Arkansas Linebacker Found Fatally Shot

Linebacker Shannon Wright, 22, of Arkansas apparently shot himself to death early Wednesday, hours after he moved some of his belongings out of his girlfriend’s residence in Fayetteville.

Wright had a history of alcohol abuse. Shortly after the 1990 Cotton Bowl, Wright was arrested for the theft of several cans of beer from a convenience store in Ft. Smith. Eventually, he was fined $250, given a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to undergo a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

In early 1991, he was arrested on charges of public intoxication and criminal trespass. The intoxication charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct. A couple of months later, Wright was charged with driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, fleeing and driving with a suspended license.

Wright, a senior two-year letterman, started all six games this year and was second on the team with 44 tackles.

Soccer

Cobi Jones converted a feed from Ernie Stewart with 12 minutes remaining to earn the United States (8-10-10) a 1-1 tie with the Mexican national team Wednesday night at Washington.

Earlier, Joaquin Del Olmo gave Mexico a 1-0 lead, picking up a loose ball that bounced off American defender Alexi Lalas and slipping a low shot past Brad Friedel from four yards away.

Basketball

Jamal Mashburn, the forward from Kentucky who was the No. 4 choice in the NBA draft, has agreed to a contract with the Dallas Mavericks and will begin practicing tonight.

The team would not disclose terms of the contract, although published reports said it was for about $32 million over seven years.

Charles Barkley, taking no chances but saying he is “feeling good,” scrimmaged Wednesday night with the Phoenix Suns.

The league’s most valuable player, who collapsed Saturday night because of fatigue, took part in a series of five-minute scrimmages, capped by a 12-minute session, during training camp at Northern Arizona University.

Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton, still suffering back problems, announced he will not play basketball for an indefinite period.

Three South Carolina basketball players, including leading scorer Jamie Watson, will sit out a regular-season game because of what Coach Eddie Fogler calls a “verbal exchange” with a campus police officer. Watson, a senior, and junior Durrant Williams will not play in the Gamecocks’ season opener on Nov. 27 against Old Dominion.

Junior Malik Russell, a transfer from Notre Dame who already must sit out this season because of NCAA rules, will not play in the 1994-95 season opener.

Frustrated by scholarship cuts and other matters affecting minorities, the Black Coaches Assn. will boycott a basketball coaches’ issues forum starting next week in Charlotte, N.C. More than 100 black coaches had been expected to attend.

The BCA, which has 3,000 members, agreed to the boycott at a meeting in Chicago two weeks ago. Association director Rudy Washington said it’s the first of several actions, including the possibility of boycotting games, that the association is planning to draw attention to its concerns over discriminatory practices that affect athletes and coaches.

Miscellany

A three-alarm fire raged through a dozen suites of Texas Stadium and set about 10 rows of general admission seats ablaze. The cause of the fire was under investigation and no injuries were reported. . . . Andre Agassi pulled out of next month’s Paris Open because of a wrist injury and won’t play the rest of the season. . . . Gianfranco Cunico drove his Ford Escort to victory in the San Remo (Italy) rally, beating defending world champion Carlos Sainz by 1 minute 36 seconds.