College is over after seven of the team's nine players were suspended by the school following their arrests on marijuana possession charges.
College officials Monday cancelled the remainder of the Roughriders' season after the players were arrested off campus Sunday night.
The Roughriders had been ranked second in the Arizona Community College Athletics Conference and 25th in the nation among junior colleges.
Hockey
BLUES, KEENAN SETTLE: The St. Louis Blues and Mike Keenan settled their contract dispute, averting a hearing with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Keenan was fired as general manager and coach Dec. 19 with 31/2 years remaining on a contract that paid him about $2 million a year. He had been seeking about $6 million, while the Blues offered $3 million.
The NHL said neither party would disclose settlement terms.
Tennis
SYBASE OPEN: Second-seeded Michael Chang routed Mashiska Washington 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the Sybase Open in San Jose, Calif. No. 1 Pete Sampras begins his title defense tonight against Alex Radulescu.
Boxing
MCCALL INVESTIGATION: Oliver McCall was drug-free when he stopped fighting and started crying during his WBC heavyweight title fight with Lennox Lewis.
Nevada regulators said a urine sample taken from McCall after he lost in the fifth round Friday night came back negative when tested for drugs.
McCall's $3,075,500 purse is being held in escrow pending Nevada's investigation into why he stopped both throwing punches and defending himself in the fourth round of the scheduled 12-round fight.
IBF FLYWEIGHT: Mark Johnson outpointed Alejandro Montiel in a 12-round unanimous decision Monday night to retain the IBF flyweight title. Johnson, 25, of Washington, D.C., improved to 31-1 with his 30th consecutive victory. Montiel, 25, of Mexico, is 33-3.
Auto racing
DRIVER SHOT: A young stock car racer was in critical condition after being shot in the head while driving on a freeway overpass.
Chris Trickle, the 24-year-old nephew of Winston Cup regular Dick Trickle, was hospitalized at University Medical Center with a bullet lodged in his brain. Trickle was driving a convertible on an overpass south of the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday night when he was shot.
Bowling
ABC EXECUTIVE DIES: Darold Dobs, executive director of the American Bowling Congress, died of cancer. He was 54.
Olympics
SEEKING 2008 BID: They're sometimes-bickering neighbors on the parkway, and now Baltimore and Washington are in another rivalry - for the 2008 Olympics.
Eight cities are pursuing the USOC's nod as the American entry in the international race to stage the 2008 Olympics. Earlier entries included Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, New York and Seattle, all of which will be represented at the seminar.
This may all be an empty exercise, since it's uncertain if the USOC will even put up a bid for 2008, having already been chosen as Olympic host four times since 1980.
Skiing
WORLD ALPINE: Isolde Kostner of Italy made a sensational recovery through the final gates to win today's super-G at the World Alpine Championships at Sestriere, Italy, successfully defending her world title and giving Italian women their third gold medal in as many events.
Kostner was timed in 1 minute, 23.50 seconds on the 6,827-foot course, winning a close race over runnerup Katja Seizinger (1:23.58) of Germany and third-place finisher Hilde Gerg (1:23.64), another German.
Only 0.14 separated the top three with fourth for France's Carole Montillet in 1:23.98. Katharina Gutensohn was fifth in 1:24.00 and six was Renate Goetschl of Austria in 1:24.24.
Kostner, 21, joined teammate Deborah Compagnoni, who won gold earlier in slalom and giant slalom. Two women's events remain in the worlds with Kostner among the favorites in Saturday's downhill with a chance to match Compagnoni.
Alberto Tomba of Italy, winner of two golds in last year's worlds, will be out to defend his slalom and giant slalom titles beginning Wednesday in giant slalom.