BRIEFLY\Ozaki earns lead at halfway point of Doral-Ryder.

Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services

Joe Ozaki got out early before the wind arrived and shot a 65 to take the lead midway through the Doral-Ryder Open in Miami.

Ozaki made seven birdies, including two from fairway bunkers, and had no bogeys to get to 10-under-par 134, one stroke ahead of Michael Bradley and two better than Greg Norman and Vijay Singh. Jeff Sluman was at 137.

Former Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier remained in the cardiovascular unit of a Lincoln, Neb., hospital five days after he was admitted for a sinus infection. A doctor said that Frazier was making good progress and probably will be released by the middle of next week.

Priscilla Frazier, Tommie's mother, arrived in Lincoln from Palmetto, Fla., on Thursday night. Mrs. Frazier said her son had been tired since the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl, but she declined to identify his medical condition.

Former Rams defensive tackle Merlin Olsen has been named the 1996 recipient of the Ernie Davis Award, given annually to a football great whose work off the field most exemplifies the late running back's ideals.

Don Shula, who resigned as coach of the Miami Dolphins in January, has quit as co-chairman of the NFL's rule-making competition committee. Shula had been on the committee for 20 years and co-chairman since 1983.

The St. Louis Rams added some defensive punch by landing free-agent defensive end Leslie O'Neal. O'Neal, 31, one of the NFL's top pass rushers for the past decade with the San Diego Chargers, has appeared in six Pro Bowls and ranks ninth on the league's career sack list with 105-1/2.

BASKETBALL

Former North Carolina State and NBA player Charles Vincent "Hawkeye" Whitney has been charged with forcing White House aide Mark Fabiani to withdraw money at gunpoint at two bank machines. Whitney, 38, was arrested without incident Thursday night at District of Columbia Police headquarters and charged with kidnapping and armed robbery.

MOTOR SPORTS

Terry Labonte won the pole for Sunday's $1.2 million Pontiac Excitement 400, his second straight pole. Labonte turned a fast lap of 123.728 mph on the three-quarter-mile oval in Richmond, Va.

TENNIS

Defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov won a battle of serves against unseeded Czech Daniel Vacek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to move into the semifinals of the Italian Indoors ATP Tournament in Milan. The third-seeded Russian takes on eighth-seeded Marc Rosset, who defeated Italy's Renzo Furlan 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Qualifier Chris Woodruff continued the best run of his professional career, upsetting fourth-seeded Marcelo Rios 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Indoor Tennis in Philadelphia. He was broken four straight times in the first set.

ETC.

Gwen Torrence regained the American indoor record in the women's 200-meter dash, clocking 22.70 seconds during a trial heat at the USA Mobil Championships at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. The time broke the record of 22.73 set by Carlette Guidry-White at last year's championships, when Torrence skipped the final after winning her heat.

Stacy Dragila added nearly four inches to her American record in the women's pole vault, soaring 13 feet, 5-1/4 inches, at the same meet. . . .

The University of Moncton in New Brunswick, a longtime powerhouse in Canadian collegiate hockey, suspended four players and fired an assistant coach for their roles in an assault on a referee last weekend. . . .