Taylor: Gambling Loss to Jordan Exaggerated
Lawrence Taylor said Sunday that the $150,000 he is said to have lost gambling to Michael Jordan is “a stupid number.” Sources said the amount was more in the $2,000 range.
“I gamble, but money comes harder to me than it does to Michael,” the New York Giants’ linebacker said as he reported to the team’s training camp at Madison, N.J.
Taylor’s statement came after a series of published reports alleging he had lost large amounts at golf to Jordan, who arrived at the University of North Carolina after Taylor left in 1981. The reports said that Richard Esquinas, who alleged he won $1.25 million from Jordan, gave that figure for Taylor to NBA investigators.
“They weren’t statements made by Michael,” said Taylor, who called the amount “substantially less.” A source acquainted with the situation but not involved with the Giants put the figure at $2,000.
“I lay no weight on what he says,” Taylor said of Esquinas.
Soccer
Three-time World Cup champion Brazil was held to a scoreless tie by Ecuador as South American qualifying began for soccer’s 1994 World Cup.
Brazil, with all its top players in the lineup, had expected an easy time at Guayaquil, Ecuador, but was stymied by a nation that has never qualified for a World Cup finals. Brazil had won 11 of 12 previous games against Ecuador, including six since a 2-2 tie in 1963, and had outscored Ecuador, 49-9.
In another South American game, Bolivia scored its biggest soccer victory with a 7-1 rout of Venezuela. Bolivia, which began playing soccer in 1926, had never scored more than five goals in a game. Venezuela hadn’t allowed this many goals since a 7-0 loss at Chile in 1978.
In African qualifying, Cameroon beat Guinea, 1-0, at Conakry, Guinea, in Group C; and Ivory Coast beat Algeria, 1-0, in Group A at Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Saturday, Morocco beat Senegal, 3-1, in Group B at Dakar, Senegal. Rachid Daoudi scored in the eighth minute, and Megied Ferdou scored in the 62nd and 75th minutes for Morocco (2-1), which leads Group B.
Jorge Rodriguez, Octavio Mora, Luis Roberto Alves and Luis Miguel Salvador scored two goals each as Mexico routed Canada, 8-0, at Mexico City in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was the worst loss in the history of Canadian soccer.
Mexico (2-0-1) won Group B and plays Jamaica (1-1-1) Thursday in the semifinals. The United States (3-0), the defending champion, won Group A and plays Costa Rica (1-0-2) Wednesday at Dallas.
Pro Volleyball
Top-seeded Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes defeated sixth-seeded Scott Ayakatubby and Adam Johnson, 16-14, to win the Miller Lite Open at Cape Cod, Mass.
Second-seeded Holly McPeak and Cammie Ciarelli defeated fourth-seeded Rita Crockett and Linda Hanley, 15-10, to win the women’s championship.
Names in the News
Driss Dacha of Morocco pulled away from Brazilian runners Nivaldo Filho and Jose Santana to win the City of San Francisco Marathon in a sluggish time of 2:20.02. Francie Larrieu Smith pulled up lame in her attempt to set a women’s master record. . . . Steve Reiter of Daly City, Calif., won the National Pistol Championship at Camp Perry, Ohio, by scoring 2,660 of 2,700 possible points.
American Akebono (Chad Rowan) beat two brothers, Takanohana and Wakanohana, in a playoff at Nagoya, Japan, winning his first grand sumo tournament since his promotion in January to sumo’s highest rank. . . . New Zealand, behind Mandy Smith’s two goals in the last 13 minutes, tied, 2-2, with Canada in field hockey at the women’s Intercontinental Cup at Villanova, Pa.
