Seahawks sign tackle Ballard

KIRKLAND, Wash. Two-time Pro Bowl tackle Howard Ballard of the Buffalo Bills on Monday signed a four-year, $10.5 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

The 30-year-old Ballard, an

unrestricted free agent, played in Pro Bowls after the 1992 and 1993 seasons.

'

'I'd like to thank God and thank the organization of the Seattle Seahawks for giving me the opportunity to help the team win a few more games and hopefully make it into the playoffs,'' Ballard told a news conference.

The 6-foot-6, 345-pound Ballard said he thinks the Seahawks resemble the 1988 Bills. ''It's a young football team that is just a few players away from the championship,'' he said. Seattle's 1993 season record was 6-10.

''It's a young team with fire in their eyes. That contributed a lot to the decision we made.''

The Seahawks have until this afternoon to decide whether to match a four-year, $10 million Chicago Bears offer to Seattle free agent Andy Heck, a transitional player. Heck has expressed a preference for the Bears.

District II all-star games set

The annual District II North-South All-Star Basketba

ll Games will be played March 16 at Lewiston's Warrior Gym on the Lewis-Clark State College campus.

Theresa Heath, the District II Coaches Association secretary, made the announcement Monday, and she said the girls' game will start at 6 p.m. and the b

oys' contest at 8 p.m.

As has been the case in the past, the top senior girls and boys will be selected from District I

I schools to take part in the cage doubleheader. Those teams will be announced next week.

NBA honors S

onics' Kemp

NEW YORK Shawn Kemp was honored Monday as the NBA Player of the Week for averaging 21.8 points and 14.8 rebounds a game in l

eading the Seattle SuperSonics to a 3-1 record.

The 6-foot-10 forward also averaged 4.5 assists, 3.25 blocked shots and 2.5 steals for the week ending Feb. 27.

Other candidates for the award were Tyrone Hill of Cleveland, Jamal Mashburn of Dallas, LaPhonso Ellis of Denver, Rik Smits of Indiana, Glen Rice and Steve Smith of Miami, Anfernee Hardaway of Orlando, David Robinson of San Antonio and John Stockton of Utah.

M's Johnson challenges Jordan

Randy Johnson has had enough of the Michael Jordan hoopla. He's ready to buzz a fastball under the chin of baseball's most celebrated rookie.

''I'd like to see how much air time he'd get on one of my (inside) pitches,'' Johnson said. ''He has a press conference every day and all he's doing is hitting 80 mph fastballs. Big deal.''

However, baseball's 6-foot-10 strikeout leader will have to wait. The Seattle Mariners train in Arizona, and Johnson won't get to pitch against the Chicago White Sox, who train in Sarasota, Fla.

On Thursday

, Jordan gets his first taste of game action,

starting in left field in an intrasquad game.

Johnson cracked that he was going to ask the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics for a tryout and could probably block Jordan out of the middle better than Jordan can hit a baseball.

Jordan said he'd be willing to face Johnson 1-on-1 in either baseball or basketball.

''I'm pretty sure it would be lopsided on both ends,'' Jordan said.

Hinton signs deal with Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. Chris Hinton, an All-Pro offensive lineman with the Atlanta Falcons, signed a three-year contrac

t Monday with the Minnesota Vikings.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported that the contract averages a little more than $2.5 million a year.

''After 11 years, I'll trade five of my Pro Bowls for one shot at the Super Bowl,'' Hinton told a news conference.

Hinton, 32, was quoted in Sunday's edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as saying his agent, Ray Anderson, had contacted the Falcons on Saturday, but Atlanta wouldn't come close to matching the Vikings' offer.

Miller earns Big Sky award

BOISE Elroy Miller of Weber State has been named the Big Sky Conference player of the week.

The 6-foot-5 senior forward from Battle Ground, Wash.,

had 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Weber's 87-60 win over Eastern Washington.

In the Wildcats' 81-69 regular victory over Idaho, Miller tied his career high scoring night with 23 points. Miller also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Volunteers' coach Houston to resign

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Wade Houston, his team heading for its worst record in more than 30 years, resigned Monday as basketball coach at Tennessee.

Houston said he will leave after this season. The Vols have two regular-season games left before the Southeastern Conference tournament in two weeks.

''We feel that the announcement at this juncture will allow the university to openly pursue its search for a new coach, assure a smooth transition in the program, help our recruits to make a more informed and knowledgeable c

hoice of institutions, a

nd enhance my

and the staff's opportunities to pursue our career goals,'' Houston said.

The Vols are 5-19 this season and last in the SEC's eastern division at 2-12. Tennessee is on track for its worst regular season since the

1961-62 team finished 4-19.

Williams is released from hospital

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Hall of Famer Ted Williams was released from the hospital Monday more than a week after suffering a stroke.

Williams, 75, will begin a rehabilitation program at an

undisclosed facility, said Daniel Moore, spokesman for Shands Hospital.

The former Boston Red Sox slugger was hospitalized Feb. 19 after he had a stroke at his home in Hernando. A heart rhythm problem is responsible for causing the blood clots that led to the stroke and a minor one two years earlier.

Barkley, Bonds, Lemieux top ESPYs

NEW YORK Charles Barkley, Barry Bonds and Mario Lemieux each won two ESPYs Monday night at ESPN's second annual American Sports Awards show.

Barkley, the Phoenix Suns' star forward, won awards for NBA performer of the year and outstanding performance by an athlete.

Bonds, San Francisco's outfielder and the NL's MVP, won ESPYs for baseball and male athlete of the year, while Lemieux of Pittsburgh won for NHL and comeback athlete of the year.

Also, the Toronto Blue Jays were honored as outstanding team of the year, while the Blue Jays' Joe Carter won an ESPY for outstanding performace under pressure.

Other ESPYs excellence in sports performance went to Dallas' Jimmy Johnson (coach of the year), Emmitt Smith (NFL performer of the year) and jockey Julie Krone (female at

hlete of the year).

By sport, ESPYs went to Florida State quarterback Charlie Ward (college football), Duke's Bobby Hurley (college basketball), Texas Tech's Sheryl Swoopes (women's college basketball), Nike Prce (men's golf), Betsy King (women's golf), Steffi Graf (women's tennis), Pete Sampras (men's tennis), Nigel Mansell (auto racing), Michael Johnson (men's track and field), Gail Devers (women's track and field), Evander Holyfield (boxing) and Mike Smith (jockey).

Final Four ticket applications available

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. Applications for tickets to the college basketball 1995 Final Four in Seattle are available and must be submitted by April 22, the NCAA sai

d Monday.

The tickets $70, $50 or $35 depending on location are for the national semifinal basketball championship games on Saturday, April 1, 1995, and the finals Monday, April 3, at the Seattle Kingdome.

There will be a random computerized drawing from the official applications in May and app

licants will be notified of the results about June 30, the NCAA said.

Applications may be obtained by calling 900-646-1995, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, or writing

to 1995 Final Four Tickets, 6201 College Boulevard, Overland Park, Ka

n., 66211-2422.