Washington Receives Probation From Pac-10

The University of Washington was penalized by the Pacific 10 Conference on Monday for gambling violations and improper recruiting practices uncovered after former football coach Rick Neuheisel was fired last summer.

During a conference call, Pac-10 presidents accepted recommendations issued last month by the conference’s compliance and enforcement council.

“The presidents and chancellors made no changes from the recommendations of the council,” Washington interim Athletic Director Dick Thompson said in a statement. “This now closes the case with the Pac-10. We will accept these penalties and are working quickly to comply with the requirements.”

The Pac-10 put Washington on probation for one year and required the university to conduct a comprehensive review of its athletic program. The school opened its own review several months ago.

A “failure to monitor” charge in a preliminary Pac-10 investigation last fall was dropped last month. It mirrors the NCAA’s “lack of institutional control” allegation.

Washington, still facing possible NCAA sanctions, is scheduled for a hearing before the NCAA’s infractions committee June 11.

“We think this is relatively good news that the Pac-10 did not find a failure to monitor charge as part of the violations,” Thompson said. “We hope for a similar result when we meet with the NCAA in June.”

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An advocate for sex assault victims told a panel investigating recruiting at Colorado that a “rape culture” exists in the school’s sports programs.

Kathy Redmond, founder of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, said athletes have a sense of entitlement toward women at Colorado. She said she has worked with alleged victims of CU athletes.

Suspended football Coach Gary Barnett, who shook his head at times while Redmond spoke, said afterward he didn’t want to respond to specific allegations. Barnett will address the panel today.

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The NCAA filed a legal brief in support of the NFL’s appeal to keep former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett out of the draft.

President Myles Brand said that college sports’ largest governing body asked the federal appeals court to consider six points regarding antitrust legislation before issuing a decision. The points were not cited in the statement.

The court will hear the dispute over whether Clarett is eligible for the NFL draft less than a week before its April 24 start.

The NFL has asked the court to overturn a lower court ruling that said the league’s rule that a player must be out of high school three years for draft eligibility violated antitrust law.

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Texas Tech football Coach Mike Leach agreed to a three-year contract extension that will pay him more than $1 million a year through the 2008 season. Leach is 31-21 in four seasons at the school.... Frank Haith has taken over as Miami’s men’s basketball coach after three seasons as an assistant at Texas. Haith replaced Perry Clark, who was fired last month after consecutive losing seasons.... DePaul men’s basketball Coach Dave Leitao said he had withdrawn himself from consideration for the job at St. John’s.... Former Loyola High guard Omar Wilkes, a freshman at Kansas, has asked for a release from his scholarship so he can play closer to home. Stanford and California are among the schools he is considering transferring to.

Tennis

At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez won her 700th career match to become only the seventh woman in the Open era to reach that milestone.

The 16th-seeded Martinez easily beat Tian Tian Sun of China, 6-1, 6-0 in the first round.

In other matches, Karolina Sprem of Croatia ousted No. 15-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France 6-4, 6-4, and Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian of Switzerland defeated 14th-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, 6-2, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded James Blake beat wild-card entry Wayne Odesnik, 6-4, 6-2, in the first round of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Houston.

Top-seeded Andy Roddick, the winner two of the last three years, will play Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark today.

Third-seeded Taylor Dent took a big early lead and then fell apart, losing to Argentina’s Franco Squillari, 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).

Third-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia advanced to the second round at the Valencia Open in Spain by defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3, 6-4.

His next opponent will be Fernando Verdasco, who eliminated Albert Portas, 6-1, 6-4.

In another match, Alex Corretja started slowly but rallied to defeat fifth-seeded David Sanchez, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Defending champion Nikolay Davydenko lost to Radek Stepanek, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the first round of the Estoril Open at Oeiras, Portugal.

Miscellany

NASCAR driver Ward Burton escaped serious injuries after his sport utility vehicle ran off a highway and overturned.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said Burton, who was traveling alone, suffered only a bump to the head. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel of his 2004 Chevy Suburban.

Two Florida newspapers dropped their challenge to a state law restricting access to autopsy photos that passed after the death of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, both owned by Tribune Co., which also owns The Times, sued in Broward County after a medical examiner refused to release the photos, saying the restriction violated the state constitution.

Safety Antuan Edwards signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.... Defensive back Kevin Kaesviharn signed a three-year contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Former Texas Tech star Sheryl Swoopes scored 19 points in a return to her alma mater to help the U.S. women’s basketball team beat Japan, 118-66, in an exhibition at Lubbock, Texas.

The U.S. Olympic Committee has begun taking online nominations and applications for four independent spots on its new board of directors. Applications will be taken until April 30, then a four-person nominating committee will interview the finalists.