Oregon State Will Hire John

Jay John, an assistant at Arizona, will be hired as coach of the Oregon State men’s basketball team, school officials said Tuesday.

John, 43, has been an assistant to Lute Olson for four seasons. Before that, he spent a season as an assistant at Oregon and eight seasons as an assistant at Butler.

“I think the situation at Oregon State is a great opportunity for Jay,” Olson said.

“He knows a lot of the players in the program. We had been involved in trying to recruit Philip Ricci, Brian Jackson and Jimmie Haywood.”

John was the lead recruiter of Arizona guard Jason Gardner and forward Channing Frye.

“Jay is very good with people,” said Ernie Kent, Oregon’s coach. “He is the type of guy that will work with passion.”

John replaces Ritchie McKay, who was 22-37 in two seasons. McKay resigned last month to replace Fran Fraschilla at New Mexico.

Pro Football

Unrestricted free agent Joe Jurevicius left the New York Giants and agreed to a four-year contract with Tampa Bay. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Jurevicius started nine games last season and finished with 51 receptions, 706 yards and three touchdowns, all career highs.

Tennis

Defending champion Amelie Mauresmo became the first big-name player to lose in the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Fla., dropping her second-round match to Anne Kremer of Luxembourg, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Jurisprudence

Former NFL receiver Jeff Graham filed a $10-million lawsuit at Dayton, Ohio, contending he was the victim of racial profiling by a sheriff’s deputy.

Graham was arrested Jan. 19 after a gun was found in his truck. No criminal charges were filed and he was released after being held about six hours.

The lawsuit filed Monday names as defendants Sheriff Dave Vore, Deputy David Cole, Sgt. Daryl Wilson and five unidentified deputies or investigators.

The suit says Cole went onto Graham’s property without a warrant, banged on the window of his truck while he was talking on a cell phone, placed Graham under arrest and searched the truck without consent.

Cole found a legal gun registered to Graham’s father, Walter Graham Jr., the suit said. The elder Graham had died a month earlier when his car struck a tree near the family’s home, where Jeff Graham was arrested.

Wilson was named as a defendant because he released information that Jeff Graham had been charged with carrying a concealed weapon, the suit said.

Graham played for San Diego last season but was released in February.

Former Minnesota men’s basketball coach Clem Haskins and the university have agreed to take their dispute over a $1.5-million buyout to arbitration.

The university bought out Haskins’ contract in 1999 amid a cheating scandal in which coursework was done for some players by a former office manager in the academic counseling unit.

Five months after the buyout, a university investigation concluded that Haskins was involved in the fraud. The university sued to recover at least $1 million, plus punitive damages.

Former Olympic gymnast Olga Korbut, 46, was allowed to enter a pretrial diversion program rather than be prosecuted on misdemeanor shoplifting charges, according to court documents filed at Lawrenceville, Ga.

Korbut was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with stealing $19 worth of goods at a supermarket.

Miscellany

USC tailback Justin Fargas did not practice as expected Tuesday. Still bothered by a knee injury, he is hoping to return this weekend.

For the second consecutive year, the Humanitarian Bowl at Boise, Idaho, will be played on New Year’s Eve, organizers said.

Goalie Jason LaBarbera of the Charlotte Checkers will not face charges for throwing his stick into the stands during a playoff game at Atlantic City, N.J., on Saturday and injuring an 8-year-old boy, who was treated at a hospital for a cut on the forehead and released.

LaBarbera was suspended indefinitely by the East Coast Hockey League.

Passings

British boxing trainer George Francis, who guided John Conteh and Frank Bruno to world titles, died in London in an apparent suicide. He was 73.

Japanese flyweight boxer Yoshihiro Irei, who lost consciousness in the dressing room after a March 24 bout, died at Tokyo. He was 22.