Sports People

Jermaine O’Neal, perhaps the best prep prospect to come from South Carolina, says he will go right to the NBA if he fails to qualify for college. … Washington Bullets center Gheorghe Muresan, the tallest player in the NBA at 7-foot-7, was named the league’s most improved player. … Second seed Richey Reneberg advanced to the semifinals of the AT&T Challenge in Atlanta with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over David Wheaton. … Second-seeded Boris Becker, still looking for the first clay-court title of his career, outlasted Jordi Burillo 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the BWM Open in Munich.

In Richmond, Va., defending champion Lance Armstrong surged up the final cobblestone hill to win the second stage of the Tour DuPont cycling race and claim the overall lead. … Ted Huntbach, one of the leading harness racing trainers in Canada, died Wednesday night in a single-car accident near Milton, Ont. He was 38. … University of Minnesota running back Rafael Cooper was kicked off the team after being mentioned in a police report on a burglary at a campus dormitory. … Notre Dame quarterback Tom Krug and his parents are clinging to hope that doctors have misdiagnosed the player as having a neck disorder that could end his football career. … Former Washington linebacker Andy Mason signed with the B.C. Lions of the CFL. … Oregon fullback Pulou Malepeai was sentenced to 20 days in jail for assaulting and harassing a group of men near campus last October.

The Atlanta Falcons acquired offensive lineman Matt Willig from the New York Jets in exchange for a conditional seventh-round choice in the 1998 draft. … A 28-year-old man filed a civil lawsuit against Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin, saying the troubled player assaulted him early Wednesday near a Valley Ranch area sports bar.