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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2002
Bruce Ramsay will not officially be announced as the first coach and general manager of the St. Pete Parrots minor-league hockey team until next week, but the 33-year-old already is building the Atlantic Coast League team in his image.
"I want someone who's tough and willing to play with desire and aggressiveness," said Ramsay, who is the United Hockey League's all-time penalty minutes leader. "They have to be coming down here to prove themselves and play hard every day."
Ramsay, who spent 11 years in the minors, the last three as player/assistant coach, signed seven players (four pending league approval) and has commitments from nine, he said.
The signed players are center/assistant coach John Gurskis, 26, who had 15 goals and 28 assists in 42 games for Wichita and was a CHL All-Star; left wing Jon Austin, 24, who had seven assists in 10 games with Wichita; and 25-year-old Randy Drohan, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman who had three assists in 23 games in his senior season at Massachusetts.
The ACHL season is scheduled to begin in late October.
NHL: The Lightning re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Mike Jones to a one-year contract. Jones, who spent most of last season recovering from fractures inhis heels, played six regular-season games (2 goals, 1 assist) and three playoff games (1 goal, 1 assist) with EHL's Pensacola. The Rangers signed defenseman Joel Bouchard. Ottawa center Radek Bonk was awarded a two-year, $6.7-million contract in arbitration. The Islanders signed center Shawn Bates to a two-year contract extension. Right wing Aleksey Morozov signed a two-year, $2.7-million contract with Pittsburgh. ... ESPN will shift its marquee games from Wednesday to Thursday next season, carry games on six Sunday afternoons and reduce the number of its and ESPN2's telecasts from 102 regular-season games to 71.
TENNIS: Top seed Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang advanced in the Cincinnati Masters and Pete Sampras lost. Hewitt said he plans to appeal the ATP's fine for refusing an ESPN interview, disagreeing it was part of his contractual obligations. ... Serena Williams and Jelena Dokic advanced in the JPMorgan Chase Open at Manhattan Beach, Calif.
GYMNASTICS: Kristal Uzelac, a three-time junior champ expected to challenge Tasha Schwikert for gold, will miss the U.S. Championships in Cleveland after breaking a toe. For the men, five-time national champion Blaine Wilson, back after missing last year with a torn rotator cuff, injured his left knee during warmups yet trailed leader Paul Hamm (56.575 points) by .9 after preliminaries.
OLYMPICS: Figure Skating Association president Phyllis Howard sent International Skating Union head Ottavio Cinquanta a letter asking that an independent ethics commission be formed quickly. The board could look into questions about the vote-swapping scandal in Salt Lake City and future ethical problems.
SOCCER: Ronaldo, who helped Brazil clinch its fifth World Cup title, will stay with Italian club Inter Milan through 2006. ... Columbus beat host New York/New Jersey 2-1 in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. ... Carolina beat host New York 2-1 and secured homefield advantage in the WUSA playoff semifinals. San Diego beat host Atlanta 1-0, and host Philadelphia tied San Jose at 1.
BOXING: Former middleweight champion Michael Nunn was charged in Iowa City with possession of cocaine with intent to deliver. Nunn, 39, was arrested Tuesday night after allegedly buying $24,000 in cocaine from an undercover FBI agent. Nunn was being held without bail, and a hearing is set for Friday.
ETC: The United States beat South Korea 16-2 at the World University Baseball Championship in Messina, Sicily. ... Laffit Pincay Jr. rode Bluesthestandard and Big Shakespeare to wins at Del Mar, extending his record thoroughbred wins to 9,400. ... Colorado joined a lawsuit as a defendant with the NCAA, which was petitioned by wide receiver Jeremy Bloom, a professional skier, to allow him to receive money, equipment and apparel from ski endorsements while playing football.
-- BRANT JAMES, TIMES WIRES