Advertisement

Second DUI Means Jail for Golfer

Share
From Staff and Wire Reports

PGA Tour golfer Notah Begay pleaded guilty to aggravated drunk driving and was sentenced to 364 days in jail by Albuquerque Judge Cecelia Niemczyk. All but seven days were suspended, so Begay, 27, will spend a week in jail.

It was his second drunk-driving offense in five years.

Begay also must pay a $1,000 fine and may not drink alcohol for a year. He will be on probation for a year and must perform 48 hours of community service.

He was arrested a week ago after his vehicle struck a car in the parking lot of an Albuquerque bar.

Advertisement

“I made a big mistake and I want to be held responsible,” Begay told the judge after pleading guilty and admitting his blood-alcohol level was at least 0.16, twice the legal limit for intoxication in New Mexico.

*

A Boston judge said that he would personally keep an eye on Haverhill Golf and Country Club concerning discrimination against women, rather than appointing a monitor to do so.

In a mixed decision that left both sides claiming victory, Suffolk Superior Court Judge John Cratsley ordered the club to rewrite rules that steered women from “primary memberships” necessary for choice tee times and greater access to the facilities.

But Cratsley denied the state’s request to appoint a monitor with full authority over operations, which would have been unprecedented for a golf club.

*

The PGA Tour’s Reno-Tahoe Open is changing its name to the Greens.com Open at Reno-Tahoe as part of a three-year, $3.75-million deal. Greens.com is the new name of the Arizona company that had been known as Golfgateway. The company books tee times via the Internet.

Baseball

The New York Mets avoided arbitration with Rey Ordonez, signing their shortstop to a four-year, $19-million contract. . . . Atlanta Brave third baseman Chipper Jones settled his divorce, avoiding potentially embarrassing testimony in a trial. Jones, the National League’s most valuable player, admitted in October 1998 to having affairs and fathering a son with another woman while married to Karin Jones. . . . Morris “Butch” Yatkeman, the St. Louis Cardinal equipment manager who hung uniforms for Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial and Ozzie Smith, has died at 91.

Advertisement

College Football

Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski, who helped the Seminoles win the national championship, could be deported if convicted of trying to bribe police to get a friend released from custody.

Janikowski, 21, was taken into custody early Sunday on charges of offering an officer $300 to release his roommate, who had been arrested after a dispute with a bouncer who wouldn’t let him into a nightclub.

Janikowski’s lawyer entered a not-guilty plea for the Polish-born kicker, who went to Florida when he was 15 to live with his father.

Kevin Lempa, a defensive assistant for the San Diego Chargers this season, was hired by Coach June Jones as defensive coordinator at Hawaii. . . . Dan Cozzetto, Arizona State’s offensive coordinator for eight seasons, will coach the wide receiver at Oregon State, and Sun Devil running back coach Cornell Jackson will become linebacker coach at Houston.

Soccer

The U.S. soccer team is leaving five players behind for Saturday’s exhibition game at Chile. Goalkeeper Zach Thornton (right quadriceps strain) and defender Carlos Llamosa (left hamstring strain) were left at training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., because of injuries. Coach Bruce Arena also decided to leave behind midfielder Henry Gutierrez, defenders Marcelo Balboa and forward Jason Kreis. All are expected to remain active on the national team this year. . . . Notre Dame men’s soccer Coach Mike Berticelli died at his home in South Bend, Ind., apparently of a heart attack. He was 48.

Diego Maradona, apparently angered by media coverage during his stay for cocaine rehabilitation, punched and broke a reporter’s car window in Havana. Photographers and cameramen say they were trailing Maradona outside a supermarket when he got out of the black Mercedes-Benz lent to him by the Cuban government and confronted a TV cameraman and photographer. . . . Police in Hong Kong arrested 11 people, claiming they were part of four bookmaking operations that took in $6.4 million last year in illegal bets on European soccer games.

Advertisement

Boxing

Boxer Emiliano “the Marvelous” Valdez, a 26-year-old Dominican Republic native, had emergency surgery in Venice, Fla., to remove a blood clot and relieve swelling of the brain.

Valdez, who is in critical condition, was knocked out in the final round of a 10-round welterweight match Sunday night when Teddy Reid of Washington, D.C., landed successive blows to the head. Reid was a late replacement for Robert Kamya.

Jacqueline Frazier-Lyde, Joe Frazier’s daughter, has a new opponent for her pro boxing debut Feb. 6 at Scranton, Pa. Tella Reese, 19, an Eskimo from Alaska, has replaced Tennielle Smith, whose trainer complained she wasn’t training hard enough.

Olympics

Thailand and Osaka, Japan, announced they will bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics. They join Beijing, Havana, Istanbul, Paris, Seville and Toronto as candidates. The deadline for making a bid is Feb. 1. The Olympics never have been held in Southeast Asia.

Names in the News

Former Formula One driving champion Jackie Stewart resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of the new Jaguar team. Stewart, 60, said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Advertisement