Packers’ Chmura Is Arrested

Green Bay tight end Mark Chmura was arrested Monday at Hartland, Wis., after his 17-year-old baby sitter accused him of sexually assaulting her during a party at which they played a drinking game.

Robert Gessert, a friend of Chmura’s, also was arrested. An 18-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in a hot tub at Gessert’s home at the party after a prom, according to court records.

Chmura appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit with his hands bound in chains. Chmura and Gessert were released on $5,000 bail and are due in court May 15.

Chmura, 31, and Gessert, 42, have not been formally charged, Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher said.

Police are recommending a charge of third-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

A search warrant filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court said the 17-year-old girl told police Chmura led her into a bathroom at Gessert’s house early Sunday, locked the door, removed her jeans and underwear and had intercourse with her. The girl knew Chmura because she had baby-sat his children, the warrant said.

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An administrative law judge ruled that Free House’s post-race drug positive be thrown out, and that his owners receive the winning purse money from the 1998 Bel Air Handicap at Hollywood Park.

In a seven-page decision, Ralph B. Dash accepted testimony on behalf of Free House that no one in the colt’s barn had treated him with clenbuterol, a strong bronchial dilator that is permitted for training but not legal for horses running in California. Also, Dash said that the second laboratory that tested Free House’s urine was not on the California Horse Racing Board’s approved list and didn’t use the same methodology that the first lab had. Dash’s decision is a non-binding opinion that will be sent to the racing board for further action.

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President Mark Yudof of the University of Minnesota imposed more sanctions on the men’s basketball program because of the academic cheating scandal uncovered last year. Yudof eliminated six scholarships over four academic years and will return to the NCAA 90% of the estimated $350,000 it received from the Big Ten for participating in three NCAA tournaments. . . . Four Turkish men were charged with murder and jailed in the stabbing deaths of two English soccer fans before a game last week in Istanbul. . . . A district judge ruled that jurors in the International Boxing Federation corruption case can see undercover videotapes of IBF founder Robert W. Lee Sr. handling what prosecutors say are bribes from promoters.

College Basketball

Former Utah and Kansas State coach Jack Gardner, the only coach to take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four on two occasions, died at 90 on Sunday night in Salt Lake City after a long illness.

Gardner, elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984, had a 486-235 record with seven conference championships in 28 seasons. Gardner had teams reach the national semifinals at Kansas State in 1948 and 1951 and at Utah in 1961 and 1966, but never won a national championship. Before he retired in 1971, Gardner ranked third among active coaches for career victories, trailing Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp and UCLA’s John Wooden.

Gardner played at USC from 1930-32, leading the Trojans’ in scoring his first season.

Iowa State junior Marcus Fizer announced he will make himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Tennis

International tennis officials will meet this week to consider possible sanctions in the wake of crowd trouble that led Argentina to forfeit its Davis Cup match against Chile last weekend. . . . Three major tennis events are being held simultaneously this week at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. The annual Easter Bowl Junior event is going on in the 16 and 18 age groups, along with the National Hard Courts Championships and the men’s 90-and-over hard court events. Play will continue through Sunday.

Miscellany

The Washington Redskins reached agreement to sign quarterback Jeff George as their backup, paying him $18.25 million over four years. . . . Bryan Herta has been named to replace the injured Shinji Nakano at this weekend’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. . . . Bobby Hamilton won the rain-delayed NASCAR Craftsman Truck NAPA 250 at Martinsville Speedway. . . . . . . With a 4-1 record, Bertrand Pac of France leads after the first day of the 36th Congressional Cup at Long Beach.