Rice, Stanley Given Hefty Contract Extensions

The Boston Red Sox have signed long-term contract extensions worth more than $14 million that make Jim Rice one of baseball’s highest-paid players and Bob Stanley at least the fourth-highest paid relief pitcher.

The signings were announced Wednesday, the same day on which the club lost a salary arbitration case with third baseman Wade Boggs. Arbitrator Arvid Anderson awarded Boggs the $1 million he requested for 1985, rather than the $675,000 offered by the Red Sox.

The developments gave the American League team its first three players with salaries of more than $1 million a year and reportedly increased its payroll commitments by more than $15 million through 1989.

Rice, the left fielder, and Stanley, Boston’s best reliever, each had a year remaining on his contract and could have become a free agent after that. The new deals reportedly give Rice an additional $10 million and Stanley $4.4 million more for the four seasons after 1985. The club has an option on their services for 1990 that, if exercised, would increase the value of the deals.

Rice, 30, a three-time American League home run champion and Most Valuable Player in 1978, is coming off what he considered a sub-par year. He hit .280 with 28 home runs and 122 RBIs. Rice, who has a .303 lifetime average with 304 homers and 1,076 RBIs, earned $640,000 last season and reportedly got a signing bonus of more than $1 million in his new contract.

Stanley, 30, also had a below-average season in 1984. He had a 9-10 record with a 3.54 earned-run average and 22 saves. His 97 lifetime saves are just seven fewer than Dick Radatz’ team record.

New Zealand distance runner John Walker ran his 99th sub-4-minute mile while finishing second to Ray Flynn of Ireland in a race over a grass course at Cooks Gardens in Waganui, New Zealand.

Both Flynn and Walker recorded times of 3 minutes 54.9 seconds, 2.1 seconds slower than the unofficial world record for a grass track of 3:52.8 established 20 years ago by West Germany’s Jurgen May over the same course.

Walker hopes to break 4 minutes for the 100th time in a race Sunday night on his home track at Mount Smart in Auckland.

Basketball Coach Bob Wenzel of Jacksonville University underwent surgery for a cerebral aneurysm, a bulge in a weakened artery.

The 35-year-old coach was hospitalized last Thursday, but surgery was delayed until his condition stabilized, said Paul Griffin, the school’s athletic director.

Griffin said he doesn’t expect Wenzel to return for the rest of the Sun Belt Conference season.

The Southeastern Conference has delayed until April a decision on whether the University of Florida will be allowed to keep its first SEC football title.

The Gators are on a two-year probation imposed by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. for violations of NCAA rules.

The SEC’s seven-member executive committee had planned to take up the title issue in Birmingham March 5, a day before the conference basketball tournament, but Commissioner Boyd McWhorter told The Florida Times-Union newspaper that the meeting had been delayed.

The committee originally considered the championship issue in November, when it determined that the Gators could not play in a postseason bowl.

McWhorter did say that Florida will not share in the league’s postseason bowl revenues. Five SEC schools competed in bowl games.

Vitas Gerulaitis and Bobby Riggs challenged the world’s top women’s doubles team--Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver--to a battle-of-the-sexes tennis match.

It was learned the four have signed a contract and the match will be played in either Atlantic City, N.J., or in Las Vegas.

The New England Patriots announced the appointment of former Minnesota Vikings head coach Les Steckel and ex-wide receiver Harold Jackson to assistant coaching positions.

Steckel, 38, will coach the team’s quarterbacks and wide receivers, while Jackson, 39, will help him handle the receivers, the National Football League club said.

Names in the News

World Boxing Council lightweight boxing champion Jose Luis Ramirez of Mexico will defend his title June 6 against Hector (Macho) Camacho of New York. The site has yet to be determined.

Defensive end Donnie Humphrey of the Green Bay Packers is undergoing voluntary drug rehabilitation, an agent for the National Football League player said.