Jesse Owens

Isao Aoki shot a 68 in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open yesterday in Peabody, Mass., and took over the lead at 1-under-par when Bruce Fleisher bogeyed the last two holes. Gil Morgan had another even-par 70 to move into a tie for second with Fleisher, who shot 71 after his 69 was the only score in the first round to break par. Larry Nelson shot 67 and sat tied for fourth with Dana Quigley at 1-over at the 6,709-yard Salem Country Club. Aoki had five birdies to go with three bogeys.

Edwin Rosario, a former lightweight champion whose career was marred by cocaine, died of acute pulmonary edema that could have been caused by drug or alcohol abuse, a pathologist said yesterday. Rosario, 34, died Monday night at his parents' home in Toa Baja, a San Juan, Puerto Rico, suburb. A police investigator suggested that Rosario might have died of a drug overdose. In a pulmonary edema, the lungs fill with fluid, causing them to swell. It can cause heart failure. According to a police report, Rosario left his parents' home about 7 p.m. Monday, telling them he was going to visit his daughters.

Blood and urine samples taken from Diego Maradona yesterday tested positive for cocaine use, a day after he was hospitalized for high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. Maximo Costa Rocha, police chief in the Uruguayan province of Moldando, said an initial round of testing had shown signs of "excessive cocaine" in the former soccer star's system.Rocha said Maradona, 39, had not been detained in the case, but added an investigation started, as is required by Uruguayan law when someone tests positive for drug use. Maradona, 39, remained in intensive care, in stable condition after treatment, his doctor said.

Sixty-five free agents - including Boston righthander Roger Clemens, New York Yankees reliever John Wetteland, Chicago White Sox righthander Alex Fernandez and Montreal outfielder Moises Alou - failed to re-sign with their former teams and were not offered salary arbitration. Three players had been offered arbitration: Jimmy Key by the Yankees, David Wells by Baltimore and Mark McLemore by Texas. Players not offered arbitration can't re-sign with their former teams until May 1. Players offered arbitration have until Jan. 8 to re-sign.

An ailing Monica Seles and Michael Chang streaked into the Australian Open semifinals in Melbourne today with wins over Iva Majoli and Mikael Tillstrom, respectively. Top seed Seles, beset by a groin pull after recovering from knee and ankle injuries and a mysterious virus, strained a tendon above her right ankle midway through the match, but still romped to a 6-1, 6-2 win in 58 minutes. Seles' next match is Thursday against the winner of tonight's match between Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Chanda Rubin.

A Los Angeles judge granted a temporary restraining order forcing the NCAA to allow Southern California senior defensive end Israel Ifeanyi to play in today's game against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Ifeanyi was one of three Trojans suspended by the NCAA for alleged involvement with a sports agent. Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien granted the temporary restraining order yesterday. Originally, Southern Cal was informed that Ifeanyi would be penalized for three games for his alleged involvement with sports agent Robert Caron, but the penalty was extended for one game when it was learned Ifeanyi accepted money from his Nigerian tribe in Los Angeles.

Players on Harrisburg's professional indoor soccer team have received threatening letters apparently stemming from a recent game in Baltimore in which one player had his jaw broken. Gregg Cook, a spokesman for the Harrisburg Heat of the 12-team National Professional Soccer League, said yesterday the team received at least two letters from Baltimore threatening players. Another letter was sent to the Baltimore Spirit. The letters have been forwarded to federal authorities. The matter seems in response to an incident between Spirit forward Rob Ukrop and Heat defender Denis Hamlet the last time the teams met. Ukrop sustained a broken jaw after being struck by Hamlet's elbow.

Boris Becker of West Germany, his power game in full gear, bested Sweden's Mats Wilander, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, yesterday to wrap up the final round-robin portion of the $500,000 Masters Tennis Tournament. Earlier, top-seeded Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia defeated France's Yannick Noah, 6-4, 6-4, and Sweden's Joakim Nystrom stopped Henri Leconte of France, 6-4, 6-4. Both Becker and Lendl completed the round-robin portion of the six-day tournament with perfect 3-0 records. After Becker's victory, a coin flip determined their opponents in today's semifinals.

tephen Sondheim's award-winning Broadway hit "Company" continues at the Forge Theatre in Phoenixville, July 11-26, for three Fridays and Saturdays. The lighthearted story by George Furth of man and the marriage trap opens the theater's 25th anniversary season. Season tickets are on sale for other productions during the run of "Company. " Reservations are encouraged by calling 935-1920. All performances begin at 8 p.m. The theatre is located at 241 First Ave. PSYCHED FOR PSYCHICS An ESP Psychic Fair, including card readers, palmists, aura readings, ESP tresting, lectures and workshop begins at 8:30 a.m. Admission is $3, readings and sessions run from $10-$30.

The standoff between the PGA Tour and the new World Golf Tour is turning into something of a "he said, she said" story. The World Golf Tour issued a statement yesterday, saying it was "continuing to move ahead as planned" with its venture to stage six to eight tournaments in 1995, some of which would conflict with PGA Tour events. The statement also said that Greg Norman's commitment to the World Golf Tour "is as firm as ever. " This all came one day after PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem released a statement in which he said Norman told him he had had a "re-evaluation of this situation" and had told Finchem "he would not support any venture that would damage the PGA Tour.