Gulls Add 7th NHL Veteran, Perry Anderson

Less than three weeks away from the start of training camp, the Gulls on Tuesday continued their run on NHL veterans, signing Perry Anderson, a hard-hitting winger who played last season with the San Jose Sharks.

Anderson, 30, began his National Hockey League career in 1981-82 with the St. Louis Blues. He spent four years there before moving on to the New Jersey Devils for five seasons. Last year in San Jose, Anderson scored four goals and assisted on eight others in 48 games.

In all, Anderson has 58 goals, 59 assists and 1,051 penalty minutes in 400 NHL games.

“Perry is an excellent skater who creates fear in opposing defenses because of his ability to make contact quickly,” Gulls Coach Rick Dudley said. “It’s nice to have a player who can forecheck like he can with his speed. The fans are going to love him.”

The Gulls have 12 players under contract for the 1992-93 season, seven of whom have NHL experience: Anderson, wingers John Anderson, Warren Rychel and Larry Floyd, defensemen Lindy Ruff, Sergei Starikov and Dale Degray.

Four of those signed return from last season’s team: winger Robbie Nichols, who scored 30 goals as a member of the hot line; center Keith Gretzky, who scored 12 goals; defender Alan Hepple, last year’s team captain; and goalie Rick Knickle, who led the IHL in victories (28).

The 12th is center Peter Hankinson, who scored 24 goals for Fort Wayne a year ago.

INDOOR SOCCER

The Sockers will be joined by seven Western teams in the Continental Indoor Soccer League’s inaugural 28-game season, scheduled to get under way in June. Announced as charter members are: the Sockers, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Sacramento, Portland, Phoenix, Houston and Dallas.

In addition, founder-commissioner Ron Weinstein is awaiting applications from eight Eastern cities, including: Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami and Pittsburgh.

Weinstein said an Eastern Division should take shape within the next two months.

The Sockers and Dallas Sidekicks, who played each other in the last Major Soccer League championship series in May, will promote the new league with a series of exhibitions in the fall and winter. They will be joined on the tour, which will stop in San Diego, by the U.S. national indoor team and by a team of Division I Mexican All-Stars.

The exhibitions will allow the two MSL refugees to keep some of their veterans--who were expected to flee to the expanding National Professional Soccer League--and skirt the CISL’s planned $160,000-per-team salary cap.

Weinstein, however, is not concerned that the Sockers and Sidekicks will weaken the fledging league’s grasp at parity.

“It’s more important for them to keep their teams intact through the winter,” Weinstein said. “They’re going to have a big advantage, anyway. The fact is, at our first board of directors meeting we’re going to address the player issue, and I think they very much understand the importance of parity in the league. They’re not looking to walk in and kill everybody--that will destroy the league. They understand that making a success in some of the other cities is just as important as continuing their own success.”

RUNNING

Gail Devers, the Sweetwater High alumnus who won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Barcelona Olympics, will be honored by her church, Mt. Erie Baptist Church, on Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Town and Country Convention Center.

Also attending will be her Los Angeles coach, Bobby Kersee. Tickets ($25 for adults, $12 for children) are available from the Alvarado Bible Bookstore (463-9529), or Mt. Erie Baptist Church (262-0708).

The fourth Arturo Barrios 10K will be run for a third consecutive year along Chula Vista’s harbor front on Sunday, Oct. 18. Barrios, Mexico’s world record holder in the 10,000 meters and the fifth-place finisher at that distance in Barcelona, lends his name to the charity event which raises money for the largest bicultural, bilingual library in the county.

Defending winners William Musyoki of Kenya and Wilma Van Onna of the Netherlands have committed to this year’s race, which has a prize purse of $20,000.

Entries ($14 before Oct. 10 and $17 after) are available by calling 275-5440.