Sports Briefs: Red Sox ready to hire Williams

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The Boston Red Sox decided on Atlanta Braves third base coach Jimy Williams as their new manager, according to a broadcast report.

WBZ radio reported this morning that Williams, a former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, would be hired today.

Williams, 53, arrived in Boston late Monday amid speculation that he was a finalist to replace Kevin Kennedy, who was fired on Sept. 30.

Williams succeeded Bobby Cox as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1986. He stayed through the 1989 season before he was fired, compiling a 281-241 overall record. In 1987 -- his best season -- his team won 96 games.

He joined Cox's staff in Atlanta in June 1990.

"He's the best third base coach I've ever seen," Braves coach Leo Mazzone told The Boston Globe. "He's a hard worker. He's at the ballpark early. He's always thinking about better ways to win. He talks to everybody. He's a class act."

In other baseball news:

* Charlie Neal, whose career as an infielder was highlighted by a memorable performance in the 1959 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, died Monday in Dallas of heart failure. He was 65. Though Neal went on to play briefly for the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds in his eight year big-league career, it was with the Dodgers that Neal attained his greatest fame.

* The New York Mets' Todd Hundley, who set a major league record for catchers with 41 home runs, had surgery Monday to remove a bone spur from his left wrist.

* Jose Lind, a former Gold Glove second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was arrested in Tampa, Fla., for drug and traffic offenses. Lind, 32, was "visibly drunk" and naked from the waist down when troopers pulled him over and found a gram of cocaine and seven cans of beer, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Harry Mofield.

Stanford women No. 1

Stanford, which opened the season Sunday with a 74-65 victory over then-No. 2 Alabama in the Tip-Off Classic, received all 42 first-place votes in the first women's regular-season poll. Georgia, which has yet to play, moved up one spot to second and defending national champion Tennessee, which has won twice in the preseason NIT, climbed one place to third. Alabama dropped to No. 4.

Hingis romps

Switzerland's Martina Hingis routed Romania's Irina Spirlea 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA Tour's season-ending Chase Championships in New York. Hingis, 16, will face the winner of today's match between Monica Seles and Japan's Kimiko Date. In other first-day matches, Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport beat Austria's Barbara Paulus 6-3, 6-2 and Croatia's Iva Majoli defeated Germany's Anke Huber 7-5, 6-3. Top-seeded Steffi Graf begins play today.

Record gate

Evander Holyfield's upset victory over Mike Tyson set a record for the biggest live gate in boxing history. The fight at the MGM Grand Garden drew a crowd of 16,103 for a gate of $14,150,700, the Nevada Athletic Commission said. The bout surpassed the previous record of $13,965,600 for Tyson's fight against Peter McNeeley.

Manning to play

Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is expected to play Saturday against Kentucky despite a slight tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. He was injured when he was sacked in the first quarter of Tennessee's 55-14 victory over Arkansas on Saturday. After being fitted with a brace, he returned and threw three touchdown passes.

Hawks activate Norman

The Atlanta Hawks activated forward Ken Norman from the injured list Monday and released forward Anthony Miller. Norman had played in only two games, averaging three points and four rebounds, before injuring his back. He was placed on the injured list Nov. 4. Miller, signed last week, played in one game and didn't score. He previously played two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.