Red Sox Hire Kennedy; La Russa and Piniella to Stay With Same Teams

Kevin Kennedy was hired Tuesday as manager of the Boston Red Sox less than a week after being fired by the Texas Rangers.

Kennedy, 40, who led the Rangers to first place in the AL West in this strike-shortened season, was given a two-year contract, General Manager Dan Duquette said. Kennedy replaces Butch Hobson, who was fired Sept. 20.

*

Oakland Athletic Manager Tony La Russa signed a three-year contract extension, including an option to cut the deal short if the A’s are sold. Financial terms were not disclosed. . . . The Seattle Mariners extended the contract of Manager Lou Piniella through the 1996 season.

*

The Angels are working toward a deal with designated hitter Chili Davis on a three-year contract worth about $11.25 million, according to club sources. The Angels must decide today whether to offer arbitration rights to Davis or allow him to become a free agent.

*

Buck Showalter, who brought calm to the New York Yankees, was the overwhelming choice for American League manager of the year. . . . The Chicago Cubs received permission to discuss their managerial opening with Jim Riggleman, who has managed the San Diego Padres since late in the 1992 season. . . . John Shelby, who played on two World Series championship teams, and Luis Tiant, who won 229 major league games, have been hired as the manager and pitching coach, respectively, of the Dodgers’ double-A affiliate in San Antonio. . . . Ron Roenicke will manage the Dodgers’ Class A team in San Bernardino. . . . Ken Griffey Sr. has tentatively accepted an offer to manage the Seattle Mariners’ Class A team in Riverside.

Jurisprudence

The former head of King president Bruce McNall’s thoroughbred operation is expected to plead guilty this afternoon to one count of helping to fraudulently arrange a $10-million loan for McNall’s operations.

The plea by C. David Rossen, former executive vice president of Summa Stables Inc., has been expected. He plans to enter his plea before U.S. District Judge Richard Paez, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Spivack.

Rossen will be the third former McNall official to formally pleaded guilty in connection with a sweeping federal bank-fraud probe into McNall’s collapsed business empire.

Colleges

Florida State Athletic Director Bob Goin was fired for accepting a cut-rate roof on his house from a school contractor.

USC basketball Coach George Raveling was upgraded to stable and good condition, a University Hospital spokesperson said.

Raveling, 57, has been hospitalized since a two-car traffic accident on Sept. 25. He is expected to be hospitalized for at least 10 more days because of lung complications.

Long Beach State has suspended Coach Andy Sythe and seven unidentified members of the combined men’s and women’s cross-country team for an incident stemming from a preseason initiation ritual involving alcohol, school athletic officials said.

Miscellany

The Los Angeles Salsa will play a 19-match series against soccer teams from the Mexican First Division beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Chivas of Guadalajara in Weingart Stadium at East Los Angeles College. . . . The Golden State Warriors signed 7-foot-7 Manute Bol to a one-year contract. . . . Jim Toring, one of only two college players on the U.S. national water polo team at the World Championships in Hungary this summer, will sit out the rest of his sophomore season at UCLA because of a broken leg. . . . Steffi Graf, the world’s top-ranked woman tennis player, has pulled out of next week’s Nokia Grand Prix in Essen, Germany, because of a lingering back injury, organizers said. . . . Ralph Hill, 85, who won the silver medal at 5,000 meters at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, died in Klamath Falls, Ore. The ’32 race was controversial because the winner, Finland’s Lauri Lehtinen, cut in front of Hill twice over the final 200 meters, preventing him from passing.