Joyner-Kersee Joins Rage

Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992, has announced that she will play for the Richmond Rage in the American Basketball League for women.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Joyner-Kersee said she would play 28 to 35 games of the Rage’s 40-game regular-season schedule. That would allow her to compete in the long jump and to continue making public appearances.

Sasa Djordjevic, who helped Yugoslavia win a silver medal in basketball at the Atlanta Olympics, said he will sign a contract with the Portland Trail Blazers next week.

The 6-foot-2 point guard said at a news conference in Belgrade that he was leaving for Oregon today.

Kenny Smith, a nine-year NBA veteran who was part of two championship teams with the Houston Rockets, signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Pistons.

The official announcement might be weeks or even months away, but the Big Ten appears ready to conduct a conference tournament in men’s basketball, perhaps as early as the spring of 1998.

Within the next 48 hours, Robert Parish could well be headed for a record 21st NBA season, his fourth NBA team and, perhaps most important, a more than realistic shot at a fourth NBA championship.

Indications are that the 43-year-old Parish is ready to sign a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the world champion Chicago Bulls.

The Florida Beachdogs made former Washington State forward Mark Hendrickson the final selection of the Contintental Basketball Association draft, taking the All-Pac-10 performer 81st overall.