Clarett Friend Tied to Betting

Ohio State is investigating a report that a benefactor of Maurice Clarett was gambling while in daily contact with the star running back.

Athletic Director Andy Geiger said Wednesday he was “obviously concerned” about the allegations against Bobby Dellimuti, who calls himself a father figure and friend of the Clarett family.

“We will look into this matter and will support and cooperate with any and all investigations,” Geiger said.

Clarett was suspended last fall for accepting money from Dellimuti, who runs a catering business. Ohio State officials said Clarett also lied to university and NCAA investigators.

Cellphone records obtained by ESPN.com show that Dellimuti made 27 calls during the Buckeyes’ national title season in 2002 to a prominent sportsbook in Costa Rica, SBG Global.

The records do not show what type of gambling activity took place, including whether Dellimuti was betting on Ohio State games.

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Pro Football

A citizens group called Football the Right Way plans to sue the city of Carson and the NFL to ensure public participation in the process of potentially building a football stadium on a 157-acre landfill in Carson, and, the group says, to protect the citizens of Carson from financial losses that the city might incur as a result.

“We don’t want Carson to become another Irwindale,” Curtis D. Pavin, an attorney representing the group, said in a written statement. Pavin was referring to the approximately $10 million that Irwindale forfeited in its unsuccessful courtship of the Raiders.

Las Vegas bettors wagered a Super Bowl record $81.2 million on the New England-Carolina game, with Nevada sports books winning a record $12.4 million, state gambling regulators said.

Arizona Cardinal Coach Dennis Green released 12-year veteran quarterback Jeff Blake, saying Josh McCown showed in three starts at the end of last season that he was the team’s quarterback of the future.

Jim Fassel, fired as coach by the New York Giants after the 2003 season, was hired as a senior consultant by the Baltimore Ravens.

Chicago Bear running back Rabih Abdullah pleaded guilty to driving under the influence after he crashed his sport utility vehicle twice on the same day in Rolling Meadow, Ill. Abdullah was sentenced to a year’s probation and ordered to pay $1,344 in fines as part of his plea deal.

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Baseball

David Ortiz agreed to a one-year, $4.6-million contract with the Boston Red Sox, avoiding arbitration.... Utilityman Mark McLemore agreed to a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.

Eduardo Rios homered twice and drove in three runs to lead Venezuela to a 7-6 victory over Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series at Santo Domingo. Francisco Rodriguez of the Angels pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the series.

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Miscellany

Jayson Williams won key pretrial rulings in his manslaughter case as a state judge in Somerville, N.J., refused to allow prosecutors to introduce evidence that the retired NBA player killed his dog with a shotgun and then ordered a witness at gunpoint to bury the animal.

Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman also declined to permit the jury to hear about a pistol discharge at the Meadowlands sports complex that resulted in Williams’ being ordered to make speeches and place advertisements warning of mixing alcohol and firearms.

Tickets to the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials, which will take place June 24-27 at the Arrowhead Pond, go on sale today. Tickets are available at the Pond box office and through Ticketmaster.

Vladislav Lukanin, one of Russia’s top prospects for a weightlifting gold medal at the Athens Olympics, has been banned for two years for doping, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.