Woman to Get Tryout in Minors

The St. Paul Saints, an independent baseball minor league team that gave Darryl Strawberry and a man with no legs a chance last season, have invited left-handed pitcher Ila Borders to training camp next week.

If she makes the team, Borders would become the first woman to play in a regular-season minor league game, according to the Hall of Fame.

Borders was the first woman to receive a college baseball scholarship in 1994 when she signed with Southern California College, an NAIA school in Costa Mesa. She played three seasons there before transferring to Whittier College, an NCAA Division III school, where she was 4-5 with a 5.22 earned-run average in 81 innings this season.

Boxing

Mike Tyson has been given full clearance by Dr. Barry Markman to resume contact training in preparation for his June 28 rematch against Evander Holyfield. The fight, originally scheduled for last Saturday, was postponed when Tyson reopened a cut over his left eye originally sustained in his upset loss to Holyfield.

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Doctors at boxing’s first medical congress issued a list of medical musts this week at Oranjestad, Aruba, ranging from bans on spectator smoking and 60-day fighting bans for boxers who are knocked out to mandatory yearly brain scans for professional boxers.

Former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe and his sister, Velma Melton, reconciled after a weekend dispute in which both reportedly suffered split lips at Bowe’s home in Fort Washington, Md.

Baseball

Frank Robinson, who in 1974 became the first black to manage a major league baseball team, was hired as a consultant to acting Commissioner Bud Selig for special projects. Robinson, 61, will be director of baseball operations for the Arizona Fall League.

Hockey

Ted Donato had two goals and Chris Marinucci added a goal as the United States kept alive any hopes for a medal with a 4-3 victory over the defending champion Czech Republic at the World Hockey Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

The Whalers’ switch from Hartford to Raleigh moved a step closer when business leaders in Raleigh, N.C., scheduled a “major announcement” for today at the site of a planned $120 million arena. The city was prepared to offer the Whalers a lease for when the arena opens in 1999 if they end their agreement in Connecticut and find a temporary home.

Pat Burns, who coached the Montreal Canadiens for four years, is interested in returning to the team in the same position, according to the Montreal Gazette.

Miscellany

Junior All-American center Raef LaFrentz and sophomore forward Paul Pierce will return next season to play basketball for the University of Kansas instead of making themselves available for the NBA draft, the team announced in Lawrence, Kan.

Eddie DeBartolo, owner of the San Francisco 49ers, has signed an agreement in principle with the city that would limit the involvement of public funds to $100 million for the proposed $525 million stadium-mall project. Voters on June 3 will decide land-use issues and whether the city will help finance construction.

Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington have put up money in a bid to be the U.S. site for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Hilary Grivich, a member of the 1991 U.S. gymnastics team, died in an auto accident in Houston. . . . Pulpit, who finished fourth in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, underwent surgery to remove a small bone chip from his left knee. . . The United States and Australia will play at Washington, D.C., in their Davis Cup tennis semifinal Sept. 19-21.