Neuheisel Could Get $3.6 Million in Buyout

A high-ranking official at the University of Washington said Wednesday that the status of football Coach Rick Neuheisel hadn’t changed and that an investigation, opened when NCAA officers visited campus last week, was continuing.

“We’ve been working on it since last Wednesday,” said Norm Arkans, the university’s associate vice president for external affairs.

Neuheisel has been scrutinized since disclosing last week that he participated in gambling pools with neighbors on the NCAA basketball tournament. The NCAA bans gambling on college sports by coaches, athletic staff or athletes.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported this week that Neuheisel has been told he will be fired.

The case has dragged for a week, partly because there’s a lot of money at stake for both sides.

Under terms of Neuheisel’s contract, Washington could owe him as much as $3.6 million in a buyout if he is fired without cause. Each year for three years, he would be paid declining percentages of his $1.2-million annual salary.

The school wouldn’t have to pay anything if he is fired with “just cause,” and Neuheisel would be required to repay a $1.5-million loan he received as part of a contract extension in September. Neuheisel has five years remaining on the deal.

Pro Basketball

Jeff Van Gundy was introduced as coach of the Houston Rockets, less than two years after he abruptly left the New York Knicks. Van Gundy’s deal reportedly is for four years and worth $18 million.

The Detroit Pistons are set to take 7-foot-1 Darko Milicic with the second pick in the NBA draft, said Joe Dumars, the team’s president of basketball operations.

Pro Football

The Green Bay Packers gave tryouts to former Cincinnati quarterback Akili Smith, former San Francisco receiver J.J. Stokes and former New Orleans receiver Willie Jackson. All are free agents.

Tennis

French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and runner-up Kim Clijsters have entered the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa on July 26-Aug. 3 at Carlsbad.

Lleyton Hewitt defeated Raemon Sluiter, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (3), in the second round of the grass-courts Queen’s Club tournament, a Wimbledon tuneup at London. Hewitt is the Wimbledon defending men’s champion.... Australian Open finalist Rainer Schuettler lost to Radek Stepanekat, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3, in front of a home crowd in the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany. Third-seeded Jiri Novak beat Stefan Koubek, 6-4, 6-3.... Top-seeded Jelena Dokic defeated Rita Grande, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, in the first round of the Vienna Grand Prix.

Russian Maria Sharapova, 16, was ordered to tone down her grunting during her 6-3, 6-2 victory over Nathalie Dechy in the second round of the DFS Classic at Birmingham, England.

Sharapova was warned by tournament officials after Dechy and players on an adjacent court complained about her high-pitched shrieks. Under the sport’s “hindrance” rule, a player can be penalized a point for excessive grunting.

Seventh-seeded Alexandra Stevenson lost to Virginie Razzano, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, second-seeded Eleni Daniilidou defeated Meilen Tu, 7-5, 6-1, and third-seeded Magdalena Maleeva defeated Jane O’Donoghue, 6-2, 6-4.

Miscellany

Jennifer Gillom of the Sparks, first baseman Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies and Olympic speedskating champion Apolo Anton Ohno were among the athletes selected to receive awards by the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance, an organization that emphasizes fair play and character in sport. They will be honored Sunday in Orlando, Fla.

UCLA’s Chaniqua Ross, the defending champion in the discus, fouled on two of her three throws and finished 14th in qualifying -- failing to advance to the final in the opening day of the NCAA track and field championships at Sacramento.

Roush Racing suspended its Busch series operation because of sponsorship problems on the car driven by Stanton Barrett.

Washington State point guard Marcus Moore has withdrawn his name from consideration in the NBA draft and will return for his senior season.

Former Harlem Globetrotter Clyde “The Glide” Austin Sr. was freed from federal custody in Las Vegas after promising to appear in Virginia on fraud and money-laundering charges.

Austin, who became an ordained minister after his stint with the Globetrotters, was arrested Friday on charges he and three other men in Virginia bilked hundreds of church-based investors out of about $20 million.