The man in black hits the track...A mountain of cash for Sierra...Another ex-champ in disgrace

Driven
To become NASCAR Rookie of the Year, 50-year-old Jerry Glanville. The coach of the Atlanta Falcons, who recently completed a course at Buck Baker's driving school, roared around the Atlanta Motor Speedway at 165 mph in a test run last week. He has been promised a ride in several races on the Grand National circuit by car owner Lewis Cooper, and Glanville hopes to debut at the Richmond 200 on March 7. Of his passion for racing, Glanville said, "It's the ultimate on-the-edge experience, because it's your butt they're going to scrape off the wall if you screw up."

Awarded
The largest baseball salary ever decided by an arbitrator, to Texas RangersRoutfielder Ruben Sierra. William Rentfro ruled on Feb. 19 that the Rangers must pay the flashy Sierra $5 million this year. The treasure of Sierra madre (well, we hope he'll cut her in) buried the previous arbitration record, set one day earlier when David Cone of the New York Mets won $4.25 million. Cone was 14-14 in 1991, yet he'll be paid $1.3 million more than Cy Young Award winner Tom Glavine of the Atlanta Braves, who did not go to arbitration.

Cursed
The captaincy—and the captain's C—of the Philadelphia Flyers. Winger Rick Tocchet last week was shipped to Pittsburgh in a three-team deal (page 58), becoming the third Flyer captain in two years to be traded. Previous exiles included Ron Sutter (sent to St. Louis in '91) and Dave Poulin (booted to Boston in '90). Players shied away when an equipment manager waved a C at them at practice. "Don't let that thing touch me," said center Mike Ricci. "I like Philadelphia."

Convicted
Of raping his family's babysitter, former heavyweight boxing champion Trevor Berbick. The 26-year-old victim testified in Miami that Berbick, 39, beat her and forced her to have sex with him in a 1990 assault. Sentencing was set for April 10—two weeks after former Berbick foe Mike Tyson is scheduled to be sentenced for his rape conviction in Indianapolis. Tyson knocked out Berbick to win the WBC title in 1986.

AWOL
Righthander Pascual Perez, who was nowhere to be found when the New York Yankees opened spring workouts in Fort Lauderdale. The Perez Watch is an annual event: In 10 major league seasons, the eccentric pitcher has never reported on time. Pascual's younger brother Melido Perez, a righthander acquired by the Yankees over the winter, showed up early. Asked when Pascual planned to arrive, Melido shrugged. "Mariana," he said with a laugh.

Died
Speed skier Nicholas Bochatay, 27, of internal injuries suffered when he slammed into a trail-grooming machine on Feb. 22 during a warmup run for the finals of the Olympic demonstration sport at Les Arcs, France. Bochatay, the '91 Swiss champion, came over a hill and went airborne, colliding with a Sno-Cat he apparently did not see. Olympic organizers said the vehicle was moving, its siren blaring and emergency lights flashing. Swiss officials, though, contend the machine was parked.

PHOTO

CHUCK BURTON

Glanville is taking his show on the road.