NCAA Rules Auburn Out of Bowls for 2 Years

The NCAA placed the Auburn football program on two years of probation and barred it from postseason competition for two years Wednesday as a result of rules violations exposed by former Tiger defensive back Eric Ramsey.

The university was also hit with a one-year television blackout that can go into effect either this season or next. The sanctions stem from secret tape recordings made by Ramsey, who sought--and received--thousands of dollars in cash payments from coaches and boosters.

As a result of the probation, Auburn will not be eligible to play in postseason bowls this season or next. The violations occurred at a time when Pat Dye served as both Auburn’s football coach and athletic director.

Dye resigned after the 1992 season.

“The violations of NCAA rules that were committed at Auburn University are indicative of what can occur when, in the minds of members of a university’s athletic department staff and representatives of its athletic interests, the athletic program becomes more important than the university of which it is a part,” the NCAA Committee on Infractions wrote in an unusually strong statement.

Dye, who remains a special assistant to Auburn President William Muse, did not join the president at a news conference Wednesday. Dye issued a statement saying he may have made “management mistakes and mistakes of judgment, but I did not willfully or intentionally violate any rules.”

Jurisprudence

A videotape seized by authorities investigating the slaying of James Jordan, father of Chicago Bull star Michael Jordan, shows one suspect performing a rap song while flashing a 1986 NBA All-Star ring and another suspect wearing Michael Jordan’s golf shoes, an investigator said.

The suspects, Daniel Andre Green and Larry Martin Demery, both 18, have been separated from other inmates at Robeson (N.C.) County Jail because of threats from other prisoners.

“We are keeping them in security cells--not in isolation--for their own protection,” said Mark Locklear, Robeson’s chief investigator into the James Jordan case.

A car driven by former heavyweight champion Michael Dokes allegedly ran down a newspaper vendor in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., and Dokes likely faces drunk driving charges, police said.

Hockey

Free agent Kelly Kisio, who had 26 goals and 52 assists last season for the San Jose Sharks, signed a multiyear contract with the Calgary Flames.

The Kings will face Smythe Division regular-season champion Vancouver in their first two preseason games next month. The Kings the Canucks on Sept. 17 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver and the next night at Portland, Ore. The Kings then face Dallas, formerly the Minnesota North Stars, at Dallas on Sept. 21, and meet the expansion Mighty Ducks at Anaheim the following night.

The National Hockey League Players Assn. filed a lawsuit challenging the right of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to arbitrate disputes involving free agents.

Pro Basketball

The Atlanta Hawks signed forward Doug Edwards of Florida State, to a multiyear contract. . . . The Miami Heat’s lone draft pick, former Arizona center Ed Stokes, signed to play in Greece this season.

Miscellany

Defending world champion Long Beach has reached the title game of the Little League Western Regional at San Bernardino and plays either Aiea, Hawaii, or San Ramon Valley of Danville tonight. A Long Beach victory would send the team back to the Little League World Series, which begins Monday in Williamsport, Pa.

Little League, which last week disqualified Taiwan from this year’s World Series for violating eligibility rules, has invited Saipan to the tournament because other countries in the Far East also broke the rules.

A high school football player in Hialeah, Fla., ordered to run 60 sprints of 40 yards each as part of a team punishment, remained in critical condition after collapsing on the field. Victor Hernandez, a junior at Hialeah High, fainted because of heat exhaustion Tuesday.

Tim Strachan, a high school quarterback from Hyattsville, Md., who was paralyzed two weeks ago in an accident, will still be offered a full football scholarship by Penn State. Strachan was injured when he dived into a wave at the beach.

Reigning U.S. Amateur champion Justin Leonard helped the United States to a 6 1/2-3 1/2 lead over Britain and Ireland in the opening round of the 1993 Walker Cup golf matches at Edina, Minn. Leonard beat Raymond Burns of Northern Ireland, 4 and 3. Todd Dempsey of Rancho Santa Fe defeated Raymond Russell of Scotland, 2 and 1. David Berganio of Sylmar lost to Britain’s Matt Stanford, 3 and 2. . . . The NCAA approved the reclassification of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo from Division II to Division I-AA beginning with the 1994-95 school year. . . . The Southwest Conference has fired 16 men’s basketball referees to save money.