Report: Gambler Bet $1 Million on Arizona State Game in 1994

A gambler suspected of paying Arizona State basketball players to shave points bet more than $1 million on one game, the Arizona Republic reported Sunday.

Citing an unidentified source, the newspaper reported that the gambler bet heavily against Arizona State in four 1994 games.

On one of those games, played March 5 against Washington, the gambler placed $1 million worth bets with bookmakers, legal offshore betting venues and every Las Vegas casino with a sports book, the newspaper reported. Each bet was made with less than $10,000 to avoid federal legal transaction reporting requirements.

During the game, the heavily favored Sun Devils missed their first 14 shots and trailed by one point at halftime, but they came back to defeat Washington, 73-55, causing the gambler to lose his huge bets.

Two days earlier, Arizona State had lost to Washington State by nine points after being favored to win by three.

College Football

Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden has dismissed backup safety Robert Hammond and reserve middle linebacker Hank Grant from the team for violating team rules.

This latest incident comes on the heels of a report by the Tallahassee Democrat that eight FSU players have been in trouble with the law during the off-season.

Bob Cope, former defensive coordinator for Kansas State, died this weekend of cancer. He was 60.

Motor Sports

Tom Kendall of Manhattan Beach, driving a Ford Mustang Cobra, tied Mark Donohue’s 29-year-old Trans-Am record of eight consecutive victories by scoring an 8.406-second win over Jon Gooding at Trois-Riviers, Canada.

Tennis

Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe, 7-6 (7-3), 6-0, in the final of The Challenge, an ATP-sanctioned tournament for players over 35.

Connors had too much in the second set for McEnroe, who has reached the final only two hours earlier after completing Saturday’s rain-delayed semifinal against Bjorn Borg.

That match was suspended with Borg leading 1-0 in the final set, but McEnroe rallied to win, 6-3, 3-6 7-6 (7-1).

Connors won $150,000, McEnroe $100,000.

Unseeded Chris Woodruff, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., used aggressive play and a strong serve to upset sixth-seeded Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, to win the du Maurier Canadian Open championships. It was Woodruff’s first tournament victory.

“The first win is the toughest,” he said. “I had a couple of chances last year. Now, hopefully, I’ll get a few more titles.”

Woodruff, the 1993 NCAA champion at Tennessee, was ranked 57th in the world but will move into the top 30 when the new rankings are released today. He won the $337,000 top prize, while Kuerten, the surprise winner of the French Open earlier this year, collected $177,000.

Slava Dosedel of Czechoslovakia upset top-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, to win the Grolsch Open at Amsterdam.

Basketball

The Magic Johnson All-Star Game, played before a crowd of 14,793 at the Forum Saturday night, raised approximately $1.5 million for the United Negro College Fund.

Johnson played about 10 minutes and scored five points for the Red team, which beat the Blue team, 153-147. Laker Kobe Bryant scored 35 points for the Blue, and Penny Hardaway and Gary Payton scored 20 each for the Red.

Pat Garrity of Notre Dame and Brad Miller of Purdue each scored 14 points as the United States routed China, 107-39, in the Under-22 World Basketball Championships at Melbourne, Australia.

The U.S. (3-0) clinched a spot in the medal round.