Alabama Target of NCAA Probe

In a letter made public Friday, the NCAA accused Alabama of two major rules violations involving a former basketball assistant.

According to the NCAA’s official letter of inquiry, the assistant, Tyrone Beaman, allegedly sought $5,000 from boosters to pay the coach of a high school recruit and then lied about it to investigators.

The inquiry raised the possibility that Alabama’s basketball program could be eligible for the NCAA “death penalty” because the football program was on probation recently for a player-eligibility issue.

Gene Marsh, faculty athletic representative for Alabama, said he anticipated something much less severe because the charges involve a coach who was fired and the school reported the case on its own.

“I don’t concede that there’s any penalty coming down the road,” Marsh said.

An official in the NCAA press office declined comment.

The NCAA letter of inquiry closely paralleled allegations uncovered in the school’s investigation. It said that Beaman asked two boosters, Charley Stakely and Truman Hobbs Jr., and Willie Jones, the director of a YMCA in Montgomery, for $5,000 to send to the coach of a recruit in Houston.

Soon after, Stakely and Hobbs reported the alleged request to the school, sparking an internal investigation.

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After leading Portland State to a winning record in only his second season as coach, Ritchie McKay was named men’s basketball coach at Colorado State. He replaces Stew Morrill, who became coach at Utah State.

Tennis

Fifth-seeded Andre Agassi routed 14th-seeded Wayne Ferreira of South Africa, 6-2, 6-1, in a 51-minute quarterfinal of the RCA Championships in Indianapolis. Agassi will play unseeded Ramon Delgado of Paraguay in today’s semifinals. Delgado defeated Byron Black of Zimbabwe, 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia advanced to the semifinals of the Pilot Pen tennis tournament at New Haven, Conn., with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over India’s Leander Paes, who had defeated top-seeded Pete Sampras the day before. Ivanisevic will play defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, who defeated Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Karol Kucera of Slovakia defeated Guillaume Raoux of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, and will play Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, who survived a marathon third-set tiebreaker to defeat Tim Henman of England, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (18-16).

Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic won her 19th consecutive match, a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over 19-year-old Magui Serna of Spain in the quarterfinals of the du Maurier Open at Montreal. In today’s semifinals, Novotna will face Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who defeated Spanish countrywoman Conchita Martinez, 6-3, 6-4.

In the other semifinal, top-seeded Martina Hingis will face Monica Seles, who is seeking her record fourth consecutive Canadian title. Seles defeated Anke Huber of Germany, 6-3, 6-4.

Auto Racing

Jeff Gordon, looking to become the first driver in NASCAR’s modern era to win five consecutive Winston Cup races, qualified seventh for tonight’s Goody’s 500 at Bristol, Tenn., with a speed of 123.039 mph. Rusty Wallace turned a fast lap of 123.554 mph to earn the pole. . . . Dale Jarrett dominated the Food City 250 before a red flag set up Kevin Lepage to take the lead with less than two laps left and win the crash- and fire-marred race at Bristol Motor Speedway. . . . NASCAR driver Gary Laton was released from a hospital in Ypsilanti, Mich., after spending a week recovering from a wreck at Michigan Speedway. Laton, 35, suffered head and neck injuries Aug. 13 during a qualifying race for the Busch Grand National. . . . Cory McClenathan led top-fuel qualifying in the VisionAire NorthStar Nationals at Brainerd, Minn., with a quarter-mile run of 4.598 seconds at 311.63 mph.

Miscellany

Scottie Pippen said he doesn’t expect to return to the Chicago Bulls once the NBA lockout ends and he doesn’t think Michael Jordan will either.

“I’m pretty sure Michael’s not coming back,” Pippen said during a Chicago Cub game at Wrigley Field.

Lubos Kubik scored on a penalty kick in the 64th minute and Chris Armas added a goal three minutes later to give the Chicago Fire a 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in a Major League Soccer game before 24,450 at Denver.

A Los Angeles superior court judge denied a motion to dismiss the case against Kenny Brunner, a former Georgetown and Fresno State basketball player charged with attempted murder and armed robbery, but the judge will allow Brunner to stand trial apart from co-defendant’s Ladale Lunnie.

Brunner, and Lunnie, a student at Los Angeles City College, are accused of robbing L.A. City College basketball Coach Mike Miller at gunpoint in May. Lunnie and Brunner, a former star at Compton Dominguez High, are scheduled to appear at a pre-trial hearing on Aug. 27 and both cases are still set for trial on Sept. 11.

The Edmonton Oilers signed free-agent right wing Pat Falloon. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.