Northwestern Probe Expands

The gambling investigation of the Northwestern athletic program is expanding and includes football players who allegedly bet on their own games.

Three or four Wildcat football players are under investigation for point-shaving in a federal gambling probe at the Big Ten school that has already netted six others, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

Law enforcement authorities are looking into allegations that the players not only bet on their own games, but that some bet on the Wildcats to lose. The players under investigation are believed to have wagered on two 1994 games in which they tried to affect the final score to win their bets on the point spread, according to the Sun-Times, which quoted unidentified sources.

Boxing

When Roberto Duran said “no mas” this time, he meant it.

Duran was beaten and battered by a fighter two decades younger, as William Joppy dominated from the opening bell until it was stopped with Duran nearly defenseless late in the third round at Las Vegas.

At 47, Duran was slow and no match for Joppy (26-1-1), who stung him with jabs and hit him with nearly every right he threw to retain the World Boxing Assn. portion of the middleweight title.

Duran (102-14) was getting a $250,000 payday and his last chance at greatness in a career that saw him win world titles five times.

“I am finished,” he said.

The fight topped a card that saw International Boxing Federation middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins retain his title on a bizarre no-contest with Robert Allen. Hopkins injured his left ankle after apparently being pushed out of the ring during a clinch by referee Mills Lane in the fourth round.

“The momentum of everyone caused him to fall out of the ring,” Lane said. “I’ve seen everything in boxing but not this. What can I say?”

Meldrick Taylor lost in his comeback attempt when Hasan Al of Denmark outpointed the former featherweight champion in a non-title welterweight bout at Aarhus, Denmark.

Tennis

Steffi Graf of Germany got a lift before the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory over top-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals of the Pilot Pen International at New Haven, Conn. That ended the defending champion’s 13-match winning streak and put Graf in her first final since knee surgery 14 months ago.

Graf will face second-seeded Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic, who overcame some early mistakes to beat unseeded Julie Halard-Decugis of France, 6-4, 6-4.

The rivalry between Greg Rusedski of Britain and Patrick Rafter of Australia will continue in the semifinals of the Hamlet Cup at Commack, N.Y. Rusedski, who lost to Rafter in the final of the U.S. Open last year, beat Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3, then Rafter needed only 54 minutes to beat Nicolas Escude of France, 6-3, 6-2.

Qualifier Sebastien Grosjean of France upset top-seeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, to advance to the semifinals of the MFS Pro Championship at Brookline, Mass. Fourth-seeded Michael Chang defeated Gianluca Pozzi of Italy, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

The ATP denied a New York Times report that it recently forbade the use of the nutritional supplement androstenedione, claiming it already is on its list of banned substances.

Auto Racing

Chad Coleman died of injuries from a multicar crash on the first lap of the ARCA Georgia Power 200 stock car race at Atlanta Motor Speedway at Hampton, Ga.

Coleman, 30, from Greenville, S.C., was airlifted to Georgia Baptist Regional Medical Center in nearby Atlanta. He was pronounced dead after medical personnel were unable to revive him.

It took track safety officials nearly 30 minutes to cut Coleman out of his battered car, which hit a wall almost head-on. No other drivers were injured.

Jurisprudence

New Mexico center Kenny Thomas, who was driving a car that slammed into the back of another vehicle April 4 at Albuquerque, has pleaded guilty to aggravated driving while intoxicated. Thomas was sentenced to two days in jail and was also ordered to complete a program on DWI. Tests showed he had a blood-alcohol content at 0.17% and 0.18%, more than twice the legal limit. . . . Donald Vaden, one of eight NBA referees charged with downgrading first-class airline tickets purchased by the league and pocketing the difference without telling the IRS, has been sentenced to six months’ home confinement and two years’ probation for tax evasion. U.S. District Judge James P. Jones ordered Vaden to pay the IRS $12,248 plus a $2,000 fine.

Names in the News

Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag is out of a Salt Lake City hospital after being treated for meningitis. . . . World champion Marion Jones continued her dominance of the 100 meters in the Van Damme Memorial Grand Prix meet at Brussels, winning in 10.80 seconds. . . . The Mighty Ducks signed free-agent defenseman Fredrik Olausson to a two-year contract. Olausson, 31, a 12-year NHL veteran who played in Anaheim in 1996, played for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season.