Senate Bill to Block Teams From Moving

The Senate Commerce Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would give the NFL and several other professional sports leagues the power to block teams from leaving their home cities for greener pastures.

The bill would grant the leagues limited antitrust exemptions in the areas of franchise movement and revenue sharing, and would allow individual leagues to establish guidelines for restricting owners from moving their teams. If the measure becomes law, it would apply to professional football, basketball, hockey and soccer leagues, but not baseball.

Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.), who sponsored the bill along with fellow Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, a Democrat, said the legislation “reestablishes some order out of what has become chaos” in professional sports leagues.

Livingstone Bramble, the World Boxing Assn. lightweight champion, will not be stripped of his title for using a banned stimulant before his successful title defense Feb. 16 against Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini in Las Vegas, WBA executive committee member Murray Sleep said.

Traces of the banned stimulant, ephedrine, used in many over-the-counter nasal sprays, were detected in Bramble’s urine after the fight. Bramble admitted having used a nasal spray before the fight.

Said Bramble’s manager, Lou Duva: “We admit that, Bramble admits that. What do you do when your nose is clogged, use a shovel?”

An eighth suspect was arrested in the growing Tulane basketball scandal, and prosecutors gathered more evidence in anticipation of getting indictments Thursday from a grand jury.

Craig L. Bourgeois, 23, of New Orleans was arrested on five counts of sports bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit sports bribery.

Villanova’s 66-64 upset of Georgetown for the NCAA basketball title could have been the highest-rated final ever televised.

Overnight ratings, based on a five-city average, registered a 19.1 rating (percentage of TV sets) and a 29 share (percentage of sets in use)--a 23% increase over last year’s championship game between Georgetown and Houston.

The highest-rated final was North Carolina State’s upset of Houston in 1983, which drew a final 22.3 rating with overnights of 18.2 and a 26 share.

Names in the News

Former heavyweight boxing champions Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis were named as the first two inductees into the newly created, but yet to be opened, International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Wayne Embry, who resigned last week after eight years as vice president and consultant with the Milwaukee Bucks, has been named to similar positions with the Indiana Pacers, who have the worst record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Seattle SuperSonic center Jack Sikma underwent successful surgery on a torn ligament in his left ring finger.

Danny Ferry of DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., one of the most highly recruited big men in the country and Parade Magazine’s prep Player of the Year, said Tuesday he will play college basketball at Duke.