Agassi rolls in Templeton

Tuesday, March 3, 1998 | 10:01 a.m.

Two Andre Agassis showed up for his first-round match in the Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic at Scottsdale, Ariz.

One was the tentative performer who skidded to the worst season of his 12-year pro career last year, and the other was the dazzling shotmaker who was No. 11 in the world in 1995.

The second Agassi was around at the end of a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Albert Portas.

"It was a combination of a couple of things," the Las Vegan said when asked why he started so slowly. "It had been two weeks since I'd played, and I was anxious to get into a match. It was a little cold, and then the altitude. You get a little tentative because you don't want to make a mistake."

Agassi beat Pete Sampras in San Jose, Calif., two weeks ago for his first title in more than a year. This match improved his 1998 singles record to 12-2. He equaled his win total of 1997, when he was 12-12 and finished out of the ATP Tour top 100 (No. 122) for the first time.

No. 2 Albert Costa was the only seeded player to beat the first-round jinx with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 win over Slava Dosedel.

Four lost, including Portas and two other Spaniards -- No. 5 Francisco Clavet and No. 7 Julian Alonso.

Carlos Costa beat No. 3 Magnus Norman of Sweden 6-4, 7-6 (8-6); Jeff Tarango upset Clavet 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, and Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia ousted Alonso 6-2, 6-2.

In all, five of the record seven Spaniards who made up the 32-man field lost on Monday.

Mississippi in top 10

Mississippi coach Rob Evans envisioned success when he took over a perennial loser six years ago. While most people scoffed at his optimism, the long-time college assistant forged ahead with a plan. Now the Rebels, who were never ranked or won any kind of regular-season Southeastern Conference title before last year, are No. 10. Not in one of the nation's toughest conferences, but No. 10 in the nation. Ole Miss (21-5) cracked the Top 10 in the AP college basketball poll for the first time Monday, two days after clinching its second straight outright SEC Western Division title ahead of Arkansas. In the next-to-last AP poll of the 1997-98 season, Duke remained No. 1 after a dramatic 77-75 victory over North Carolina on Saturday.

In other college basketball news:

Miami of Ohio coach Charlie Coles remained in serious but stable condition today, three days after suffering a heart attack during a Mid-American Conference tournament game. Doctors attending Saturday's game at Western Michigan spent 20 minutes reviving Coles on the floor before he was transported to Bronson Methodist Hospital. He remained in the hospital's coronary care unit today.

Negotiations are under way that may lead to plea agreements in an Arizona State University point-shaving scandal, a newspaper said today. A lawyer for Joseph Mangiamele, 61, who with his son, Joseph, 36, were indicted on charges of sports bribery, money laundering and racketeering in an alleged scheme to shave points on Arizona State University basketball games, told The Arizona Republic of the talks.

Protruck's Stewart at All-Star Cafe

Legendary off-road racer Ivan "Ironman" Stewart and SCORE Desert Series Protruck champion Chuck Harris of Las Vegas will make a special appearance Wednesday at the Official All-Star Cafe on The Strip. From 1-2 p.m., Stewart and Harris will appear at the popular restaurant, presenting racing memorabilia to the All-Star Cafe as well as being available to the public for photos and autographs. Harris' Chevrolet Protruck also will be on display. The event is part of the festivities of the inaugural Protruck Stadium Series, which will make its debut Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Sam Boyd Stadium. Tickets for the Protruck Stadium Series opener are on sale through all area Ticketmaster outlets.

WAC honors 12 UNLV players

Twelve UNLV student-athletes earned Academic All-Western Athletic Conference honors for the 1997 fall session. They are: football -- Rob Bone, Mac Smith, Brandon Ellena, Chad Reed, Mike Reily, Kawika Batoon, John Greer and tim O'Reilly; women's cross country -- Nadina Nembhard and Eulista Clemons; women's volleyball -- Amy Ellenwood; and men's soccer -- Andreas Roell.

Sprewell injured in accident

Former Golden State Warrior Latrell Sprewell lost control of his speeding car, causing another vehicle to flip onto its roof and injure two people inside. Sprewell, fired by the Golden State Warriors and suspended by the NBA for his attack on coach P.J. Carlesimo, was not injured in the accident Sunday morning about 80 miles northeast of San Francisco. According to a High Patrol officer, Sprewell's car was traveling south on Interstate 680 at 75 mph. After changing lanes into an exit-only lane and trying to return to the freeway, his 1997 Mercedes SL-600 struck sand barrels, hit a wall and collided with a Toyota Corolla, flipping it over.

In other NBA news:

Tom Gugliotta might have played his last game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team's leading scorer, he was scheduled to undergo surgery on his right ankle today in New York City to shave away painful bone spurs and remove any bone chips.

Vaughn lawyer accuses prosecutors

Mo Vaughn's lawyer is accusing prosecutors of trying to sully the ballplayer's image because they can't prove the drunken driving charges against him. Despite testimony in a Dedham, Mass., court on Monday that Vaughn failed eight sobriety tests after a Jan. 9 accident, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said he was thrilled with the trial's first day. However, Reddington said, he was less pleased that prosecutors called as a witness the night manager of the Providence, R.I., strip club where Vaughn was drinking before he flipped his pickup on the highway. "That's pretty obvious why they called that witness," Reddington said. "I think they're realizing that's what they've got to do."