Officials Quit Search for Special Olympian

Authorities called off the search for a mentally retarded soccer player from Nepal in the Special Olympics who disappeared while swimming off an unguarded beach on the Connecticut coast.

Ramesh Mali, 21, vanished about noon Thursday as he swam in chest-deep water.

Witnesses said the missing man appeared to have been pulled underwater by a current that also dunked two teammates. The other two surfaced and were brought to shore uninjured.

Coast Guard boats searched through the night for Mali, and divers resumed looking shortly after daybreak. The Coast Guard discontinued its search Friday morning.

“I am wondering why Ramesh was taken to the beach for swimming. He has never seen the sea before,” his brother, Laxman Mali, said.

Track and Field

Great Britain’s Jonathan Edwards limped off with an ankle injury after failing in his latest bid to break the world record in the triple jump in a meet at London.

After two wind-assisted jumps over 59 feet in successive weeks, Edwards hoped to break the mark of 58-11 1/2 set by Willie Banks in 1985. But after his winning third jump of 58- 1/2, Edwards pulled out because of a slight left ankle strain.

Canada’s Donovan Bailey won the 100 meters in 10.16 seconds. Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey won the women’s 200 in 22.32, the second-fastest time in the world this year. U.S. champion Brandon Rock won the 800 in 1:44.97.

Jurisprudence

Three former Baylor basketball coaches were placed on probation by a federal judge for helping recruits cheat to get into the school.

U.S. District Judge Walter Smith Jr. sentenced former Baylor assistants Gary Thomas, Troy Drummond and Kevin Gray to three years’ probation apiece for federal conspiracy and wire and mail fraud charges.

The coaches were found guilty of giving junior college players term papers and changing their test scores. The mail fraud and wire fraud charges were filed because fax equipment and the U.S. Postal Service were used.

The assistants faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

College Basketball

Texas Tech failed to rigorously oversee a former basketball player’s academic progress but broke no NCAA rules, a school investigation said.

Coaches bestowed no special benefits upon Nate Jackson by inquiring whether the player could take a correspondence Spanish course from a junior college that typically does not offer such credit, the review said.

Questions about Jackson--one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits in 1991--surfaced last weekend after the Houston Chronicle reported that Jackson gained academic eligibility by taking one exam, and doing it over the phone.

A former Florida International player has told the NCAA that former coach Bob Weltlich paid him nearly $5,000, a charge Weltlich dismissed as “ludicrous.”

The school acknowledged mistakenly issuing checks to 12 to 15 athletes in 1993, but former guard Joe Leake said he received three checks totaling nearly $2,600 plus $2,278 in cash.

Miscellany

With the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority trying to keep the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils from moving to Nashville, Tenn., there are reports that Nashville may be courting the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs, who moved into the Alamodome two years ago, are threatening to leave unless they get a new, smaller arena in which they can make money, a San Antonio newspaper reported.

Romanian women’s rowing champion Fanica Hanuseac has been banned for life after failing a doping test, the Romanian Rowing Federation said.

Mark Martin won the pole for Sunday’s $1.3-million Slick 50 300 with a qualifying lap of 128.815 m.p.h. at the 1.058-mile course at the New Hampshire International Speedway at Loudon, N.H.

Ronaldo scored on a header in the 72nd minute as World Cup champion Brazil defeated Ecuador, 1-0, in their opening game of Group B play in the Copa America soccer tournament at Rivera, Uruguay.

Brazil missed a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the 80th minute when Ecuador goalkeeper Carlos Morales blocked a penalty kick by Edmundo.

Roberto Palacios scored in the 79th minute to give Peru a 1-1 tie with Colombia. Faustino Ausprilla scored for the favored Colombians in the 67th minute.

Names in the News

Driver Stan Fox has begun a rehabilitation program for a serious head injury suffered in a crash in the Indianapolis 500. . . . George McQuarn, an assistant basketball coach at Arizona State and former head coach at Cal State Fullerton, is expected to be released from a hospital today after undergoing coronary bypass surgery early this week. . . . Rick Sund, a former president of the Dallas Mavericks who has been in charge of college scouting for the Seattle Sonics, has resigned to become vice president of player personnel for the Detroit Pistons. . . . Free-agent linebacker James Francis has signed a $2.5-million, one-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.