W. Va.'s Slaton Will Enter the NFL Draft

West Virginia running back Steve Slaton is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

"I called the NFL about two weeks ago, and they told me that I was assessed as a second-round selection," Slaton said yesterday in a joint statement with new Mountaineers Coach Bill Stewart.

In the school-issued statement, Stewart said his conversation with Slaton was "very private and heart-warming," and will remain private. . . .

Tom Dimitroff was hired as general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, leaving his job as director of scouting for the unbeaten New England Patriots.

¿ BASEBALL: Roger Clemens's lawyer wouldn't commit to having the pitcher give a deposition to congressional investigators, even as he said the seven-time Cy Young Award winner remains willing to testify in open session before a House committee investigating denials that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, was likely to meet this week with staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has asked him to testify Feb. 13 along with his accuser, former trainer Brian McNamee. The committee wants to take depositions from the pair along with Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch and Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who has admitted supplying players with steroids and human growth hormone.

Hardin wouldn't directly answer questions about a deposition.

"There has been absolutely no change in Roger's willingness and indeed desire to testify under oath before Congress in a public hearing at a date of the Oversight Committee's choosing," Hardin said in a statement. . . .

New York Mets outfielder Endy Chavez injured his right hamstring and right ankle while playing winter ball in Venezuela.

Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Chavez was hurt last month while playing for Magallanes. Chavez is expected to be ready for spring training.

¿ RUNNING: Mike Aish of New Zealand broke the African stranglehold on the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in Phoenix, earning his first victory with smart strategy and a strong finish.

Aish, 31, ran 2 hours 13 minutes 20 seconds to beat runner-up Dejene Yirdawe of Ethiopia by 50 seconds.

The women's competition was won by an Ethiopian for the fifth consecutive year, with Adanech Zekiros repeating as champion in a course record 2:31:14.

Linda Somers Smith, 46, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic marathon team, led a group of seven American women who qualified for this year's U.S. Olympic trials. Marine Corps Marathon winner Kristen Henehan, from Silver Spring, and runner-up Lisa Thomas, from Alexandria, were among the qualifiers.

-- From News Services and Staff Reports