Marcus Cotton

The Atlanta Falcons gave up on third-year linebacker Marcus Cotton, giving the former USC star his outright release. Cotton was to have formed an outside linebacking duo with Aundray Bruce of Auburn when they were chosen in the 1988 draft--Bruce in the first round and Cotton in the second. Cotton, a 6-foot-3, 237-pounder, played in seven games this season and had 16 tackles but no sacks.

Atlanta Falcons linebacker Aundray Bruce was arrested late Thursday and charged with pointing a pellet gun at a pizza deliveryman, Gwinnett County police reported. The deliveryman, 28-year-old Mike Tilley, said Bruce pulled the gun on him at the Duluth apartment of teammate Marcus Cotton after Cotton told Tilley they did not have the cash to pay for pizzas they had ordered.

A 24-year-old man was sentenced in federal court Monday to nearly five years in prison for assaulting two African American men in separate attacks in 1996, a prosecutor said. Danny Edward Williams, a member of a white supremacy gang, said in an earlier statement that he took part in the attacks to "rid the streets of Lancaster of African Americans." Williams signed the statement in October when he pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges. U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter Jr.

A 22-year-old man and 16-year-old boy were arrested Tuesday in Lancaster on suspicion of a racially motivated attack on two black teenagers, one of whom was slashed with a machete-like weapon, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. Another 15-year-old was detained for questioning in the attack, in which the two teenagers were assaulted Monday night by three "skinhead types" giving the Nazi salute and shouting "white power," deputies said.

Jeff Van Raaphorst passed for two touchdowns as Arizona State, making its first Rose Bowl appearance, rallied to upset fourth-ranked Michigan, 22-15, Thursday before 103,168 fans in Pasadena. The victory was the sixth straight and 12th in 13 years for the Pacific 10 Conference over the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl. It was the seventh defeat in eight Rose Bowl games for Bo Schembechler-coached Michigan teams. Kent Bostrom kicked field goals of 37, 27 and 25 yards for the Sun Devils.

An Antelope Valley man was shot and seriously wounded Saturday afternoon during what he described as a racially motivated confrontation, sheriff's deputies said. Robert Ulberg, 25, who is white, told deputies that at least two African Americans approached him in a car in Lancaster and shouted "skinhead" before shooting him once in the abdomen and driving off. Ulberg was listed Saturday night in stable condition after undergoing surgery.

Federal criminal charges have been brought against two reputed skinheads, both 16, in a machete attack on a black teenager blamed for setting off a monthlong rash of racial incidents in the Antelope Valley, it was revealed Monday. But state hate-crime charges against one of the boys have been dropped because he was not identified by witnesses in a lineup, prosecutors said.

The Pacific 10 basketball race still is in its early stages, but there is a trend. Oregon State (5-0) apparently is the class of the conference. USC (4-1), UCLA (5-2) and Washington (4-2) are the Beavers' primary challengers now. Arizona (3-3), Arizona State, Oregon and Washington State (all 2-4) are in the middle of the pack, and Stanford (1-4) and California (1-5) are lagging. If USC is to remain a contender, the Trojans must beat Cal today (Channel 4, 1 p.m.

If USC were to open the football season next week, it's apparent that Steve Webster would be the starting tailback. He was impressive Friday with his quick, darting runs while leading the Gold team to a 28-14 victory over the Cardinal team in the final intrasquad scrimmage of spring practice at Howard Jones Field. Webster, 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds, gained 92 yards in 16 carries and scored 3 touchdowns on runs of 23, 1 and 3 yards. His longest run, though, was 26 yards.